Vol. 27 No. 10 October 2013 www.burnsidegorge.ca

Community NewsBurnside Gorge

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BGCA Celebrates 20-Year Employment Anniversary

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13th Annual Gorge Waterway Cleanup a Success

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OctOber bGcA clOsuresThe Burnside Gorge Community Centre will be

closed for the Thanksgiving long weekend from Saturday, Oct 12 to Monday, Oct 14. Regular hours and programs will resume on Tuesday, Oct 15.

Please also note the Community Family Dinner program and Parent & Tot will be closed Thursday, Oct 31st. These drop-in programs will resume on Nov 7.

bGcN GOes bi-MONthlyWe are enhancing the Burnside Gorge Commu-

nity News and moving to a bi-monthly publication schedule. Stay tuned for the November/December issue.

Oct 5: FrieNds OF ceceliA rAviNe

Join us Saturday, Oct 5 between 10am-12pm for a work party in the beautiful Cecelia Ravine Park to remove invasive species and monitor natural areas.

We will meet at the Community Centre at 10am; please dress appropriately for the weather. Snacks and refreshments will be available after the work party.

Call Rachel O’Neill at 250-388-5251 for more info.

Oct 5: clOthiNG swApJoin us for our free monthly clothing swap on

Saturday, Oct 5 between 10am-12pm. No need to bring something to take something. Clean and gently used clothing accepted. Call 250-388-5251 for more info.

wANted: hAllOweeN cOstuMes

Have your kids outgrown their Halloween cos-tumes? Donate your clean and gently used cos-tumes to the Community Centre for families in need. All sizes for toddlers, children and youth are welcome. Call Theresa James-Bates at 250-388-5251 for more info.

Oct 25: MONster MAshMash it up at our Halloween carnival and fam-

ily dance between 5:30-7pm on Friday, Oct 25. Start the event with carnival style games then

mash it up on the dance floor. An event filled with costumes, activities and spooky fun for everyone!

$2/person; $5/family (up to 4 immediate family members) and $2/additional family member. Call 250-388-5251 for more info.

By Geraldine Bulosan

The Burnside Gorge Community Association (BGCA) proudly celebrates a new milestone in

its history. This September, BGCA congratulates Gloria Kunz on her 20-year employment anniver-sary with the BGCA.

During her 20 years of working with BGCA and all the children she’s worked with, Gloria says, “the neat part is seeing them grown up – and they come back with their family for the [childcare] program.”

The BGCA Out-of-School-Care program (OSC) began as a student practicum project in the spring of 1993. Gloria first started working with BGCA in August 1993 for their summer camp program and was asked to stay on to work in OSC for their after school care program which started with ten chil-dren.

During this time, BGCA operated its programs out of a portable at the Burnside Elementary School location. (Now closed, this facility contin-ues to serve the community as the Burnside Com-munity Campus, providing rental and lease space to the public). In addition to after school care and summer camp, other programs included Kinder-gym and a Mom & Tot drop-in which took place alongside newsletter production and amidst other staff – including then Executive Director, Dean Fortin (currently mayor of the city of Victoria).

“Dean was always around for snack time [dur-ing programs], so I’d bring him a snack every day to keep him from raiding the fridge,” Gloria recalls with a laugh.

Another familiar face from those days – and continues to be – is Tom Arkell, one of the BGCA founding members. Tom was the handy man for the portable owned by BGCA and was always around fixing things for them.

By Sandy Ferrin, BGCA Community Recreation Coordinator

Over 100 volunteers participated in the 13th Annual Gorge Waterway Clean Up on Satur-

day, September 21st, with over a dozen of those volunteers being scuba divers. Volun-teers on foot scoured the shorelines of the Gorge Waterway while others were ferried by Victoria Harbour Fer-ries to shorelines along Vic West. The efforts of those below the surface and along the shoreline resulted in over a ton of debris being collected.

The Canadian Forc-es Fleet Dive Team, the Aquarius Scuba Dive Club of CFB Esquimalt and a few other local divers found several items below the surface including three bicycles and a couple shopping carts. Various volunteers from a number of local Youth Leadership Teams raised the sunken debris onto the Trestle Bridge creating

quite a spectacle for those enjoying the Galloping Goose trail that morning.

