KUS-KUS-SUM

We wanted to share with each of you the story of the development of Kus-kus-sum—a project to revitalize the land on the northern riverside of the Courtenay River at the confluence of the river and the K’ómoks Estuary.

Kus-kus-sum was the name of a First Nation village near where the Courtenay Airpark sits today. The name means very slippery—a nod to the algae that grows along the shoreline of the old village site. 
The northern side of the river—and likely the current Kus-kus-sum site—held mortuary trees and were burial grounds for our ancestors of the Kus-kus-sum village. 

K’ómoks First Nation named this area Kus-kus-sum in 2017. The name honours the memory of this ancient village and those who lived, loved and were buried in the trees and grounds of this sacred land.

Back in the 1930s, the site was tidally influenced by the forested riverside and riparian habitat, a vital contributor to the health of local riverine and estuarine creatures. 

If you head over to Hollyhock Flats you can see what the area used to look like—and may do so again. In the 1940s, the site was logged and cleared to install a sawmill and the marshy areas became home to environmentally harmful debris from that enterprise. 

Fines were paid, and apologies were made. The site was bought and sold over the years and a new restoration plan began. 

That new beginning was the collaboration of Interfor Corporation and Project Watershed. Instead of selling off the property for a profit, Interfor chose to work on a conservation plan to return the site to its former pristine glory.

Through fundraising efforts, education and conservation work, teams of sponsors and volunteers, the site is being rewilded. Native plants that once flourished here are being replanted. Today you can see their work in the flourishing displays of Nootka Rose, willows, alder, Douglas fir, red flowering currants and Salmonberry bushes that are reclaiming the land. Those inviting plants are bringing back insects, birds and animals who now call this area home. 

A huge thank you to the City of Courtenay, Interfor, Project Watershed, K’ómoks Milestone Joint Venture, Streamside Native Plants, Chinook Forest Products and Grow Tree Care—plus dozens of amazing volunteers. Your work betters our world today—the City of Courtenay and Lands of the K’ómoks for future generations. 

During this year's festival, Dan Bowen, member, and Caila Holbrook, Manager of Education and Outreach, Comox Valley Project Watershed Society, with be guiding the tour of the estuary.

It is our hope to provide the same love and care in rewilding the K’ómoks Foreshore with native plants to help teach Traditional Medicine and foraging practices and for the beauty they will create.

Salmonberry: The glorious berries you see here are the ripe fruit of the Salmonberry, a delicious member of the Rose Family. For generations, we have enjoyed both the berries and the new sprouts each Spring. If you pick them and peel them, they are delicious raw (we sometimes dip them in sugar. Shhhh). You can steam the bright green, bendy stems as a "vegetable" side dish.

Look for them in May and June in shaded swamps, beside our estuary, along the roadside and along the shoreline. So good!

Rubus spectabilis (Pursh); Rosaceae / In Kwak'wala we call Salmonberry: 'kamdzakw ('Kum-zook) and Salmonberry Sprouts: k'wa'lam (Quat-sum)