Here are some details for Friday, October 13, 2017 on what’s happening in Vancouver Island’s business world.
Above: Maple Leaf Adventures’ Salish Sea expedition.
Maple Leaf Adventures won an award recognizing it as a great experience
The Victoria-based company Maple Leaf Adventures recently won Tourism Vancouver Island’s Remarkable Experience Award for its five-day Salish Sea expedition. The company was awarded for going above and beyond guests’ expectations. “For a guide — and we are a company of guides — it is the highest possible honour to be recognized for creating a remarkable experience,” says Maureen Gordon, one of the Maple Leaf Adventures owners. The company’s next Salish Sea expedition will run April 20 to 24, 2018.
Nominate a new local business for the 10 to Watch awards
You have just a little over one month left to nominate a deserving, Vancouver Island-based business for our annual 10 to Watch Awards. Winners will be recognized in our April/May 2018 magazine and will attend an invitation-only event in the spring. Nominated businesses much be created on or after December 31, 2014 and all nominations must be received before November 15, 2017. Past winners of this award include Flytographer, Cultured Kombucha and Miiko Skin Co.
It’s all about the beer this month
This afternoon, consider reaching for a local craft brewery to toast the weekend. October is B.C.’s seventh annual Craft Beer Month. According to the Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham, the craft beer industry is good for the economy, supporting the province’s agricultural and tourism sectors. And B.C. has seen a craft beer boom in the last seven years: in 2010, 54 craft breweries were running and today there are more than 140.
University of Victoria receives innovation grants that support research
Two University of Victoria projects received financial support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation that will allow them to continue making major advances in research. Earth and Ocean Sciences professor Jody Klymak and West Coast Wave Initiative Director Brad Buckham’s project, a Canadian Pacific Robotic Ocean Observing Platform which would produce data to predict ocean changes robotic ocean-observing platform in coastal B.C. waters, received $3.8 million in funding. Kate Moran’s project, to build an observatory in the Northern Cascadia subduction zone to get data on tsunami and seismic risks in B.C., received $2.4 million.
Share your thoughts on a plastic bag ban
The City of Victoria is looking into new regulations that would reduce the number of plastic bags used at checkout. This is needed — Victoria residents take home around 17 million plastic bags each year. On Wednesday, October 18, you can share your thoughts on how reducing single-use plastic bags can be achieved. All are invited to an open house and public meeting, running from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at Victoria City Hall.
