Green Events in Greater Victoria

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Cheques to EcoNews, 395 Conway Rd, Victoria V9E 2B9
or PayPal donation (for EcoNews) at www.earthfuture.com

Publisher - Guy Dauncey
250-881-1304 guydauncey@earthfuture.com

EVERY WEEK

Monthly vegan events - meetings, bake sales, other activities. http://TheVictoriaVegan.com/events

Every weekend. Garry Oak Ecosystem Restoration at Fort Rodd Hill. Help us win the battle against invasive species at Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Sites. Scheduled volunteer days. frh.volunteer@pc.gc.ca  250-812-8133

Every day. Join RLC Park Naturalists at Goldstream Nature House. www.goldstreampark.com/freeman_king_visitor_center.htm

Every Mon, 10am -12pm Brodick/Bow Parks (Saanich) Invasive Species removal. Volunteers needed. Training, gloves, and tools provided. No dogs. Judy 250-472-0515

Every Mon, 3-5pm Haliburton Community Organic Farm volunteer work party. 741 Haliburton Rd. www.haliburtonfarm.org

Every Tuesday, 9am Tuesday Morning Birding. Meet foot of Bowker Ave, waterfront off Beach Drive in Oak Bay. Bill Dancer 250-721-5273.

Every Wed and Sun, 9am Bird Walks with naturalists, Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary, 3873 Swan Lake Rd. Margaret Lidkea 479-0211

Every Thur and Sat. Volunteer events at Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary. Charlotte Houston restoration@swanlake.bc.ca.

Every Fri 1pm. EcoReality Co-op work party, farm tour, potluck, movie. Bring a dish for evening potluck. Free. Salt Spring, near Fulford Harbour. http://www.EcoReality.org/wiki/Meetings

Every Sat, 10-2pm Moss Street Market for homegrown produce, homemade food, baking and handicrafts, music, kids activities. Moss and Fairfield. www.MossStreetMarket.com

Every Sat, 8am Morning Birding. Call the Rare Bird Alert 250-704-2555 the Thursday or Friday before to find out this week’s location. VNHS.

Every Sat, 9-12pm Beacon Hill Park Ivy Pull. Volunteers welcome. Cornelia 250-920-3556

Every Sun, 10-4pm O.U.R. Ecovillage weekly Sunday work parties. 250-743-3067. www.ourecovillage.org

Every Sun 1:30-3:30pm Bee in the Garden, Spring Ridge Commons, Corner of Chambers + Gladstone Everyone welcome.  http://springridgecommons.ca

 

WEEK ONE

Wed 1, 3:30-6pm May Day Festival Celebration International Workers Day Community Action. Gather outside "Our Place" on Pandora, live music. Walk to Centennial Square at 5pm for community entertainment, live music, food and a film. 250-920-6770  www.vmdc.ca

Wed 1, 7pm James Bay Neighborhood Association All-Candidates Forum. James Bay New Horizons Centre, 234 Menzies St.

Wed 1, 7pm Eco-Sense Passive Solar Cob House presentation of home and life, by Ann and Gord Baird. Saanich Commonwealth Pool Library, Elk Lake Rd.  www.eco-sense.ca ann@eco-sense.ca

Thur 2, 2pm Saanich/Gulf Islands All Candidates Meeting, Gulf Islands Secondary School, Ganges

Thur 2, 6-10pm Jane Sterk Green Party "PARTY!" James Bay New Horizons 234 Menzies, James Bay

Thur 2, 7pm Ancient Forest Alliance presentation on the spectacular Inland Temperate Rainforest east of Prince George with Dr. Darwyn Coxson, and status of the southern coastal old-growth forests in BC, with TJ Watt and Ken Wu. Ambrosia Centre, 638 Fisgard St. The bar will be open so bring your ID. www.facebook.com/events/164625060366158/

Thur 2, 7pm Designing Living Buildings, with Ann and Gord Baird. Village Building Dialogue: Exploring Possibilities for Creating Sustainable, Affordable Housing Communities in Greater Victoria. Garry Oak Room, 1335 Thurlow, off Moss. By donation (suggested $10 - $30). Refreshments provided. Facilitator: James Pratt 250-920-7826.

