Local groups supporting environmental projects and schools have been hit hard by recently announced cuts to B.C. Gaming Commission grants.

In addition to the devastating loss for the Island Wildlife Natural Care Centre (see front-page story), the Island Stream and Salmon Enhancement Society lost $12,000 and Salt Spring Conservancy’s Stewards-in-Training program must proceed this year without $15,000. School parent advisory councils will make do with half the government funding from last year, and school sports will likely be impacted in some way.

The salmon group and Stewards-in-Training cuts are particularly devastating because they cover wages, which few grant agencies will fund.

“There’s nobody else to go to for salaries,” said Jean Gelwicks of the Salt Spring Conservancy.

The award-winning Stewards-in-Training program is experienced by 700 schoolchildren in Grades 1 through 8 on Salt Spring. The gaming grant paid for coordination work done by two individuals, who organized and trained all the volunteers, did pre- and post-field trip lessons and other coordinating duties.

“We do have some time to make a public appeal,” said Gelwicks, noting the just-starting fall program will proceed, but the larger spring session is in jeopardy.

Salmon enhancement biologist Kathy Reimer said losing $12,000 not only threatens the work done by her group, but affects the people hired with those funds.

“We weren’t just a bunch of rich people doing environmental work,” she said. “We were using that for wages for at-risk and disadvantaged people.”

On the school side, Tania Aguila, co-chair of the local district parent advisory council, said she’s been surprised and concerned by the lack of response parents have shown about the 50 per cent PAC cuts so far. The per-student stipend to all PACs has been reduced to $10 from $20. DPACs will receive $1,250 instead of $2,500 to operate.

“It’s very irresponsible if we don’t question our government,” Aguila said. “We’re setting a really bad precedent that they can take anything away that they want to.”

The Gulf Islands DPAC made an emergency decision to send out an immediate letter of appeal to the government.

PACs often use the money to make up for shortfalls not provided for by schools, such as library books and field trips. At Fernwood elementary, PAC recently paid for a choir program.

For local school sports teams, the loss of $130,000 for a B.C.-wide organization should not have much impact, said GISS vice-principal and athletic director Lyall Ruehlen Monday, unless it passes on that loss to member schools.

Ruehlen said not having a B.C. School Sports staff person available will likely increase his work load in terms of checking rules or student eligibility. But more importantly, GISS currently pays about $800 annually to BCSS. After an Oct. 24 vote in Surrey, that amount could rise to $1,500.

Such an increase would have a potentially negative impact on school teams, Ruehlen said.

“We’d have to look at how much we can travel and how many teams we can support.”