Amazing Places

This week we’re trying something different. As you might have noticed, we sometimes like to try new things. We like to stretch our wings a little. But we get it, change might not be your thing. That’s okay. Sometimes we need time to adjust. So if you aren’t into this week’s style of podcast, that’s okay. Come back next week, when we promise, we’ll return to our usual broadcasting format. ;)

Today is Earth Day. Instead of talking about whatever, we decided to let the earth, and nature, do the talking. By collecting audio clips over the last week or two, we’ve compiled a little listening journey through some local nature spots.

If you notice, though, even when deep in the woods, or in the middle of a park or beach, the sounds of humans crash through the reverie. Someone is jackhammering next to a park, someone is building something, and then there’s often the constant drone of vehicles. This isn’t a rant against any of those. It is cause, however, for wondering how can we escape the noise and hustle and bustle, when it’s all around us? We have Dark Sky parks (not enough of them!), is there a way to have Quiet parks? Just some thoughts to consider.

So sit back and relax, and take a listen to some sounds of earth and nature. WARNING: the first 3 clips are loud, so we suggest that you turn down your volume initially and adjust accordingly.

Wednesday’s windstorm blowing through the trees on the top of Mt Tolmie

During this week’s storm, the wind was louder than the waves at Island View Beach

Little birds in trees and hedges in a Saanich neighbourhood

Crows taking a bath in Bowker Creek in Oak Bay! That’s the splashing and flapping sounds you hear

In the forest next to a quiet part of Graham Creek in Centennial Park in Saanichton, and some quiet birds

A bubbling section of the Bowker Creek tributary, in Cedar Hill Park

A burbling section of the same creek with a variety of birds in the background

A woodpecker and other birds in the copse in Cedar Hill Park, off Ocean View Rd

Waves and birds on the beach at Cadboro Bay

Birds in a forest at Saanichton

Birds in a tree in Gyro Park

Ducks in a pond and birds in the hedgerow, next to Gyro Park

Waves and birds and a jackhammer at Caddy Bay Beach

Rain falling on a shed, and on a window frame leaning nearby, Saanich

Birds and creek at Cedar Hill Park, next to the ball diamond

Finally, what could be more appropriate than making sounds on the EARTH DRUMS? Located at Cedar Hill Park, the 3 large “box drums”, by artist and carver Carey Newman, are intended to be played with the hand, and create reverberations below human hearing that resonate into the ground, making music of, and for, the earth.

Happy Earth Day.

For 159 years, neither wars nor pandemics have stopped the venerable Victoria Highland Games from happening each year. We’re fortunate to have Carl Jensen, the former Athletic Director of the Games, and current Central Saanich Councillor, give us an overview of what to expect next month.

The Victoria Highland Games and Celtic Festival is a premier event that takes place Saturday May 21st and Sunday May 22nd at Topaz Park in Victoria. There are so many events that weekend - and a special parade and preview event the weekend before - so you’ll want to take a listen and block out those dates on your calendar! In true Scottish fashion, the Games and Festival will take place rain or shine.

A born storyteller, let Carl entertain you with his personal story of serendipity - thanks Peninsula News Review - and an overview of the Scottish athletic events taking place that holiday weekend. As he mentions, you can participate as well: click here for general details, and click here for how you can participate as an athlete.

You don’t have to be Scottish to attend, to participate, or to enjoy - as Carl says, everybody can be Scottish for the weekend!

This week we sat down with Heather Gartshore, Councillor with the District of North Saanich to talk about accessibility on the Saanich Peninsula, and what sparked the new Saanich Peninsula Accessibility Advisory Committee.

Previous to the pandemic, there had been an annual Access Awareness Day held in Sidney. Last year, Councillor Terri O'Keeffe from the Town of Sidney, reached out to others on ways to move forward.

The group that formed, Councillor O’Keeffe, Councillor Gartshore, Councillor Gord Newton from the Municipality of Central Saanich, North Saanich resident Charlene Froom, Central Saanich resident Dave Willows, and Jennifer Van Es from Beacon Community Services, met informally. Recognising that people with disabilities experience barriers that limit their participation in our communities, and that their needs are not always understood by local governments, the group hammered out a framework on how to work together to improve conditions for people on the Peninsula.

In October of last year, the three Councillors involved, took a Notice of Motion forward to their respective Councils. All three Councils supported the initiative, staff reports were prepared, Terms of Reference were written, and staff reported back in March of this year, with applications now open for this tri-municipal advisory committee.

