by Allison Smith –
On March 11, 2020, a large group of local businesswomen gathered at McTavish Academy of Art for Seaside Magazine‘s annual Women to Watch event. We connected, chatted about business and our lives, and of course about COVID-19 and what that meant, exactly. At that point, Covid was still an abstract concept but just a few days later, it became our reality and that night would prove to be the last public gathering most of us would attend for a while.
Three long years later, for the first time since that night, a large group of local businesswomen happily gathered at Small Gods Brewing to again celebrate our Women to Watch issue and International Women’s Day (see pg 9 for some photos from the night). Many of the faces were familiar, and many were new, reflecting the growth and resilience our community has shown since Covid entered our lives.
Speaking of growth, April is certainly a time of it, with green sprouts peeking their heads out of damp soil and buds appearing on the trees. It also marks Earth Month, and a good time to reflect on our habits and how they impact our planet. Jim Kingham, PhD (Peninsula Voices, pg 16) says we could all do well by asking ourselves one question: “Does what I’m about to do make sense for the environment?”
We are all now well aware of the affect we are having on the planet, and I’m sure most of us have made at least some changes to the way we do things in response to the environmental crisis. But asking Jim’s question is a simple way to force ourselves to look critically at our behaviour on a more regular basis. Sometimes our answer may be a small thing, like choosing a book for our child over another plastic toy, or sometimes it might be larger, like opting for a staycation instead of a trip overseas. Small changes and big ones – every bit truly does help, as evidenced by the recent encouraging news that the hole in the ozone layer is slowly but noticeably healing.
Growth in all things – our community, the trees outside our window, our awareness of our impact on the world … welcome April and enjoy this issue.
Photo by Janis Jean Photography. Clothing provided and styled by piper + ally.
For more, visit Instagram @piperally. Shot on location at Mattick’s Farm.