Sat 4, 7am VNHS Birding Witty’s Lagoon. Join Dannie Carsen on this visit to an important resting and feeding area for migrating birds. Meet main parking lot on Metchosin Road. Rick Schortinghuis 250-885-2454

Sat 4, 10-1pm Haliburton Community Organic Farm volunteer work party and potluck lunch. 741 Haliburton Rd. www.haliburtonfarm.org

Sat 4, 10:30am–12pm A Treasure Worth Protecting Guided Adult Walk (18 years+) at Mill Hill Regional Park (Langford) with CRD Parks’ naturalist. Opportunity to visit restricted areas and learn about the highly successful Mill Hill Restoration Project. Free, but pre-register as space is limited. 250.478.3344 before May 3. Bus #50 or #53

Sat 4, 12:15-1:45pm Incredible Edibles for kids aged 9-11. Workshop for any child who would like a better idea of where their food comes from, and how be to grow your own meals. Each child will bring home their own edible container garden, and all will prepare and eat a dish from our gardens. http://www.eventbrite.ca/org/3022484318  250-386-9676. Compost Education Centre 1216 North Park St.

Sat 4, 1–2:30pm Horth Hill Highlights Guided Walk (8 years+) at Horth Hill Regional Park, North Saanich with a CRD Parks’ naturalist. Wear sturdy hiking shoes. Meet info kiosk in parking lot off Tatlow Road.

Sat 4, 2-4pm Grow the Best Tomatoes. Learn the history of tomatoes, types of tomatoes and how they behave, how to start seedlings, nutrients needs, transplanting, diseases and pests, watering requirements, training and staking, companion planting, seed saving. $15/ $10. Register http://www.eventbrite.ca/org/3022484318 250-386-9676. Compost Education Centre 1216 North Park St. 

Sat 4 - Sun 5, 8th Vancouver Island Youth And Community Convergence. Experience collective/sustainable living for a weekend at 25 acre Ecovillage.Workshops on yoga, circus arts, cobb building, food growing, culinary arts, mosaic. Dance party, Sweatlodge, closing circle. Sheltered space for sleep. Bring sleeping bag, tent, warm clothes. $85.00 http://ourecovillage.org/events/youth-and-community-convergence-2 Erin 250-743-3067 outreach@ourecovillage.org

Sat 4, 9pm to 5:30am The Tailor Lynx Buckman Coe Raise the Hoof Tour. A Benefit for the White Crow Farm Project, in the Slocan Valley. Sunset Room, 401 Herald St, Victoria. https://www.facebook.com/events/352446578188959 and https://vimeo.com/60647007

Sun 5, 7am-12 Noon VNHS Birding Royal Roads & Esquimalt Lagoon with Ann Nightingale. Meet south end of lagoon by the washrooms. Bring drink and snack. Rick 250-885-2454

Sun 5, 10am–1pm Marvelous Matheson Guided Hike (12 years+) at Matheson Lake Regional Park, with a CRD Parks’ naturalist. Bring a snack, water, sturdy hiking shoes. Meet parking lot end of Matheson Lake Rd.

Sun 5, 1–2:30pm Ugh! A Slug! Guided Walk (All ages) at Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park with a CRD Parks’ naturalist. Peek under fallen logs and leaves in search of giant gastropods. Meet info kiosk in Beaver Lake parking lot. Bus #70 or #72

Sun 5, 12:30-3pm Camas Day. Celebrating 20 years of Girl Guides helping in Uplands Park. Variety of family activities.  Bring a picnic, enjoy the music of the Bald Eagles Band, remove invasive ivy and join in the FUN!  Refreshments.  Donations welcome. Friends of Uplands Park, Community Association of Oak Bay and Chatham District Girl Guides.

Sun 5, 7pm?Saanich South All-Candidates Meeting on Education. Claremont Secondary School?4980 Wesley Road?Victoria 

 

WEEK TWO

Mon 6-Sat 11 Free public tours of the Greater Victoria water supply facilities, including Sooke Dam and treatment plant. Learn how our drinking water is delivered from source to tap. Tours leave Thetis Lake Regional Park at 9:15am (3hr tour); 9:30am (5hr tour) and 1pm (3hr tour). Advance reservations required 250.940.0200. Not for children under 12. www.crd.bc.ca.

