Events, food security No comments yet

Food Scraps Drop Spot ready to expand with your help-community composting

By on May 8th, 2012

This coming Saturday morning – May 12th around 10AM , there will be an informal ‘stand up’  meeting in the little park directly in front of Gordon Neighbourhood House for those residents interested in forming Drop Spot clusters for Composting in the Vancouver West End.

For the past few months on Saturday mornings @ Gordon Neighbourhood House there has been a Food Scraps/Compost program initiated by Louise Schwarz – The Recycling Alternative.
This program has been met with tremendous success and has substantially reduced the amount of waste that goes into our already overburdened landfills. This speaks volumes about the passion and commitment of West End residents in making our city and country a greener place to live and for our future generations. This also speaks volumes about the need for the expansion of this type of program especially for the multi family dwellings of the West End.

For More Info contact:

Sandra Goodridge
Coordinator, Neighbourhood Small Grants Project 2012
Gordon Neighbourhood House   www.gordonhouse.org
1019 Broughton Street, Vancouver BC V6G 2A7

Tel 604 683 2554

climate change, Transportation No comments yet

StopCoal.ca stopped 5 coal trains and arrested stopping the 6th

By on May 6th, 2012


Message from STOPCoal.ca

Yesterday we prevented 5 BNSF coal trains from entering BC to unload coal at Westshore Terminals. We physically stopped a 6th train on the tracks at White Rock BC at 6 pm, at which point 14 good citizens were arrested for violating a court order not to interfere with BNSF operations.

Here’s what was involved: 14 people willing to risk arrest to stand up for what they believe in. The support of prominent people like Bill McKibben, James Hansen and Mark Jaccard, who were ready to speak up in advance and say this is the right thing to do. A stoked-up group of supporters who, through their actions, helped set a tone for the day that was peaceful, creative and hopeful, but also focused and determined. A network of people in Washington State keeping us abreast of train movements. One Twitter account.

That’s all it took to stop Warren Buffett in his tracks for a full day — a very important day for him personally. We were all overwhelmed by how beautifully everything unfolded. It all seemed a bit unreal at days end — but that may have been because of the sunburn, dehydration and overall exhaustion. Still, on a sunny Sunday morning, anything seems possible.
We were never worried about our physical safety because everything was planned out carefully and announced in advance. Our interactions with the police were incredible – respectful, candid and ongoing throughout the day. The White Rock detachment of the RCMP worked hard all day in the interest of public safety while also acknowledging our right to peacefully stand up for what we believe in. It was a good day to be a Canadian citizen.

That 100 car coal train we stopped in White Rock did reach the port eventually, but it did so under the watchful eye of hundreds of onlookers and media crews. Warren Buffett’s arrangement to ship dirty Wyoming coal to Jimmy Pattison’s port — the biggest exporter of global warming pollution in North America — is firmly in the public eye. We’ve started to connect the dots between coal exports and climate change. This is just the beginning.

Thank you everyone who took part!
StopCoal.ca

Check out our twitter feed for live updates from the day and please link to your images through facebook for everyone to see:

twitter: @stopcoalBC
facebook: I can’t believe BC exports that much coal!

Events, planning No comments yet

Home: an exploration of what makes the West End Unique

By on May 5th, 2012



More photos of the walk
Guided Walk
I am helping my friend Christine with this Jane’s Walk of the West End.

Sunday, May 6, 2012
10:30 am
Meet at the front of the West End Community Centre

**This walking tour is part of the City of Vancouver, Museum of Vancouver and Spacing Vancouver’s special Jane’s Walk series.**

Join local resident Christine Ackermann and architect Graham McGarva to explore what makes the West End unique. A City of Vancouver planner will be on hand to answer questions about the West End Community Planning process and discuss opportunities to get involved.

Some of the walk will drawn from ideas from a WERA community workshop entitled “What makes the West End Great”.

There was a document produced from the workshop and it can be viewed here:What makes the West End Great

For more information on the West End Community Plan including opportunities to get involved, please visit West End Plan

climate change, Transportation, Uncategorized No comments yet

SFU Professor Mark Jaccard to block the rails in White Rock to stop a coal shipment

By on May 3rd, 2012

Just in from Stopcoal.ca

For Immediate Release:

May 3 2012

Mark Jaccard, Canada’s leading energy-environment economist, released the following public statement today in support of the citizen action to stop BNSF coal trains at White Rock BC this Saturday, May 5.  Full details on this act of civil disobedience at stopcoal.ca/Action

Dr Jaccard is a professor of sustainable energy in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University. He has won the Nobel Peace Prize as a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Donner Prize for top policy book in Canada with his book Sustainable Fossil Fuels and the BC Academic of the Year Prize. He is Convening Lead Author for Sustainable Energy Policy with the upcoming Global Energy Assessment, an initiative of the world’s leading experts in sustainable energy.  He is the former Chair and CEO of the BC Utilities Commission. Continue reading SFU Professor Mark Jaccard to block the rails in White Rock to stop a coal shipment →

City of Vancouver, Democratic Reform, Vancouver City Council No comments yet

What is the NPA hiding? Why did NPA Council Candidate not file “Financing Disclosure Statement”?

