by Barbara Neff
Over the past six weeks, I have met many of you as I walked around the island asking people to participate in our very first Vital Signs survey. The goal was simple but meaningful: we wanted to better understand who we are, how we are doing, and where we as a community might need support.
Thanks to you, we received 381 responses – an amazing turnout for a small island! Even better, testing shows that the data is robust and diverse enough to paint a reliable picture of life on Quadra. That means we can get a clearer picture of how we live, what we value, and where we can grow together.
From the bottom of our hearts: thank you!
Many of you have been particularly engaged. Brian Simmons, whom I met at Aroma while he was hanging his pictures, had kindly allowed us to use one of his beautiful artworks – which depicts Heriot Bay Road – for our postcards. When I planned to send these cards to all households, the wonderful staff at the post office in Q-Cove suggested printing only as many cards as needed for the mailboxes – and offered to collect the unused cards from the paper recycling bin so they could be reused. That’s the spirit of Quadra!
Zoe helped us organize the stand on May 1, Wendy supported us at the farmers’ market, and Robyn Mayhinney generously wrote about the survey in this newspaper after hearing how important it is – without us even asking! We were invited to lunch with Survey at Cape Mudge! Dee made sure people at the seniors housing society had their say, Heather and Maureen spread the word about the survey via Quadra Circle, Lorill and Cally helped reach younger families, and Melissa provided some humor in The Bird’s Eye newsletter.
To everyone who participated, supported, encouraged, and shared the survey – thank you! We will publish the initial results soon, and the full report will be available by the end of the year.
Let’s keep the dialogue going. This is just the beginning.
– On behalf of the Quadra Island Foundation