Mon 6, 5:30-7:30pm Whole Foods For Wellness, with whole foods personal chef and caterer, Chef Laura Moore and Naturopathic Physician M.J. Atkins. Start of six hypoallergenic whole foods and Superfoods cooking classes. Naturopath’s insights into nutrition in whole foods and techniques for working with vegan, gluten-free whole foods and super foods ingredients with Chef Laura. Ingredients Health Food Store, 2031 Store St. $54, or $300 plus GST for all six. https://www.facebook.com/events/138210099696376/

Tue 7, 10-12pm Brian Swimme’s Earth’s Imagination. Start of 5 session Video Series with Gertie Jocksch SC DMin. $70 or $15 drop in. Victoria West Community Centre 521 Craigflower Rd.

 earthliteracies@gmail.com 250-220-4601www.earthliteracies.org

Tue 7, 6:15-8:30pm All Candidates Meeting on Poverty, Homelessness & Harm Reduction

First Metropolitan United Church Hall 932 Balmoral Rd

Wed 8, 7pm Awareness Film Night: "Big Boys Gone Bananas". Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Gertten made a film Bananas about worker conditions on Dole plantations in Guatemala.  Then Dole attacked and sued. Gertten captures the entire process on film - defamation lawsuits, bullying scare tactics, media control and PR spin, revealing how a multinational will stop at nothing to get its way. Edward Milne Community School, 6218 Sooke Rd. By donation www.awarenessfilmnight.ca

Wed 8, 7pm Courtenay. Ancient Forest Alliance slideshow presentation on the status, ecology, wildlife, and related policies that affect BC's old-growth forests. Updated photos and maps. Drama Room, Lake Trail School, 805 Willemar Ave. www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=635

Thur 9, 6:30pm Victoria Swan Lake All Candidates Meeting. Garth Homer Society, 813 Darwin Ave. Hillside Quadra Neighborhood Action Group, Camosun Community Association, Quadra Cedar Hill Community Association

Thur 9, 7pm Victoria Beacon Hill All-Candidates Debate. Garry Oak Room, Fairfield Community Place, 1335 Thurlow Rd. Fairfield Gonzales Community Association

Thur 9, 7:30pm Crossing Lines and Doing Time: Nonviolent Resistance to War. Talk and Book Signing by Rosalie Riegle. First Met United Church, 932 Balmoral. By Donation. Canadian Department of Peace Initiative

Fri 10-Sun 12 British Columbia Field Ornithologists Annual Conference. Mary Winspear Centre, Sidney. Lots of good birding locations, full complement ?of great trips. ?http://bcfo.ca/annual-conference/

Sat 11, 7am Birding at Beaver Lake, with Dannie Carsen. Meet main parking lot at Beaver Lake, off Elk Lake Drive. Rick 250-885-2454

Sat 11, 9am-2pm 4th Annual International Migratory Bird Day at Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park.

Displays, touch tables, crafts, scavenger hunts, games, fun! Bird banding demonstrations – mist nets will be nearby and constantly checked for songbirds. Hummingbird banding demonstrations. Birding walks leave from the picnic shelter every hour, starting 10:15am Pacific Northwest Raptors live birds of prey presentations

Sat 11, 9am–2pm Winged Migration Drop-in Event (All ages) at Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park

Sat 11, 10am-2pm. Annual Organic Plant Sale! Purchase organic veggie, medicinal, ornamental and herb plant starts at our annual sale. Enjoy live music, organic goodies and the awesome community atmosphere that is always present! Held at the Compost Education Centre 1216 North Park St.

Sat 11, 10-4pm Creative By Nature: A Nature-Centred Approach to Artful Connection. Join us and learn how to bring a Creative Nature Connection practice into your life. $95. Royal Roads http://cstudies.royalroads.ca/courses/TAEA3016-Y12.htm 250-391-2513

Sat 11/Sun12, 9-4:30pm Trauma Psychology and Ecopsychology: An Integrative Model. Practical, experiential, interactive workshop integrates theory and practice of trauma psychology with ecopsychology. $225. Royal Roads: http://cstudies.royalroads.ca/courses/GLEL3044-Y12.htm. 250-391-2513

Sat 11, 2-5pm CRD Micro/Drip Irrigation workshop. A properly installed irrigation system will conserve time and money. Free, Horticulture Centre of the Pacific.  Call CRD at 250.474.9684 to reserve your spot.

