Transition Sooke’s final cafe of the 2013/14 season will be a first-Pearson singular afternoon with the District of Sooke’s Land Use and Environment Committee chairman Kevin Pearson.

The fourth-generation Sookie is a life-long local who juggles his career as a senior manager at Canada Post with his responsibilities as a first-term District of Sooke councillor.

We’ve invited Mr. Pearson to join us following a spirited chat at Seedy Saturday during which he cited the importance of local food security in light of the drought that has devasted the California farm belt this winter.

We’re also curious about his thoughts on downtown development, the upcoming election campaign and the possibilities for small-lot forestry operations locally (he began his career as a millwright at the former Sooke Forest Products sawmill on Goodrich Point).

Please join us on Sunday afternoon at the Reading Room Café from 2 to 4 p.m. as usual. Add your voice to the conversation and stick around for as long as you like given the promise of a spectacular first weekend of warm weather.

PS Sincere thanks again to our earlier guests this year – the Sooke Volunteer Centre’s Marlene Barry; Mary Coll and Mary Alice Johnson from the Sooke Farmland Trust Society; and councillor Maja Tait.

Transition Café will return in the fall following the summer break.

 Random Notes, April Calendar & Social Media Highlights

* Sooke Farmland Trust’s Mary Alice Johnson @ the April 7th Transition Café: Outstanding in so many fields over the last quarter century, Mary Alice  is getting her boots muddy again as a founding board member of a new regional trust dedicated to saving farmland and leasing it out to a new generation of farmers. With ALM Farm, the Moss Street Market, Sooke Region Food CHI and Full Circle Seeds in her resume, we’re betting on Johnson and colleagues to make their mark – hopefully by securing such key pieces of the local ALR puzzle as Woodside Farm and the Helgeson Road site of last year’s Village Farm initiative. As ever, the café runs from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Reading Room Café on the first Sunday of the month. http://sookefarmlandtrust.weebly.com.

* Permablitz Update: Transition’s Stephen Hindrichs and permaculture designer Erik Bjornsen have chosen a young family’s home along the Sooke Road just west of Drennan St. as the first site for a TS permablitz project (i.e., the rapid transformation of a fallow frontyard into an organic food garden filled with perennial trees, shrubs and herbs). In the interests of resilience, food security and bountiful harvests, we figure every home should have one, and so this site will serve to demonstrate the possibilities, host occasional workshops and encourage more Sookies to raise food rather than grass and weeds on their front lawns! J Learn more about the concept here http://svipermablitz.com, and stay tuned for a call-out for volunteer labourers later this spring.

* Solar Hot Water Grants Now Available Throughout CRD: Those who’ve looked with envy at the incentives offered by Solar Colwood will be happy to know that financial incentives for solar hot water systems are now available on a first-come-first-served basis throughout the Capital Region. The incentives, announced on April 1, cover up to a third of the cost of a solar hot water system. After incentives, eligible solar systems cost $5,500 on average, or $56 per month, with financing.  To be suitable for solar, a home or business needs to be in a location with little to no shade on the roof. There also has to be between two and five square metres of space available on the roof for the solar panels and space inside for a second hot water tank for solar pre-heated water. Click here to learn more and find a Registered Installer if you intend to keep pace with the Solar City revolution now well underway in T’Sou-ke.

* Admiral’s Forest: Some 150 or so nature and poetry lovers turned out for the Juan de Fuca Community Trust’s A Forest For All Seasons event on March 30. Poet Wendy Morton, who lives just down the road in the 8400 block of the West Coast Road, asked Van Isle poets to contribute appropriate odes to the forest and hung the results along a fern-lined trail beloved by the horsey set. The weather cooperated, and board members like Sid Jorna, Heather Phillips and Anne Bell are confident the campaign to purchase and transform the property into a public space is off to a good start. http://173.248.191.16/~jamesgas/jdf-land-trust/index.php?page=3%20admirals%20forest

* Streetbank Sooke: The local chapter of this global initiative continues to slowly evolve, with nine new members signing up last month and bringing the collective to 59 neighbors living within a 10km radius of one another. Join the club to connect with locals who are offering skill shares, giving away items “free to a good home” and happily lending out their garden equipment, tools, DVDs and books. http://www.streetbank.com

April Calendar

 * Saturday, April 5 – Bluff Mountain hike with the JDF Community Trails Society, 9 a.m. Departs from the Camp Bernard parking lot at the end of Young Lake Road in Otter Point. Pack a lunch for this 8km roundtrip outing, and contact Rosemary Jorna with questions at sid2767@shaw.ca.