The focus for SPAAC will be on improving livability, accessibility, and inclusion; with the purpose of providing comments and recommendations on policies, infrastructure, programmes, services, built environments, and outdoor spaces.

As Heather points out, it’s about ongoing awareness of people with disabilities in our communities, and “changing the culture”.

The provincial Accessible BC Act was brought in, June 2021. This new Act establishes a legal framework to identify, remove, and prevent barriers for people with disabilities. (plain language version)

Heather notes that although the regulatory piece of legislation is not yet in place, it appears the regulations will require municipalities to do this work, so then the 3 Peninsula local governments are actually ahead of the curve. This, combined with the co-operation between 3 government bodies, is pretty amazing in itself!

The Advisory Committee citizen representative positions are open to those living with a disability or supporting someone with a disability. The deadline is April 9th, at 4pm. Applications can be found on the individual municipal websites.

We met on a gloriously sunny day, on a gravel patio at a busy local cafe in North Saanich near the airport - hence the background noise from happy customers, birds, planes, crunchy footfalls on gravel, etc. It didn't seem noisy to us at the time, but apparently our super-mics picked up everything. We hope it doesn't distract you too much, but you can check out Fickle Fig for yourself! Thanks for listening.

Our lucky 13th episode of Season 2 takes us to Oak Bay.

At the confluence of school district land and municipal land, lies a section of daylighted and restored Bowker Creek. It’s here that we met Sidney Hurst, proud builder of the 600th Little Free Library in the Greater Victoria Placemaking Network.

While talking about the 600th little library - named "Bowker Creek Books" - was our initial reason for reaching out to her, it was refreshing to sit down with a such a knowledgeable, eager, and community-minded young person.

To say that Sidney is passionate about books and literacy is a bit of an understatement - she’s been writing a book review blog since she was 10yrs old! We haven’t heard of many 10 year old bloggers, and especially about books. She also has a goodreads page.

By the time she reached 15, she apparently didn’t have enough of books, so she made her first little library in her front yard. She has diverse tastes in reading, so while her favourites may change, her go-to book is "The Lie Tree" by Frances Hardinge.

As part of the BC Grade 12 curriculum, students are required to have a Capstone Project. It's an opportunity for students to demonstrate their cumulative learning in a particular topic they're interested in, and Sidney wanted something that reflected literacy and sustainability. She followed those interests and decided on a little library close to her school, Oak Bay High. After researching and learning the process involved, she worked with her school principal to install one in a tranquil spot next to Bowker Creek, between Oak Bay High, Oak Bay Recreation, and Oak Bay Public Works Yard. Tranquil yet busy, with connecting pathways and nearby sports: playing fields, tennis bubble, basketball court, skate park, running track, and rec centre!

A Grade 12 student at Oak Bay High, Sidney is also taking UVIC classes, and volunteering in the community, with additional interests in literacy, sustainability, PoliSci, and law. Despite her interest in politics, she’s not interested in running for political office herself at this time; “Never say never”. She is however, involved federally by volunteering, and encouraging young people to get involved in politics and the political system.

What else is ahead for this bright young teen? She’s looking forward to more placemaking that engages the community and the school.

If you can’t get enough of books, we highly recommend you check out Sidney's Instagram for books beautifully presented and descriptively reviewed.

(Apologies for the uneven audio in a couple of places - we’re still working on perfecting the lavalier mic.)

We’ve changed it up this week! Haven’t we all spent enough time inside? We sure have, so we decided to go outside and explore an amazing place.

Come along as we wander through Centennial Park in Saanichton. Established in 1958, this park covers 18.42 hectares/45.5 acres is a green jewel in the heart of Central Saanich. An accessible park with something for everyone, it has everything from sports to forest to picnics to hiking to relaxing and contemplating life.

Speculate with us as to what lies in the deep tree root hole. Hmmm…? Meet the cute Bernadoodle, Kipper, who even has his own Instagram account (@kipperthebernedoodle). Pick up some Alpaca wool from Sea Dog Farm, go for a swing, or relax to the sounds of Graham Creek. We spent almost 2 hours just wandering, and hope that you'll be inspired to get outside in any weather and go wander. 

Please let us know what you think - do you have a special wander that you’d like to share? Would you like us to come on a wander with you, and you can tell us what makes your wander an amazing place?

