Random Notes, June Calendar & Social Media Highlights

* Save the date: TS will host a summer potluck picnic for members, friends and families on the afternoon of Sunday, August 3 at Steve Unger and Mary Coll’s idyllic Inishoge Farm on Helgeson Road. It’s a truly breathtaking piece of countryside, locally famous as the 130-acre dairy, sheep and goat farm run by the late Tom and Jane Lunsen. Steve and Mary have settled in and worked wonders in the last few years, and we’re all invited to wander the land and tour their new farmhouse (http://rlwcf.blogspot.ca). Stay tuned for more details as the day approaches. BTW, the Coll/Unger gang (young Chloe and Finn included) are now selling their farm-raised pork and turkey sausages at the Sooke Country Market on Saturdays.

* Our Transition Cafe is now on hiatus until the fall (and it’s our fault a listing saying differently appeared in the Sooke News Mirror calendar last week). Sooke councillor Kevin Pearson joined us last month in concluding a third season of casual, small-group get-togethers launched by Transition’s Margaret Critchlow and John Boquist back in 2011. Thanks to those who turned out rain or shine, as well as Kathe and her team at the Reading Room and our special guests these last few months – Mr. Pearson, Maja Tait, Marlene Barry, Mary Alice Johnson and Mary Coll.

 

* The second of three opportunities to pitch your ideas about potential senior, youth and “maker” (arts) centres in town is set for Saturday, June 14 at EMCS, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sooke CHI’s Marlene Barry and the EMCS Society’s Ebony Logins are spearheading the “Getting It Built” study in advance of a referendum borrowing question on the subject slated for the November ballot. Keeners can do their homework ahead of time by reading the Sooke Senior Drop-In Centre and Youth Engagement Project documents at http://www.sookeregionresources.com/links. A third meeting will be held at the Sooke Child, Youth & Family Centre on July 9.

 

* Terry Dance-Bennink, regional organizer for the Dogwood Initiative’s No Tankers campaign, is assembling a street team in the Sooke area. With Ottawa expected to make a decision on the Enbridge pipeline by mid-June, the time is now if you’ve got some energy to spare. Terry can be reached at tmdance@shaw.ca or by phone, 250.222.6834.http://dogwoodinitiative.org/no-tankers/learn-more

* Our local hero of the month is Diane Bernard, who stepped forward at two recent council meetings to document how thoroughly the CRD has already rejected (through 2021 at least) any possibility of ATV access to the Sooke hills via Harbourview. Cheers also to Mayor Milne and Maja Tait for not backing Herb Haldane’s motion seeking further clarification on the subject from the Ministry of Forests. (And yes, that motion was passed in a 5 to 2 vote.) As Ms. Bernard noted, enough public time, energy and money has been spent on this subject already. Sid Jorna of the JDF Community Trails Society and former federal  Environment Minister David Anderson also spoke eloquently and persuasively against ATV access to our still pristine watershed.

* Following last month’s gripe, we’re pleased to report the District’s Climate Action Change Committee is scheduled to meet this coming Thursday at 3:30 p.m. at the Municipal Hall. TS past-president Michael Tacon has joined the committee, which also includes another of our core team members, Andrew Moore, as a representative of the T’Sou-ke First Nation. The public’s welcome to attend. Check out Sooke’s Community Energy and Emissions Plan here: http://www.sooke.ca/wp-content/uploads/plans/Community-Energy-and-Emissions-Plan.pdf. (On a related good-news subject, CAO Gord Howie and planner Tara Johnson are recommending tax breaks for downtown developers who follow Built Green building codes.http://www.builtgreencanada.ca/).

 

June Calendar

* Sunday, June 1 – Sooke Secret Garden Tour http://www.sookesecretgardens.com/

* Wed., June 4 – Juan de Fuca Community Land Trust AGM, 7:30 p.m. at the JDF area planning office in Sooke Business Park off Otter Pt. Road. http://www.jdflandtrust.ca/

* Thurs., June 5 – Debut of the summer market at the Sooke Region Museum, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday nights until Sept. 4. http://www.sookeregionmuseum.com/night_market_guidelines.pdf

* Sat., June 7 – Juan de Fuca Community Trails Society hike along the Harrison Trail, meet in the Charters River parking lot off Sooke River Road at 9 a.m. for car pooling. All welcome. Contact Rosemary Jorna at 250.642.2767 for more information.

 – The Kitchen Garden: How to Grow Your Own Food All Year, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Royal Roads University with Otter Point poet/cook/gardener Wendy Morton. http://cstudies.royalroads.ca/courses/GLHO3342-Y13.htm

* Mon., June 9 and June 23 – District of Sooke council meetings at the Municipal Hall, 7 p.m.

* Sat., June 14 – “Getting It Built” Community Centre Project, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Edward Milne Community School.

– JDF Electoral Area Parks & Recreation hike from Priest’s Cabin to the Matterhorn, meet in the parking lot at the Sooke Business Park at 9 a.m. for car pooling. Phone Sid Jorna at 250.642.2767 for details.

* Sat., June 28 – Tar Sands Healing Walk, 1 to 4 p.m., meet at the Delta Ocean Point Hotel in Victoria, arriving at First Metropolitan United at 3:30. A multi-faith initiative in solidarity with First Nations and the Keepers of the Athabasca’s Tar-Sands Healing Walk taking place the same day in Fort McMurray. http://www.keepersofthewater.ca/athabasca

 

Selections from last month’s TS social media postings …

* A technology that can power the future of the whole freaking planet (and so appealing that it has earned a record Crowdsourced investment, so not the least far-fetched) … http://ecowatch.com/2014/05/19/clean-energy-solar-roadways-video-viral/

* Excellent blog for those curious about the promise and potential of “the collaborative economy honeycomb” http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/category/collaborative-economy/

* “Emphasizing the importance of shellfish aquaculture, community fisheries, marine-based renewable energy and marine tourism – a $3 billion annual industry based on a healthy ocean.” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCjGVBohEjc&feature=youtu.be

* Hope Centre on course for an early August opening … http://homeforhope.ca/2013/01/02/hope-centre/

* We Heart Horgan – http://www.vancouversun.com/news/John+Horgan+acclaimed+leader/9797953/story.html

* Recommended ‘like’ – Vancouver Island Spine Trail Association – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vancouver-Island-Spine-Trail-Association-VISTA/143042789203