Other volunteers scoured the shorelines collecting trash, recy-clable materials and close to 1,000 cigarette butts. Cigarette butts are one of the key items numerous shoreline cleanups focus on col-lecting as they can take up to 10 years to de-compose.

Years of environ-mental damage is less-ened by the efforts of the volunteers who par-ticipate each year.

We would like to ex-tend a special thank you to all our volunteers, the corporate and community volunteer teams and the generous sponsors who help make this event hap-pen. Youth Leadership Teams include: Esquimalt

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Gloria Kunz, Child Care Services Coordinator, Burnside Gorge Community Association

The Canadian Forces Fleet Dive Team support the Gorge Waterway Cleanup

Burnside Gorge Community News October 2013

Published by theBurnside Gorge Community Association

471 Cecelia Rd, Victoria BC, V8T 4T4T. 250-388-5251 | F. 250-388-5269

www.burnsidegorge.ca

BGCA Board of DirectorsTamara Leonard-Vail, President Tracy James, Vice-PresidentJohn Sanderson, TreasurerMichelle Peterson, Secretary Samuel Jang Murray LangdonGary MacDougallTJ Schur

TO ADVERTISE

As a not-for-profit organization, we depend on advertising to cover publishing costs. Please contact us for current rates and information:

Editor: Geraldine BulosanPhone: 250-388-5251 ext. 222 Email: geraldine@burnsidegorge.ca

Note: Written contributions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the BGCA or its staff.

The Burnside Gorge Community News welcomes contributions from community members. Please note that submission does not guarantee publication. Articles will be subject to editing as required for clarity and brevity.

Stay connected with Burnside Gorge:

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250-384-4722Fax 250-384-8860

info@russhays.comwww.russhays.com

Rob Fleming, MLAVictoria – Hillside

1020 Hillside Avenue

250 360.2023 rob.fleming.mla@leg.bc.ca

Serving Our Community

BGCA Celebrates the Season of Giving

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By Pamela King, BC SPCA Humane Education Coordinator

Now that the kids are settled back into their school routines, it’s time for some Pro-D Day

fun at the Victoria SPCA.On the next Pro-D Day on Friday, October 25,

kids aged 7 to 11 are invited to attend the Fabulous Farm Animals youth workshop at the BC SPCA Victoria Branch, located at 3150 Napier Lane.

There are more farm animals than people in B.C. At this workshop, kids will get to know them better. They’ll step into the life of an egg-laying hen to see how some chickens live, and discover the key to decoding their egg carton. They’ll get their hands dirty learning how to create a worm composting bin. And, just in time for Halloween,

participants will decorate pumpkins with images of their favourite farm animals!

Along with being fun and educational for kids, the Fabulous Farm Animals workshop is a great childcare option for parents. The workshop will last a full day, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with early drop-off at 9:00 and late pick-up until 4:00. Cost is $35, with a $5 discount for early bird reg-istrants and an additional $5 off for BC SPCA Kids Club members.

For more information and to register, please visit spca.bc.ca/youth.

At BGCA, we are getting ready for winter and the holiday season. We hope you will get in the

spirit too, by supporting some of our seasonal pro-grams – as participants, volunteers or donors!

Christmas hampersWe are collecting donations for Christmas

hampers for families in need in our community. We are looking for donations of food and gifts for children, teens and adults. If you or your business is interested in making a donation or sponsoring a family, please contact Theresa James-Bates at 250-388-5251.

Our focus is on families considered “working poor” as well as families who are involved in our programs. In 2012 we provided Christmas ham-pers to more than 90 families in our community.

We are particularly in need of gifts for teens and adults. Useful gift ideas include personal hy-giene and bath products, gift cards, gift certificates

to restaurants and hair salons, movie passes and activity passes. Donations of non-perishable food items, gift bags, wrapping paper, ribbon, bows and gift tags are also greatly appreciated.

