By BRYAN YOUNG
Amid the merry babble of voices at our Christmas party a couple weeks back, a few of us independently came to the same conclusion: something has really gelled within Transition Salt Spring (TSS)’s board, staff and volunteers this year.
But as we talked, we realized this sense of shift isn’t just about us. Across our beautifully caring and sometimes cranky “argument surrounded by water,” there’s a growing feeling of something new and more promising emerging.
This fall, TSS reached out to community leaders to explore the possibility of building a shared vision for Salt Spring’s future. It’s a warm-up for 2025 when our official community plan and land use bylaw will get their first updates in decades. While folks have strongly held views on many issues, there’s also a hunger for less conflict — perhaps driven by the divisions we see multiplying in the larger world.
We at TSS are heading into next year with optimism because we see that islanders’ passion for Salt Spring arises from a deep love for this place and a desire to make it even better.
Our big theme for 2025 is encouraging islanders to talk together as neighbours to tackle the big issues we face:
• How will we protect forests and watersheds amid rising drought and fire risks from climate change?
• How and where can we build more housing to ensure we have a diverse and inclusive community?
• How can our settler-based CRD and Islands Trust governance systems reconcile with First Nations to include them in governance?
The Penelakut Food Drive, beautifully described in the Driftwood recently, shows islander generosity at its best. It’s one of many examples of people stepping up to address local challenges. What new fruit might grow from these acts of neighbourly care as we tackle our pressing problems in 2025?
TSS has worked hard to cultivate this spirit of love and generosity by embracing hope. We’ve seen it reflected at clothing and toy swaps and Repair Cafés this year. In decades of traditional advocacy work, I’ve learned that policy change alone isn’t enough — lasting solutions require a groundswell of support built on relationships of reciprocity.
Our 2021 Climate Action Plan didn’t mention the need to change our culture. Instead, it focused on policies, programs and interagency collaboration. These remain essential, but we now see that addressing the climate crisis also requires changing how we treat one another. Building mutual respect and trust is where real change can begin.
This simple premise underpins our 2025 plans to help the community update its official community plan, addressing housing, ecosystem protection, climate action and First Nations reconciliation.
Deep listening is another critical ingredient we’re working hard to practice. In our work with organizations to resolve differences that stand in the way of shared progress, we’ve learned to seek common ground by listening to what the other really needs. Traditional Indigenous cultures are centred on listening first, while settler culture often emphasizes staking out individual positions first. That impulse — to “shoot first” with opinions — often builds fences between us. In 2025, TSS will invite islanders to sit down together, listen deeply, and collaboratively build solutions.
When we come together with humility and open hearts, magic can happen. Issues that once divided us become manageable as we realize the other person’s problem is our own as well. Solving Salt Spring’s challenges is as much about building relationships as it is about creating new bylaws and programs.
And as we do this work together, we’ll get to know each other better and maybe even have some fun. Whether it’s two organizations collaborating or a broken teapot repaired at one of our Repair Cafés, the payoff is more than just solved problems — it’s renewed trust and neighbourliness.
Time and again, we see that people love this community and the natural systems we depend on. When we truly listen with trust, solutions once unseen can become visible. In those moments, the argument surrounded by water is still there, sure, but there’s more silence between the sentences as we listen and take in what the other is saying. That’s an “island of sanity” emerging from Salt Spring’s famous “argument” — and the world needs a lot more of that.
We look forward to continuing this work with you.
Bryan Young is the chair of Transition Salt Spring. To donate or learn more about their work, including rebates for heat pumps, efficient wood stoves and rainwater catchment systems, visit transitionsaltspring.com.
mism because we see that islanders’ passion for Salt Spring arises from a deep love for this place and a desire to make it even better.
Our big theme for 2025 is encouraging islanders to talk together as neighbours to tackle the big issues we face:
• How will we protect forests and watersheds amid rising drought and fire risks from climate change?
• How and where can we build more housing to ensure we have a diverse and inclusivecommunity?
• How can our settler-based CRD and Islands Trust governance systems reconcile with First Nations to include them in governance?
The Penelakut Food Drive, beautifully described in the Driftwood recently, shows islander generosity at its best. It’s one of many examples of people stepping up to address local challenges. What new fruit might grow from these acts of neighbourly care as we tackle our pressing problems in 2025?
TSS has worked hard to cultivate this spirit of love and generosity by embracing hope. We’ve seen it reflected at clothing and toy swaps and Repair Cafés this year. In decades of traditional advocacy work, I’ve learned that policy change alone isn’t enough — lasting solutions require a groundswell of support built on relationships of reciprocity.
Our 2021 Climate Action Plan didn’t mention the need to change our culture. Instead, it focused on policies, programs and interagency collaboration. These remain essential, but we now see that addressing the climate crisis also requires changing how we treat one another. Building mutual respect and trust is where real change can begin.
This simple premise underpins our 2025 plans to help the community update its official community plan, addressing housing, ecosystem protection, climate action and First Nations reconciliation.
Deep listening is another critical ingredient we’re working hard to practice. In our work with organizations to resolve differences that stand in the way of shared progress, we’ve learned to seek common ground by listening to what the other really needs. Traditional Indigenous cultures are centred on listening first, while settler culture often emphasizes staking out individual positions first. That impulse — to “shoot first” with opinions — often builds fences between us. In2025, TSS will invite islanders to sit down together, listen deeply, and collaboratively build solutions.
When we come together with humility and open hearts, magic can happen. Issues that once divided us become manageable as we realize the other person’s problem is our own as well. Solving Salt Spring’s challenges is as much about building relationships as it is about creating new bylaws and programs.
And as we do this work together, we’ll get to know each other better and maybe even have some fun. Whether it’s two organizations collaborating or a broken teapot repaired at one of our Repair Cafés, the payoff is more than just solved problems — it’s renewed trust and neighbourliness.
Time and again, we see that people love this community and the natural systems we depend on. When we truly listen with trust, solutions once unseen can become visible. In those moments, the argument surrounded by water is still there, sure, but there’s more silence between the sentences as we listen and take in what the other is saying. That’s an “island of sanity” emerging from Salt Spring’s famous “argument” — and the world needs a lot more of that.
We look forward to continuing this work with you.
Bryan Young is the chair of Transition Salt Spring. To donate or learn more about their work, including rebates for heat pumps, efficient wood stoves and rainwater catchment systems, visit transitionsaltspring.com.