Diane Bernard has gone from politics to seaweed and back again.

A life-long fascination with seaweed started at a young age and grew until she became B次元官网网址淭he Seaweed Lady,B次元官网网址� as her company SeafloraB次元官网网址檚 website proclaims. As Bernard says, it takes grit, guts, and a smidgen of skookum to turn a bailiwick into a success. But it also requires support from the government and commitment to protecting the environment.

Bernard started as a municipal matriarch, sitting on the school board B次元官网网址� overseeing the construction of Edward Milne Community School and Journey Middle School B次元官网网址� and then serving for three years as the regional director of the Sooke electoral area before the district incorporated.

After she lost in the next election for the regional director, unemployment was high (8.3 per cent in the province in 1999 B次元官网网址� higher only in 2002 and 2020), and interest rates were high (4.92 per cent bank rate versus 0.75 per cent today.)

Those conditions made it tough for businesses. Bernard said she saw how others were struggling in Sooke and decided to look to her roots for inspiration. Bernard grew up on the East Coast of Canada, where her father and uncles would use seaweed to keep the lobster in their traps cool while they brought their catch to market.

She started researching and experimenting with stuff she was able to pull from the sea in her backyard and making recipes in her fridge. Her sons at the time were not impressed.

B次元官网网址淭hey were probably the only teenagers who didnB次元官网网址檛 want to go rifling through the fridge.B次元官网网址�

She found a local and national appetite for seaweed pulled out of the ocean without being processed with chemicals, especially in the spa industry. The company pivoted towards skincare B次元官网网址� theyB次元官网网址檙e working on rereleasing a consumption menu shortly, returning to food. The companyB次元官网网址檚 skincare products have spread widely into Asia and Europe. Throughout that growth, keeping the product natural was essential to the companyB次元官网网址檚 success and was also crucial to Bernard.

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Spreading a message about the importance of protecting the environment, mainly marine life, has featured in her politics and business. She occasionally still runs seaweed tours, which talk about the benefits of the plant but also about the importance of protecting the environment.

Seaflora is moving away from plastic packaging, aiming to sell its products in entirely glass packaging by the end of 2022.

She backed the Green Party candidate in a recent federal election. She was also one of the first members of SookeB次元官网网址檚 climate action committee. B次元官网网址淭hat was a long, hard haul, and the burnout rate was extraordinarily high B次元官网网址� bringing council along to get it to where we did.B次元官网网址� Bernard was on that committee for two years before leaving.

B次元官网网址淚f this town is serious about tourism, we have to be serious about (protecting the environment). If the town is serious about fishing, we have to be serious. These are all wild resources. I have a wild resource. We have a wild resource. So thatB次元官网网址檚 the message, and if we take care of it, itB次元官网网址檒l take care of us, it will provide us with a very healthy livelihood, real jobs for people in the community.B次元官网网址�

Growing local businesses and organizations is also crucial to Bernard. SheB次元官网网址檚 been a member of various women in business groups, offering mentorship to others looking to expand their home businesses. She pulled her businessesB次元官网网址� support from the David Suzuki Foundation and replied that she wanted to focus on supporting local businesses when she was asked why. ThatB次元官网网址檚 something the district needs to step up, added Bernard.

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B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no reason why home-based businesses should be reticent about exploring to get bigger, but they do need support.B次元官网网址�

The biggest problems, as Bernard sees it is the lack of commercial space and the lack of services in Sooke. SeafloraB次元官网网址檚 employees all work and live in Sooke. The number of people who travel out of Sooke for work and services worsens climate change and hurts business, said Bernard.

B次元官网网址淲e tend to think that also doesnB次元官网网址檛 have the workforce. Well, they do, itB次元官网网址檚 in town, but they donB次元官网网址檛 have the ways and means to get jobs up here. They will take a pay cut, and they are highly skilled, and theyB次元官网网址檒l come out here if there are things for them.B次元官网网址�

When Bernard was looking for the space to set up her business office on Otter Point Road, she couldnB次元官网网址檛 find a commercial real estate agent in Sooke. She had to go to Victoria, but that expertise is essential, especially for someone setting up a business. She was able to design the office, but it involved long hours and having her son, Adam Butcher, now chief executive officer of Seaflora, and his wife Chantelle Line staying after work and painting the building themselves and Bernard risking her house to secure the property. But not everyone can take that risk, said Bernard, which holds some businesses back.

B次元官网网址淚f they came out of their homes and were put into storefronts B次元官网网址� even 10 per cent B次元官网网址� it would look like Tofino. People want to go to Tofino because it looks like Tofino. But if you start pounding in McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 and Tim Hortons here and a Canadian Tire? WeB次元官网网址檙e Langford. So thatB次元官网网址檚 the question the community has to start asking right now,B次元官网网址� said Line.

Despite a tumultuous two years B次元官网网址� where Butcher says they lost 98 per cent of their business to business sales in three days when the pandemic broke out B次元官网网址� BernardB次元官网网址檚 seaweed skincare business Seaflora is opening a retail space for the public in its office on Otter Point Road. As for Bernard, she has been retired for five years now and plans to enjoy it.

B次元官网网址淣ow itB次元官网网址檚 into the hands of the next generation, which doesnB次元官网网址檛 happen very often in Sooke.B次元官网网址�

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bailey.moreton@goldstreamgazette.com
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