You can make a cash donation to help with the purchase of gift cards, food and gifts by making a secure online donation through our website at burnsidegorge.ca or sending a cheque made out to the Burnside Gorge Community Association to 471 Cecelia Road, Victoria, BC V8T 4T4 or contacting Theresa James-Bates at 250-388-5251.

CoatsWe are collecting new and clean, gently used

winter coats for kids in need, sizes 0 through 12. We would also be grateful for boots, snowsuits, snow pants, mitts and scarves. Please drop your dona-tions off at the Community Centre at 471 Cecelia Road or call 250-388-5251 for more information.

Victoria SPCA Youth Workshop: Fabulous Farm Animals

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By Rachel O’Neill

Residents in the Maddock & Harriet area may have noticed a new addition to the neighbour-

hood. Betty Young, long-term resident on Mad-dock Ave recently installed a Book Box. Made from re-purposed goods, including an old shoe rack, the book box at Harriet and Maddock is a hit with neighbours. “I love the whole concept of Book Boxes and couldn’t wait to show our two boys when Betty put hers up. Our first trip to the book box yielded the delights of the very first Harry Potter book!” shared neighbour Michelle Peterson. “Now when we go out for walks in the neighbourhood, our boys ask to go and check the book box to see what other treasures we can find.”

Community lending-libraries are not a new phenomenon with book boxes in neighbourhoods throughout Greater Victoria. Young gained inspi-ration from a Book Box on Obed Avenue in the Gorge Tillicum neighbourhood. A month after in-stalling the Book Box, it is already being gaining popularity. “People are putting books in, taking them way. It’s working,” said Young. “It’s fun to see people stop by and have a look.”

The majority of the books are contemporary fic-tion but Young would like to see more books for children in the neighbourhood to enjoy. “We do

Community Corner: Maddock Avenue Book Box

need more books for 6-10 year olds,” said Young. If you’re in the neighbourhood, stop by to take a look. Take a book or leave one!

Is there something happening on your block that you’d like to share in the Community Corner? Email Rachel at rachel@burnsidegorge.ca or call 250-388-5251. BG

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Burnside Gorge Community News October 2013 3

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715 Finlayson StCall 388-6663

We won’t be undersold!

Locally owned and operated. Serving Victoria since 1977.www.doddsfurniture.com

875 Viewfield RoadVictoria, BC V9A 4V2

Sol Food Cafe & Sol Fine FoodsCafe, Deli, Catering

7am-4pmMonday-Friday

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#101-2955 Jutland Rd

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High School, Spectrum Community School, Glen-lyon Norfolk School, UVic Golden Key, Gorge Row-ing & Paddling Centre and Lighthouse Church.

Corporate Teams include: Delta Ocean Pointe Resort & Spa, the Pension Corporation, Harbour View Mortgages and Jawl Properties.

Sponsor support includes: Tim Hortons, Ellice Recycle Ltd., Transport Canada, Victoria Harbour Ferry, Western One Rentals and Sales, ACME Sup-plies Ltd., Frank Whites Dive Store, Budget Rent a Car, Coast Environmental, The City of Victoria, Ocean 98.5 FM and 103.1 JACKFM.

Thank You, Western Speedway!

The Burnside Gorge Community Association would like to thank George Wade, General

Manager of Western Speedway, for his very gen-erous donation of family passes to the recent race weekends at the Western Speedway in September.

These passes were given to our families in Out-of-School-Care and Integrated Family Services programming, including our weekly Thursday night Family Dinner drop-in. This was a wonder-ful way to welcome families back to the Centre for the school year and the start of our drop-in pro-grams.

...continued from front page: 20 Years

...continued from front page: Gorge Cleanup

"...Gloria never loses sight of the children. She cares about every single child, and every

single family that has ever been in any of Burnside’s

childcare programs."

Mayor Fortin

Thank You, RBC!We would like to thank Sandeep Chand of the

Blanshard & Saanich Branch of the Royal Bank of Canada. We were fortunate enough to re-ceive a donation, through RBC’s Employee Volun-teer Grant program for our FSS Programs.