– Sooke Chamber of Commerce Awards Gala, 5:30 p.m. ‘til late at the Prestige. Annual big night out for members and friends of the Chamber. We’re happy to report that Transition Sooke has been nominated in the not-for-profit category this year J http://www.sookeregionchamber.com.

* Sunday, April 6 – Transition Café with the Sooke Region Farmland Trust’s Mary Alice Johnson, Reading Room Café, 2 to 4 p.m. Learn more from the (dare we say it? Yes we do!) legendary Ms. Johnson about this new society’s exciting plans to save local farmland, increase food security and encourage new farmers through affordable long-term leases. http://sookefarmlandtrust.weebly.com.

* Wednesday, April 9 – Awareness Film Night @ EMCS, 7 p.m. AFN and the Sierra Club B.C. co-present three short films on the hot-button topic of LNG fracking. The club’s campaign director Caitlin Vernon will speak following the films, and the District of Sooke will present a draft of its Community Energy Emissions Plan (which looks at energy and emissions data for the community and outlines an action plan for reducing greenhouse gases). http://awarenessfilmnight.ca.

* Saturday, April 12 – Family Arts Fair, SEAPARC, 9 a.m. to Noon. The Sooke Community Arts Council has rounded up a dozen local artists to introduce youngsters to painting, crafts, clay art, puppets, dance, yoga and more. Stick barista Garreth Morgan is the morning’s “roving pirate.” http://sookecommunityarts.com/events.

– Volunteer Non-Profit Fair @ Sooke Child, Youth & Family Centre, 2145 Townsend Rd. at CASA, Noon to 3 p.m. The Sooke Volunteer Centre present this third annual opportunity to learn more about the region’s volunteer organizations and perhaps sign up for front-line action with one or more of them. http://www.sookeregionresources.com/event/event-annual/3rd-annual-volunteernon-profit-fair.

* Mon. April 14 and 28th – District of Sooke Council meetings, 7 p.m. at the Municipal Hall. http://www.sooke.ca/EN/main/documents/public_meetings.html.

* Friday, April 18 – The art of food forestry with Richard Walker, Fernwood Community Centre in Victoria, 6:30 p.m. Permaculture BC presents an evening with this esteemed Osoyoos, BC food forester, designer, herbalist and teacher. $15 http://www.permaculturebc.com/node/168

* Friday/Saturday, April 25/26 – Creatively United for the Planet Arts & Sustainability Festival, St. Ann’s Academy, 835 Humboldt St., Victoria. Green Party leader Elizabeth May, artist Nick Bantock and former Earth Day president Jed Goldberg speak on Friday night. Saturday’s agenda includes the Earth Walk starting at Centennial Square at noon along with a keynote from artist Robert Bateman and a session on sacred economics led by Federal MP Murray Rankin and Victoria councillor Lisa Helps. http://creativelyunitedfortheplanet.org/festival.

* Saturday, April 26 – Earth Day plant sales x 2 in Sooke. Pick up this year’s plant starts along with some expert advice in the bargain at the Sooke Garden Club annual plant sale at the Evergreen Mall; and at ALM Farm’s Annual Plant Sale, both from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

* April Miscellaneous – Econews Green Calendar. Guy Dauncy’s one-stop guide to the numerous Transition-minded workshops, talks and special events happening week in, week out across the Victoria region. http://www.earthfuture.com/greendiary

Later in 2014:

* May 3 – Sooke Rotary Club Spring Fair & Auction @ SEAPARC

* June 1 – Sooke Secret Garden Tour

* June 5 – Thursday night Summer Market begins @ Sooke Region Museum

* July – StickFest #7, Stick in the Mud Coffeeshop

* July 13 – Sooke Philharmonic Fling on the Flats

* July 25 – Sooke Fine Arts Show begins

* Sept. 6/7 – 101th annual Sooke Fall Fair + Farm Tour

* Nov. 15 – Municipal election

Selections from last month’s TS social media postings

* Introducing the Sooke Commons @ the Hope Centre: https://www.facebook.com/thesookecommons