Sun 12, 7am Enjoy the Birds at Panama Flats. Meet parking lot at Hyacinth Park on Marigold Avenue. VNHS Rick 250-885-2454

Sun 12, 10-12:30pm Race Rocks with Friends of Ecological Reserves. Must pre-register and pay. Marilyn 250-477-5922 http://ecoreserves.bc.ca/2013/04/01/race-rocks-field-trip

Sun 12, 10am–12pm Sandy Shore Explore Guided Walk (5 years+) at Witty’s Lagoon with CRD Parks’ naturalist. Intertidal exploration. Be prepared to get your feet wet (bring sandals or beach shoes). Meet kiosk end of Witty Beach Road. Bus #54 or #55

Sun 12, 10-4pm Mother’s Day Paint In, Royal Roads University. Crafts, gifts, plants, Solar Colwood display

Sun 12, 1-3pm The Sea of Camas nature walk with Margaret Lidkea.  Uplands Park becomes a sea of blue Camas flowers that sparkles with yellow Western buttercup.  Camas bulbs are a traditional First Nations food and the meadows are a legacy of their heritage. Friends of Uplands Park. Meet Beach Drive at the new Uplands Park sign.

 

WEEK THREE

Tue 14, 8am-8pm PROVINCIAL ELECTION Remember to vote for a healthy environment in the BC provincial election. Make sure your registered to vote: http://www.elections.bc.ca http://voteenvironment2013.ca/

Tue 14, 5-7pm Green Drinks at Spinnakers Brew Pub, 308 Catherine St. Drink and be green! www.meetup.com/Green-Drinks-Victoria

Fri 17, 7am VNHS Birding Along Lochside Trail at Blenkinsop Lake. Meet opposite Don Mann Trucking on Lochside Drive, off Cedar Hill Cross Road. Rick 250-885-2454

Fri 17, 7pm An Evening with Richard Walker, Food Forester. Learn about food forests and why they are such an essential piece of food sovereignty. Fernwood Community Centre, 1240 Gladstone Ave.  $10 http://permaculturebc.com/Richard-Walker-Food-Forestry-Talk-May-2013 or $15 at the door.

Sat 18, 7am VNHS Scramble up the Back of Mount Douglas, with Mike McGrenere in birding Mount Douglas. Meet the new parking lot to the right off Blenkinsop Road just north of Lohbrunner Road on the left. Wear sturdy footwear. Rick 250-885-2454

Sat/Sun18/19 Victoria Butterfly Count. Keen-eyed volunteers wanted to submit butterfly records. James Miskelly 250-544-0455, james.miskelly@gmail.com

Sat 18, 10:30am–1pm Mount Work-Out! Guided Hike (12 years+) with CRD Parks’ naturalist. Vigorous hike from marshy lowlands to rugged rocky outcrops. Bring lunch, water, rain gear, sturdy hiking shoes. Meet Munn Road parking lot.

Sun 19, 7am VNHS Birding Stewart Mountain Road, off Millstream Road and Stewart Mountain Road. Meet mailboxes. Wear sturdy footwear. Rick 250-885-2454

Sun 19, 10am – 3pm Conservation Funk at Goldstream Park. A day to share in the love of nature. Join Park Naturalists for a fun filled day with Guided Walks, a Family Fun Challenge, Face Painting, Music, Information Booths, BBQ by donation, Crafts and activities, Bike Demonstrations

Sun 19, 1:30-3:30pm Spring Ridge Commons Work Party with Brent Howard, corner of Chambers & Gladstone - Everyone welcome.  No experience needed.  http://springridgecommons.ca

 

WEEK FOUR

Mon 20, 8am Natural History Cycling Tour of Galloping Goose Trail from Sooke Potholes to Leechtown, with Rick Schortinghuis. Meet Galloping Goose parking lot 2.3 km along Sooke River Road (off Sooke Road). Bring cool drink and lunch. Rick 250-885-2454

Mon 20, 7pm BCSEA Victoria Chapter AGM and BCSEA Highlights, with Nigel Protter, BCSEA CEO. North Park Manor (North Park & Quadra). Tea served.

