New EPC Already Making a Difference

"Send me in Coach, I'm ready!"

Mary Brown, right, poses with Ron McLaughlin, left, as well as Shucks and Chief, the Squamish Elders who oversaw the ESS paddle project.

Since she moved to Lions Bay in 1988, Mary Brown has been an active participant in Village life.

While she has volunteered in almost too many roles to list, for the past few years most residents will know her as the indomitable Director of Emergency Support Services. (ESS)

In this role, Brown has handled everything from earthquake preparedness drills to grant writing, and from organizing supplies to addressing the needs of residents displaced by last December's landslide. In a presentation to Council last April, Brown listed more than a dozen "gaping holes" she has filled in the absence of a Village Emergency Program Coordinator (EPC). The EPC oversees Emergency Support Services, Search and Rescue and Lions Bay Fire Rescue.

In August, Brown signed the contract on her new role as EPC, a position that has been vacant since the departure of Phil Folkersen in May, 2024. Long-time ESS volunteer Roel Coert has also signed his contract to take over the role of ESS Director.

Fresh into the job, Brown has a long list of projects in need of attention, and she's already searched out funding to get many of these jobs done.

Last year, Brown and fellow long-time Lions Bay resident Leslie Nolin wrote grant applications that ended up netting over $104,000 in emergency funding for the Village. "We did it on a voluntary basis, because it needed to be done," says Brown.

As a result, the Village has received three separate grants earmarked for emergency management. Brown's first project is already underway, and stems from the success of an ESS cultural awareness and education project she spearheaded earlier this year.

"The paddle project, which we took on with the Bowen Island ESS team, was an exercise in Indigenous cultural and safety training," Brown says. "This new drumming project is an extension of that first project, and allows us to work with Squamish Elders in a way that fosters cooperation and communication."

It is a provincial mandate that Emergency Services personnel receive cultural sensitivity training, and Brown points out that for people to drum together, they must be in sync. She has already invited representatives from Fire Rescue, ESS, Council and Village staff to take part in the upcoming drum-building event.

While still in her role as ESS Manager, Brown secured an agreement with West Vancouver School District to use Lions Bay School as an emergency gathering place, should the Village Hall be cut off due to a natural disaster. And now in her role as EPC, she is planning to direct some of the grant money toward obtaining an insulated trailer to store reception centre materials.

"One of the key principles of Emergency Management is redundancy," says Brown. "Having access to necessary materials in case the Village Hall or the school is cut off in an emergency will allow us to remain mobile, and still be able to help displaced residents."

A $40,000 portion of the grant money is also earmarked for long-overdue evacuation route planning and education.

"We now have the funds to hire an expert to do route planning," says Brown, adding that the rest of the funding will go toward communication, town halls and neighbourhood drills.

In terms of items that don't fall under the grant umbrella, Brown says she'd like to formalize cooperation agreements with nearby communities like Bowen Island and Britannia Beach to ensure local support during a disaster. "We already cooperate with other ESS groups and with North Shore Emergency Management, but this would formalize the arrangement," she says.

She's also ready to work on updating the ESS emergency manuals, which were last completed in 2019.

Brown points to the community Emergency Plan on the Village website. "It's a living document," she says. "It always exists in draft form, because it needs to be updated every two to three years."

Brown has been working on the latest update using a template obtained from the Squamish Lillooet Regional District (SLRD). "It's the one they use for all their smaller communities," she says.

For Brown, stepping into the role of EPC is a challenge she's eager to take on. "There is so much that needs to be done," she says with a laugh. "I'm like, 'Send me in coach, I'm ready!'

All the emergency services in the Village are seeking volunteers, but many of the jobs require training. Interested volunteers can check out available training courses HERE.

The Watershed values your opinion.

Share your thoughts below, or email editor@lionsbaywatershed.ca

Like what you're reading?

For as little as $5/month, you can support local independent journalism

by subscribing to The Watershed HERE.