Have you noticed the new community notice board at Chaster and Pratt Road? On behalf of the Elphinstone Community Association, Clint Budd and Ben Foster installed it for the use of people who collect their mail there. Local residents are welcome to post community news and a neighbour has been found to monitor it. Thanks Clint and Ben, who also installed a notice-board at mailboxes toward the end of Ocean Beach Esplanade, after one at the Harry Road mailboxes was removed by someone who claimed it interfered with their view.
SCRD director Donna McMahon reported that she recently attended an inaugural meeting of the newly-formed Ocean Beach Esplanade Neighbourhood Association. She’s happy to see “residents organizing at the neighbourhood level to help each other and advocate for their concerns.” You can see Donna’s latest newsletter at: https://mailchi.mp/7ddbe31e20fa/everything-elphinstone-confronting-climate-catastrophe
In this week’s column, Claire Finlayson, vice-chair of the Woodcreek Park Neighbourhood Association, writes about an event held last weekend:
“Thanks to a grant from the Greater Vancouver Community Assistance Foundation’s COVID-19 Neighbourhood Small Grants Program, people from Woodcreek Park were able to participate in a bird, bat and bee home-building workshop, facilitated by the Sunshine Coast Wildlife Project, a dedicated group of biologists working to conserve, restore and enhance native wildlife habitats on the Sunshine Coast.
“The event, originally planned for Whispering Firs Park, was held in the parking lot of Christian Life Assembly, and was well attended. People were suitably masked as requested and everything, including drills on loan, were sanitized between users. The rain held off, so all work could take place on tables set up outside, making physical distancing easy. Workshop participants had pre-cut solid cedar kits waiting for them, with clear directions and expert assembly assistance available; even kids were able to help their parents put together a swallow box, bat box or mason bee house. Swallows and bats are highly effective aerial insectivores, and mason bees (which don’t sting) are excellent pollinators. All are facing threats in our changing world.
“Biologist Dave Stiles and his team were on hand to help out and answer questions. These committed folks will even help homeowners choose suitable locations for their wildlife houses – and if necessary, mount them, too! The kits were a delight – complete and well organized (easier to assemble than anything from Ikea!) and everything fit together perfectly. Special thanks to carpenter Michael Ough, who worked behind the scenes to precut and mark all those pieces. Woodcreek residents are hoping to welcome some happy bats, birds and bees next spring. Well done, everyone!”
Thanks for this contribution, Claire. You may recognize her as the author of Dispatches from Ray’s Planet, a newly released book from Caitlin Press. Her memoir about the complex and remarkable world of her older brother, who is on the autism spectrum, is a fascinating read.
The October meeting of Elphinstone Community Association will be held by Zoom Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. Please contact the ECA email at [email protected] to get the code for the meeting. A guest speaker from Transportation Choices will discuss their recent survey results and as usual, there will be a report from Director Donna.
Let me know of Elphinstone community news at: [email protected]
