Less than a week into the second season of Tidal Treasures, Columbia Beach has been dropped from the beach list.
Tidal Treasures posted on Facebook Nov. 4, saying it was “with great disappointment that we have to stop using Columbia Beach.”
RELATED: Tidal Treasures drop Nov. 1 in Parksville Qualicum Beach
The post goes on to say that the Tidal Treasures organizers worked really hard to bring back this beach, which was dropped partway through last season’s promotion due to public complaints.
“Although some of us on the committee didn’t want the hassle, we decided to give it a try, in hopes that our seekers would follow the rules and the residents would trust us.”
Wendy Sears, who does social media and communications for Tidal Treasures, said a resident in Columbia Beach saw a person digging with a shovel at the beach.
As a reminder, Sears said, Float Fairies aren’t hiding the glass floats but rather are placing them in easy-to-find locations that do not require digging.
Earlier this year, Columbia Beach was dropped toward the end of the first season of Tidal Treasures after a number of seekers weren’t respecting the environment while hunting for glass floats over the Easter long weekend.
RELATED: People ‘disregard rules’ after searching for Tidal Treasures in Parkvsille Qualicum Beach
Sears said the group is now focusing its efforts on beaches with better access, such as parking. But Sears did add that people searching for Tidal Treasures at Resort Row need to respect the guest-only parking at the resorts. She said people would need to park at Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park and hike.
The remaining beaches are Parksville Community Park, Rathtrevor park and Resort Row. Float Fairies will continue to place glass floats at those beaches until the end of April, 2018.
Sears said unfortunately the beaches in the area aren’t all suitable for placing glass floats.
“We still need beaches that (have) some shoreline. We don’t go to Qualicum because when the tide is high up there, it smashes right up against the walls,” Sears said.
Sears said it is just the beginning of the Tidal Treasures season and people are still getting “into the groove” while hunting. She said some of the seekers are diligent and will let committee members know if fellow seekers have been disregarding the rules.
For now, Sears said, continuously posting the rules on the group’s Facebook page seems to be helping.
For more information on Tidal Treasures, or to find maps of the locations, visit www.tidaltreasures.org. Tidal Treasures also has a GoFundMe account set up to help fund the seasonal initiative. The link to the GoFundMe can be found on the website.