It was like a Greek play, only in Gore-Tex. Officially, the three dozen people gathered at the Sooke Potholes yesterday were there to see Shaw Communications give $250,000 to The Land Conservancy of B.C.
But there was no escaping the underlying drama of the ongoing struggle for the control of TLC -- a reality punctuated by the somewhat surreal scene of Shaw's cheque being presented not just to the land trust's new chief operating officer, Linda Hannah, but to the man she replaced, Bill Turner, ousted March 27 in what he called a "coup."
It was a reminder that this fight is far from over, as Turner's supporters try to chuck out the current board of directors and have the TLC co-founder reinstated.
It was also a sobering reminder of how much the upheaval could weaken TLC, and therefore the preservation of wild places around Victoria.
Since its birth in 1997, TLC has grown to become a major player in land preservation around B.C., particularly on southern Vancouver Island, where 40 per cent of its 7,100 members live. Typically, it works hand in hand with government, negotiating the land deals and raising a third of the purchase price of new parks.
The Potholes are a good example. TLC jumped in one step ahead of the bulldozers in 2004 to snap up what is now Sooke Potholes Regional Park. Then, in 2007, it partnered with the Capital Regional District to buy 932 hectares of neighbouring forest land from TimberWest. Shaw's $250,000 donation completed TLC's financial commitment to the project (and, by the way, brought Shaw's total Potholes contribution to more than $600,000, bless 'em.) The addition of the TimberWest land means the Sea-to-Sea Green Blue Belt, stretching from Sooke Basin to Saanich Inlet, is four-fifths complete.
Over the last couple of years, tension has grown between TLC staff on one side and the organization's board on the other -- the former wanting to save land while it's still possible, the latter becoming increasingly worried about the group's financial exposure. It came to a head when Turner was pushed out; his deputy, Ian Fawcett, was canned a couple of days later.
Internal upheaval is not unknown in the environmental community, which could teach the UN Gang a thing or two about swift, savage bloodlettings, but this one caused a sensation in Victoria, where Turner is something of an environmental icon, synonymous with TLC.
The campaign to have Turner reinstalled is documented on the website savetlc.ca. Under the Societies Act, a petition bearing the names of 10 per cent of TLC's members would force an extraordinary meeting of the organization, which Turner's supporters want held in the capital region by June 30. They propose replacing the current board with an eight-member slate including such environmental activists as Kathryn Molloy, Misty MacDuffee and TLC co-founder Briony Penn.
No matter how it turns out, there is the question of how donors, both individual and institutional, will react to the turmoil. Shaw vice-president Chris Kucharski says his company doesn't get involved in the internal politics, just focuses on the cause. But Oak Bay Mayor Christopher Causton, chairman of the CRD Parks committee, acknowledged concern over how the fuss would affect the organization that provides the capital region with a third of its land-acquisition money. "This is like a divorce that has landed on the front page of the paper and the kids don't know whom to support."
At the Sooke Potholes, the cheque ceremony was emceed by Tony Gooch, best-known as the Victoria sailor who single-handedly circumnavigated the globe a few years ago. He's also a member of the Wednesday Wanderers, whose weekly hikes take place, as the name would suggest, on Tuesdays.
"All those who love and support TLC have lived in some anguish over the past several weeks," Gooch told the gathering. "Shocked and dismayed, we wish it hadn't happened. We understand the ongoing financial strains of TLC. We understand its growing pains. We appreciate that everyone involved is acting in what they perceive to be the best interests of TLC. And we all hope that some way will be found to get Bill back doing what he does better than anyone, saving special places, forever, for everyone."
That last line might have caused some in the crowd to squirm, but all would agree that the preservation of special places around Victoria depends on the preservation of The Land Conservancy.