Gloria also notes a unique camaraderie and community spirit during her early years with BGCA. “Being a small group, it was more like a family with a few practical jokes played between staff and everyone was very involved in all the community events.”

The Toast program at Burnside Elementary school was also managed by Gloria until morn-ing care was added to the OSC program. Bread for the program was donated by Art’s Bakery, a local mainstay in the Burnside Gorge neighbourhood. “We just served toast... [and] wrote letters asking for donations of peanut butter and jelly.” The Toast program was then taken over as a partnership with BGCA, the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) and stu-dent volunteers.

OSC doubled its enrolment to 20 children a short time later. Programming expanded from providing childcare in the BGCA portable to also include OSC locations at Tillicum Elementary and later at Quadra Elementary.

When Burnside Elementary closed, OSC moved to a different room in the BGCA portables until the current community centre building opened in 2007. OSC programming continues to utilize space at the Burnside Community Campus for summer camp, Pro D days and to provide OSC at Tillicum Elementary and for École Quadra Elementary stu-dents while their school building undergoes seis-mic upgrading during the 2013-14 school year.

OSC further developed its programming in 2010 and introduced Preschool for ages 3.5-5 years old. This year, the program unveiled a new outdoor play space for preschoolers and boasts more than 100 participants in total in the Child Care pro-grams.

As Gloria reflects on the success of OSC pro-gramming throughout the years she said, “We’ve had some great staff and practicum students over the years. Some of the [practicum students] come back to work with us as employed staff and it’s great having them.”

Dean Fortin shares his congratulations on this occasion with this: “I have many fond memories of working with Gloria to develop programs for families in Burnside Gorge. As Child Care Leader, Gloria organizes programs, manages staff, and balances budgets. But the mark of a great leader is that on top of all of those administrative respon-sibilities, Gloria never loses sight of the children. She cares about every single child, and every sin-gle family that has ever been in any of Burnside’s childcare programs. The quality and success of [BGCA’s] childcare programs is a direct result of Gloria’s genuine commitment to children and fam-ilies.”

Congratulations, Gloria, on your success and thank you for your ongoing commitment to the children and families of the Burnside Gorge com-munity.

Environmental damage is lessened by the efforts of volunteers who

participate each year.

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Angie Girard and students from Glenlyon Norfolk School transport debris collected by the divers

Sara Wood, mom to Caleb, Matthew and Michelle, was very happy and excited to be able to go and enjoy an

evening out as a family. BGCN

Burnside Gorge Community News October 20134

In Your Community: volunteer opportunities, events and more...

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Nov 16: Vendor Call Out

Do you have a unique craft or gift item you would like to feature in the Magic of Christmas Gift

Fair? We have space for 45 quality vendors at this annual event on Saturday November 16th.

...continued from page 2: Season of Giving

This intimate gift fair has grown in popularity and we wish to continue the success. If you have a product or service that you would like to feature, contact Sandy Ferrin at 250-388-5251 or sandy@burnsidegorge.ca.

Submissions will be reviewed to maintain the quality of the event and limit duplicate items.

October 4 & 18: Mayor’s Open Door

9am-11am Friday, October 4 at City Hall (1 Centennial Square) Friday, October 18 at Fresh Cafe, 415 Dunedin St.

Meet with the Mayor and share your thoughts about Victoria. Meetings are one-on-one for ten minutes. No appointment necessary.

Call for Contributors

The Burnside Gorge Community News welcomes newsletter contributions from community mem-bers. Do you have a story to share? Are you inter-ested in writing about community events or com-munity history? Please forward your story ideas and submissions to Geraldine Bulosan via email at geraldine@burnsidegorge.ca or call the BGCA at 250-388-5251.

Volunteer Call-out

Do you have a few hours to spare every two months? Do you enjoy meeting new people? The Burnside Gorge Community News is looking for delivery volunteers to distribute the newsletter to select businesses in the Burnside Gorge commu-nity. If you are interested, please contact Rachel at the BGCA, 250-388-5251, or by email at rachel@burnsidegorge.ca.