Check out our social media accounts for photos and videos.

LFLs: Community Hubs and Coral Reefs

When is a Little Free Library like a coral reef? When Teale Phelps Bondaroff explains the role that libraries play in our local neighbourhoods, as they form hubs that attract the community. 

Teale is on the Board of the Greater Victoria Placemaking Network, is a Principal with The Idea Tree Consulting, and the current Lead on the Pocket Places Project. Started in 2017, the Project has overseen the mapping, building, promoting, and stocking of little libraries in our area.

He sees LFLs as a form of placemaking and “placemaking is softening the hard edges of a city”. So much more than books, these pocket places of community have expanded to include puzzles, games, toys, seeds, poetry centres, bulletin boards, art supplies, mini art galleries, and plants!

Factoid: To date, the Project has stocked 57,059 books to little libraries throughout the Capital Region, with 30,000 of those being delivered by bike trailer! 

Did you know that there’s even a Bingo Card  that you can play as you visit these creative and whimsical book boxes? Join us as we talk about that and no-risk blind dating, learn where the “Swiss Army knife” of little libraries is located, and which streets have 5 - count ‘em FIVE -  libraries on them!

If you’re inspired to know more, or want to get involved in a little library in your neighbourhood, find info here.  

To further explore Happy City, the book that Teale references, check out @HappyCitiesTeam on Twitter and @happy.cities on Instagram. To pick up a copy, please consider supporting our local booksellers: Munro’s Books, Bolen Books, Russell Books, and if you’re listening in the Lower Mainland: Massy Books.

Thanks for listening!

What’s New In North Quadra? 

Is this week’s episode about the North Quadra Community Association, or about Beckwith Park? Both figure prominently as we talk to the new NQCA President, Trevor Barry. He joins us to talk about what’s new and what’s happening in their area.

Speaking of new, Michele gets reminded that the new term for the Saanich Public Works Yard, is now the Saanich Operations Centre, as we touch on what’s possibly changing at that location.

We talk about leadership, and how to encourage that within a community association - supporting people in their strengths.

Trevor also lets us in on what’s coming up for their group and the whole community, and why you should mark May 15th in your calendar! He also gives a shout-out to the Oaklands Community Association, taking an idea out of their neighbourhood ideas playbook.

Find out more.

Contact Trevor: President @ NorthQuadra . ca

So we're turning the tables and we're flipping the script on the original Amazing Places Podcast host this week.

After a few months of shows on her own, Michele has invited Dean Murdock back to the podcast. This time he's here as the spokesperson for Better Mobility Saanich. This community-based group advocates for improving mobility in Saanich, to have it a more mobility-friendly place for all - from children to seniors, and through all modes of travel.

We touch on CBC comedy, and the possibility of doing a parenting humour podcast.

Plus, Dean has a surprise announcement up his sleeve, so stay tuned as we get the scoop on what he's up to!

If you haven't yet heard of Basil Langevin, Amazing Places is happy to introduce you.

Basil has been leading an LGBT non-profit for seven years, and is an amazing advocate for safer streets and active transportation models.

A multi-faceted individual, he does a lot of behind-the-scenes work in our community, from research on traffic safety, to pulling invasive species and planting native species. In conversation, Basil brings facts and strategies on ways to improve our municipality.

Check his posts on Twitter at @BasilLangevin, and be sure to watch for his website - BasilLangevin.ca - debuting on Monday, February 28th!

Join us for a chat about current issues in Saanich, that apply across the CRD, and learn more about this up-and-coming local resident.

(The tree "giveaway" that I refer to is the annual Saanich Parks tree programme for National Tree Day. Learn more about taking care of your trees.) 

An educator and facilitator at the University of Victoria, an online instructor at the University of BC, an associate faculty at Royal Roads University, a changemaker in the community, and a human rights and equity advocate in Canada, Dr Moussa Magassa brings his quiet wisdom to Amazing Places.

He shares with us the concept of Ubuntu, and how it shapes his personal belief system. Humans and humanity are also at the core of how Moussa interacts with the world: ‘Celebration is because we have people to celebrate with’.

In this month of February, designated as Black History Month, Moussa reminds us that Black history, recognition, and excellence is not only one month. Bringing light and enlightenment, his work as a change-maker includes all of us in our communities.

We talk about going to space and making space; and for the 2nd week in a row, Mahatma Gandhi gets a shout-out!