Saluting green, blue, red and white
I hear Salt Spring has a flag. Where did the design come from?
— C.D., Salt Spring Island
The Salt Spring Island flag was crafted out of a September 2001 design contest that was open to all island residents and held by the just-formed non-profit Salt Spring Island Monetary Foundation.
Contestants were asked to draw a flag design on an 8.5- by 11-inch sheet of paper and enter it at the Ganges Tourist Info Centre.
A board of appointed judges representing diverse community sectors voted on the winning design by Larry Andrews and Don and Donna Carlson.
The green part stands for the environment and trees, blue for water, red maple leaf for the island’s Canadian heritage and white for the pure spirit of islanders.
The winners were awarded a $1,000 cash prize and design copyright was relinquished to the public domain.
The flag contest was held a time when the local movement towards exploring island independence was thriving.
A new local currency, Salt Spring Dollars, had just been launched and the Sustainable Salt Spring Island Coalition had held a series of roundtable discussions looking at different island nations around the world (e.g. Isle of Man, Cayman Islands) to examine how their governments and economies functioned.
They found that many had local currencies — and their own flags, explains Usha Rautenbach, a local volunteer researcher.
Roundtable discussions pinpointed community interest in more local control and a stronger island identity.
“We floated a trial balloon [of independence] to see what would happen,” recalls Eric Booth, a co-founder of the foundation.
“A lot were completely in favour; others thought it was unpatriotic.”
Flags that measure 69 by 137 centimetres (27 by 54 inches) can be purchased for $99 plus tax from the monetary foundation’s Bob McGinn: 250-537-2093, bob-pamela@telus.net.