TeenFest 2013

When: Saturday, 05 October, 2013 Time: 11:00 AM - 07:00 PM Where: Eagle Ridge Community Centre 1089 Langford Parkway

This one day exhibition, for youth ages 12 to 18 years, and their families, will give teens and tweens on Vancouver Island the opportunity to connect with each other, their peers, their commu-nities and community leaders. FMI: teenfest.ca or call 778-440-7277

Hearing Clinic

Tuesday, Oct 15 10am-2pm

Visit the Burnside Gorge Community Centre for your free hearing clinic! Call 250-388-5251 to book your appointment today.

Triple P @ the Burnside Gorge Community Centre

October 18-November 22 Friday, 10am-12pm

The Positive Parenting Program will help you learn about effective parenting strategies, enhance relationships with your child (ages 0-12 years) and make parenting easier and more enjoyable. This program is free but registration is required. FMI or to register, call Linda Ferris or Theresa James-Bates at 250-388-5251.

Emergency Preparedness Workshop

Learn more about the hazards that can affect Vic-toria, what to include in your home and vehicle emergency kits, what you can do to protect your home from an earthquake, and how to reunite with your loved ones after a disaster.

Oct 21, 7-9pm, Fernwood Community Centre – 1240 Gladstone Ave

Oct 23, 7-9pm, James Bay Community School – 140 Oswego St

Oct 29, 1-3pm, Victoria City Hall – Douglas St at Pandora Ave

Oct 30, 7-9pm, Oaklands Community Centre – 2827 Belmont Ave

FMI: http://www.victoria.ca/EN/main/depart-ments/emergency-preparedness/workshops.html or call 250-920-3373 to register.

Halloween Bonfire 2013

Oct 31, 6-9pm Archie Browning Sports Centre – 1151 Esquimalt Rd

Everyone is welcome for this FREE Community Event. Enjoy a costume contest for all ages with fabulous prizes donated by local merchants at this Annual Community Event. FMI: 250-412-8500.

By Sandy Ferrin, BGCA Community Recreation Coordinator

Fall is officially here and it’s time to re-activate your body and your brain. Try these great

classes for movement, relaxation, learning and im-proved health. Registration for classes that have already started will be pro-rated.

aCtive For LiFe programs inCLude:

• Monday Qi Yoga 4:00-5:00pm

• Monday Flow Yoga 5:15-6:15pm

• Education and Meditation for Chronic Pain Tuesdays 7:15-8:15pm

• Wednesday Inner Balance Yoga 7:00-8:00pm

• Zumba Dance Fitness Thursdays 5:15-6:15

• Thursday Nature Wise Yoga 7:00-8:15pm

• Yoga for 55 Plus Fridays 10:30-11:30am

• Yoga Workshop Series with Lindsay Hounslow

eduCationaL programs inCLude:

• Spanish Speaking Classes for beginners Wednesday 6:00-7:00pm

• Conversational Spanish Wednesday 7:15-8:15pm

Fall Has Arrived & So Have New Programs

• Tablet Essentials Workshop Series with Janet Epps

aCtive ChiLdren inCLude:

• Junior Jazzercise (6-10 yrs) with Chelsea Sihota Saturdays 11:00am-12noon

• Sportball Sundays

Call now to register or to learn more at 250-388-5251.

hoLiday spirit voLunteersThere are several opportunities to get involved

as a volunteer this holiday season.

Magic of Christmas Gift Fair – help with setup and decorating on Friday, November 15th. Provide vendor support, greet participants, help out in the Café, or assist with tear down on event day, Saturday, November 16th. Please contact San-dy Ferrin at 250-388-5251 or sandy@burnside-gorge.ca

Community Christmas Dinner – Thurs-day, December 5th. Duties will include setup, and cleanup. We also need volunteers for food prep on December 3rd and 4th. Please contact Theresa James-Bates at 250-388-5251 or theresa@burnsi-degorge.ca

Santa’s Pancake Breakfast, Saturday, De-cember 7th. Duties will include cooking, serving food, activities with children, setup and cleanup. Please contact Sandy Ferrin at 250-388-5251 or sandy@burnsidegorge.ca

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