* Home stretch for InisHoge’s new farmhouse: http://rlwcf.blogspot.ca

* Incubating business, arts, high-tech and agritourism start-ups in Sooke: http://academicentrepreneur.wordpress.com/2014/02/03/sooke-incubator-and-makerspace-for-art-and-technology-proposal/

* Petition … Keep Big Oil out of B.C. parks http://action.sumofus.org/a/bc-parks-open-oil-gas-mining/?sub=homepage

* Don’t Frack the Law! Why BC’s natural gas plans will kill our climate action targets.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64yOCh4O_yo

* CBC Ideas documentary on the degrowth movement: http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2013/12/10/the-degrowth-paradigm/#igImgId_83174

* One of the films screened at Transition’s Permaculture Video Night at the Little Vienna: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3riW_yiCN5E&app=desktop

* Avatar Grove’s stand-alone neighbour – ‘Big Lonely Doug’: http://www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=753

* DeSmog Canada … “Clearing the PR pollution that clouds the public square” http://desmog.ca

* The way it was: A History of Otter Point, prepared by Arnie Campbell and Elida Peers as a preface for Otter Point’s new Official Community Plan. https://www.crd.bc.ca/docs/default-source/jdf-pdf/otter-point-history-final-feb-2014-with-cover.pdf?sfvrsn=2

* Looks like a promising design for bike commuters, though a bit pricey for now. Solves bus and storage problem! http://www.treehugger.com/bikes/chainless-electric-bike-folds-to-fit-under-desk.html …

* Know your brand propaganda 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YBtspm8j8M#t=48

For regularly updated news and items of interest, please join us online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Transition-Sooke/149407388458820

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SookeTransition

Happy trails, spring is sprung! (final photo courtesy of Cedona Holly)

T-Town Sooke

Great chance to learn more about what’s happening locally and talk shop with District of Sooke staff and councillors this afternoon and early evening at the Community Hall, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.  

“Are you interested in learning what is happening in your community? Then join the District of Sooke Council and staff at the Spring Community Open House. Residents will have an opportunity to talk to Council and staff on current municipal projects and initiatives, including:

•Proposed Sunriver playing fields
•DRAFT Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP)
•Connector Road Project update
•Proposed 2014 – 2018 Five Year Financial Plan
•New Sooke Emergency Plan
•Tsunami Signage
•Boat Launch Management Survey
•RCMP – Citizens on Patrol and Speedwatch
•Sooke Community Health Initiative
•Mayor’s Public Advisory Panel on Arts & Beautification (including Communities in Bloom)
•Town Centre Design Guidelines
•And much more …” 

Screened at Sooke’s Awareness Film Night shortly after its release in the fall of 2012, the latest acclaimed documentary from the Transition Network is now available for free viewings online. In Transition 2.0 is director Emma Goude’s inspirational immersion into this global movement back to sanity, sustainability and old-fashioned community fun. As she writes: “The film gathers stories from around the world of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. You’ll hear about communities printing their own money, growing food everywhere, localising their economies and setting up community power stations. It’s an idea that has gone viral, a social experiment that is about responding to uncertain times with solutions and optimism. In a world that is awash with gloom, here is a story of hope, ingenuity and the power of growing vegetables in unexpected places.”

Click on the photo below for anytime presentations of this wonderful 66-minute film.

Transition Sooke Newsletter – February 2014

Get out your daytimers, and off we go …

*  Sunday, Feb. 2 from 2 to 4 p.m. – Transition Café with guest Maja Tait:  We’re delighted to report that councillor Maja Tait has accepted an invitation to again join us at the Reading Room Café.  A long-time champion of Transition values, she’s happy to field questions about any matter of civic interest – the connector road, the Sooke Disposal debate, Smart Growth principles, amalgamation with the CRD and/or the tourism upsides of mountain biking. The latter is her current passion, and she’ll likely be arriving at the café with a bright smile and a spattering of mud after navigating Sacred Mountain’s forested runs.

* Mon., Feb. 3 – Committee of the Whole Meeting re: Sooke’s Emergency Plan: The first of the month’s meetings at the Municipal Hall begins at 6 p.m. Check out the full council and committee schedule here: http://www.sooke.ca/EN/main/documents/public_meetings.html.

* Wed., Feb. 5 – Sooke Food CHI’s Annual General Meeting: The society’s sixth AGM and potluck get-together is set for next Wednesday at the Sooke Harbour House starting at 7:30 p.m. Anita Wasiuta and the board will be discussing a draft three-year action plan that evolved from a remarkable strategy session held back in November. Go online to read the plan and provide feedback through a survey: http://sookefoodchi.ca/involved.