Wed 22, 5-8pm Reclaim the traditional name of PKOLS (formerly known as Mount Douglas). Tsawout hereditary chief WEC'KINEM (Eric Pelkey), with support from Songhees and Saanich First nations. March up PKOLS from the base; re-enactment of the signing of the Douglas Treaty; telling oral histories and traditional significance of the mountain; installation of a sign declaring the name reclamation. All nations and peoples are welcome. http://PKOLS.org/

Fri 24, 7am VNHS Birding Mount Newton. Meet corner of Haldon Rd and Newton Heights. Rick 250-885-2454

Fri 24, 4-7:30pm Off the Grid Festival at Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site, Colwood. Free, all ages Community Party with a Purpose. Great music, food trucks, Parks Canada interpreters, interactive displays, pedal-powered and solar sound stage.Music by ZERBIN and QUOIA; emceed by KOOL FM's Paul Allen.  www.offthegridfestival.ca

Sat 25, 7am VNHS Birding Little Saanich Mountain (The Observatory), with Ed Pellizzon. Meet bottom of road leading up the mountain at Centre of the Universe, 5071 West Saanich Road. Wear sturdy footwear. Rick 250-885-2454

Sat 25, 9:15am VNHS Zero Tide at Harling Point. Leader Tina Kelly will describe what makes this a challenging place for an animal to live and how the sub-zones within the intertidal zone are different. Wear appropriate footwear for slippery rocks and seaweed. Meet end of Crescent Road adjacent to Chinese Cemetery. Tina 250-881-4191.

Sat 25, 9-5pm Introduction to Cob Building. Find out why cob is the ideal material for modern structures and is enjoying a revival in the natural building and sustainability movement. $95.  Royal Roads http://cstudies.royalroads.ca/courses/GLEL2951-Y12.htm. 250-391-2513

Sat 25/Sun 26, 9:30-4:30pm Aging Well in Community: Senior Cohousing. Participants will help each other explore different scenarios for aging: in their homes, retirement communities, institutions, and alternatives that foster community and privacy, mutual support and co-caring while living in a more sustainable way. $95. Royal Roads http://cstudies.royalroads.ca/courses/PEHL3080_Y12.htm. 250-391-2513

Sat 25, 12:30pm March Against Monsanto. Meet Legislative Bldgs.

https://www.facebook.com/events/582294495143902/

Sat 25, 1-4pm Rainwater Harvesting Workshop. Opportunities for rainwater collection, regulatory framework, demonstration session. Meaden Hall, Salt Spring. http://ssiwatercouncil.com 250-537-9570

Sat 25, 1-4pm. Urban Wild Foods. Workshop will focus on several common species, how to identify them (as well as their poisonous lookalikes), uses as food or medicine. $30/$25 Members. Register at Eventbrite http://www.eventbrite.ca/org/3022484318 250-386-9676. Compost Education Centre 1216 North Park St.

Sun 26, 8am Sunday Bird Walk starting at Cattle Point (Oak Bay) with Geoffrey Newell. Friends of Uplands Park.

Sun 26, 9am VNHS Butterflies, Birds and Blooms on Mount Tolmie. Meet main parking lot just north of the summit. Rick 250-885-2454

Sun 26, 10-2pm Scenic Murals Bike Tour. Meet Selkirk Station (80 Regatta Landing) just off the Galloping Goose trail south of the Selkirk Trestle. 20 easy kilometres. Bring lunch. GVCC http://gvcc.bc.ca/recreational-rides/

Sun 26, 10–2pm What’s That? Ask A Nat! Drop-in Event at Island View Beach Regional Park.Borrow our dip nets and ask CRD Parks’ naturalists to identify your treasures. Be prepared to get your feet wet (bring sandals or beach shoes). Meet picnic shelter on Homathko Road, off Island View Road.

Sun 26, 12-3pm Bee Day at Swan Lake Nature House. Join us and you’ll bee amazed, bee enchanted and bee happy. By donation. 250.479.0211 www.swanlake.bc.ca

Sun 26, 1-3pm Vernal Pools not Mud Puddles, with James Miskelly, Restoration Biologist with DND, Swan Lake Society Board Member. Uplands Park "mud puddles" are vernal pools in the endangered Garry Oak Ecosystem. Friends of Uplands Park

Sun 26, 5:30pm VIVA-Raw Potluck with Dr. Halanna Matthew, Doctor of Health Sciences. Esquimalt Recreation Centre, 527 Fraser Street, Bring a raw food vegan dish of 6 or more servings with ingredients list $5 per adult. http://vivaraw.ca or Linda (250) 380-6383

Mon 27-June 2 Bike to Work Week Victoria. 295 teams registered thus far! http://biketowork.ca/victoria

Sat June 1, 10-4pm Dancing the Universe Power of Emergence with Bernice Vetter. $65. Bring lunch. Sleeping Dog Farm 1506 Burnside Rd. earthliteracies@gmail.com 250-220-4601 www.earthliteracies.org