By on May 1st, 2012


Update: Tuesday May 8, 2012 from Councilor Geoff Meggs:Mr. Meggs website:
This just in: the NPA’s Francis Wong, so late filing his campaign finance disclosure that he is barred from running the next election, has now submitted his statements after all. Add $34,812 to the NPA’s total spending of $3.1 million.

Also circulated to the City Clerk, Mayor and council: an apology and a $500 penalty payment for late filing. Wong’s failure to file in time was disclosed at last week’s council meeting. He also missed the deadline for filing with a penalty payment, resulting in his prohibition from running in 2014. Continue reading What is the NPA hiding? Why did NPA Council Candidate not file “Financing Disclosure Statement”? →

City of Vancouver, Transportation, Vancouver City Council 1 comment

Should the City of Vancouver build its own streetcar system?

By on April 30th, 2012


What if every time one paid for parking in Vancouver the money you spent went to lay track and buy cars in a street railway system? It may seem far-fetched but it could happen. Currently in the “Parking Reserve Fund” there is $28 million and some of these dollars could fund a lot of track and cars.

Remember during the Olympics when the streetcar was running between Granville Island and the Olympic Village Canadian Line stop? It was a real treat to take a  ride on this little line. I rode it every chance I could.

Did you know that there is a right of way for a railway system that has be laid out to run from Granville Island to Coal Harbour? Imagine if we had a streetcar route through Stanley Park and up Davie St. to the Canadian Line at the Round House? Wow, this would be a transit game changer. What a tourist attraction and what an improvement to the Vancouver transit experience! Check out this map on the City’s website. Continue reading Should the City of Vancouver build its own streetcar system? →

Art: brent granby's visual art No comments yet

Landscape and memory

By on April 27th, 2012

The VW Bug

It is not an actual memory that I have, but a reconstructed one that was passed down to me from parents. I must have been 3 years old and my parents owned a VW bug. I still have memories of the smells of that car. I don’t know what it is about those cars, but they all smell the same. If I get in a bug now the smell brings me back to my childhood being in the back seat of that car. VW bugs, zippo lighters and Rothman cigarettes are my earliest memories.

The car was white with a red interior. No seat belts. Now in our uber-safety conscious mind it scares me to think that my sister and I rode in this car. That was the way the world was then. Continue reading Landscape and memory →

City of Vancouver, planning No comments yet

The West End community planning process is launching!

By on April 23rd, 2012


West End Community Plan

The West End Planning Team is about to begin a community-wide discussion about the future of the West End.

The West End community planning process will be an 18-21 month initiative to bring the community together to shape a new community plan for the West End. Continue reading The West End community planning process is launching! →

Events No comments yet

Photos from Earth Day: parade on the Drive and ivy busting in Stanley Park

By on April 23rd, 2012


More Photos

Events No comments yet

Two events for Earth Day-Sunday April 22, 2012

By on April 20th, 2012


What are you going to be doing on Earth Day this year? Here are Two fun events that I know about for Sunday.

More Photos from Earth Day

Earth Day Ivy Busters in Stanley Park with MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert

Sunday, April 22, 2012
1 pm – 3:30 pm
Meet at the Stanley Park Pavilion

This event is going to be a lot of work, but the personal sense of accomplishment from contributing to a worth while project would be pretty high.

Spencer Chandra Herbert, MLA for Vancouver West End and former Vancouver Park Board Commissioner is promoting an event to improve the habitat of Stanley Park by removing invasive plants. Ivy Busters is a long-term project of Stanley Park Ecology Society of which trains volunteers to remove ivy from the park.

Spencer is pitching in to recruit volunteers to help with this project on Earth Day this Sunday and has created a Facebook Event for folks to join.

The project is described in the following way on the Facebook Event:

Stanley Park’s natural habitats are being overtaken by invasive plants!

Join Stanley Park Ecology Society, and MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert for an enjoyable afternoon of habitat restoration this Earth Day, April 22nd from 1 to 330.
Be prepared for the weather, to get dirty, and to get physical out in the woods of BC’s favourite park. And please invite a friend!

For more info contact Greg: stewardship@stanleyparkecology.ca 604-718-6547.


“The Most Fun You Ever Had Saving the Planet”

Another great event on Earth Day is being organized by some high schools students who have formed a group called Youth 4 Climate Justice Now.

Here is Straight Story about the group:Stright article


Youth 4 Climate Justice Now is organizing a parade and then a celebration that will start at the Grandview Hwy and Commercial Drive just North of the Sky Train Station to Grandview Park. I went to event similar to this last year and it was a lot of fun and there where loads of folks there. Here my photos from last year:2011 Earth Day photos

There is also a Facebook Event for this and one can join here:Facebook

On Facebook the event is described by the organizers in the following manner:

It is our hope to recapture the roots of earth day as a celebration and a vehicle for environmental action. The parade event will be a celebration of positive change with a focus on global warming and social justice. Our goal is to fill the streets with thousands(!) of people so please bring your family, friends, dogs, cats, hop on your bike, create banners or dress up in costumes… lets make this day a memorable one!

There is also a petition one can sign on the issue of pipe lines and the tar sands here:Stop Tanker Petition