* Mon., Feb. 10 in Victoria – Farmland Protection Coalition rally at the BC Legislature starting at noon: A family oriented rally to show support for the Agricultural Land Reserve and increased food security on the Island. https://www.facebook.com/events/767592009936510.

* Wed. Feb. 12 – Awareness Film Night: Halfway through her 19th AFN season, Jo Phillips presents an Island-made documentary about the harsh realities of the residential school system and its lasting impact on First Nations peoples today.  Kuper Island: Return to the Healing Circle will be followed by a post-screening talk with filmmaker Peter Campbell and former residential school students Alex Nelson and Belvie Brebber. Also on hand will be Kwagiulth artist Carey Newman to speak about his Witness blanket art project. EMCS @ 7 p.m. http://awarenessfilmnight.ca.

* Thurs. Feb. 20 – Harbourside Cohousing information session:  Meet some of the members of Sooke’s exciting new strata-title cohousing venture (now more than 2/3rds of the way to a full house) and learn about their vision of consensus community living. Free admission to the 1 p.m. session at Harbourside’s Common House at 6669 Horne Road (look for the new sign above the door). For more information: www.harbourside.ca, and please RSVP to info@harbourside.ca.

* Saturday, Feb. 22 – Seedy Saturday: Mary Alice Johnson, Jessica Boquist and their Sooke Food CHI colleagues are again hosting their annual seed exchange at the Community Hall, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This year’s theme focuses on family farms, and there will again be a wide array of vendors selling seeds, plant starts and artisanal food. Drop by the Transition Sooke table to say hello to core team members Yvonne Court and Blake Barton along with our volunteers Dave Court and Carolyn Bateman. Pick up seeds from Sofie’s garden, and get inspired about composting and plastic recycling. http://sookefoodchi.ca/events/seedysaturday/

Random Notes

* Sooke spotlight on Peak Moment TV:  Transition’s Stephen and Lee Hindrichs hosted the team from the online, Nextworld TV-style channel Peak Moment last week during their visit to town. Watch for videoclips on the Sooke Harbour House and Steve Unger/Mary Coll’s InishOge Farm in the coming weeks.  http://peakmoment.tv/journal/inishoge-farm-storing-warmth-and-real-wealth.

* Well wishes to the Juan de Fuca Community Land Trust Society: A group of Otter Point notables (Sid Jorna, Heather Phillips, Arnie Campbell and Margo Swinburnson included) are working towards purchasing and preserving the Admiral’s Forest, a 65-acre “made-to-order” seaside park in Otter Point with established trails and mature, second-growth forest. http://www.jdflandtrust.ca.

* Compost Education Centre: Transition Sooke has touched base with the Victoria-based centre about the possibility of bringing a workshop to town later this spring. In addition to a crash course on composting basics, the centre also offers deep-discount prices on essential tools – composter ($35), digester ($35), worm bin with worms ($25) and wingdigger ($7) included. We’ll let you know when and if it happens.

For regularly updated news and items of interest, please join us on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Transition-Sooke/149407388458820

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SookeTransition

Happy trails.

T-Town Sooke

The latest Transition Sooke newsletter arrived in email boxes this morning. If you’d like to subscribe, please send a request to sooketransition@gmail.com.

In the meantime, view it here and learn about Transition Sooke’s Nov. 17 presentation of Frankenfood whistleblower Dr. Thierry Vrain at the Sooke Harbour House (2 p.m.) as well as updates on Harbourside Cohousing and the local debate over the fate of Sooke Disposal + announcements about Awareness Film Night (Nov. 10) and the next Transition Town Cafe (this coming Sunday @ 2 p.m. at the Reading Room) + a note on Chris Hedges’ important book The Death of the Liberal Class. As ever, the newsletter’s a good, breezy & informative read assembled and circulated monthly by editor Sofie Hagens.

Are you getting Transition Sooke’s monthly electronic newsletter? If not, please subscribe by sending an email to sooketransition@gmail.com. In the meantime, check out the June/July edition recently sent out by editor Sofie Hagens by clicking on this link. It features a lead article on permaculture along with info about the upcoming Sooke Farm Tour (Sunday, Aug. 18), a calendar of local markets and public meetings, a quiz about the size of your ecological footprint and much else

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