Head to central Lynn Valley for pumpkin fun for all ages Oct. 19! Lynn Valley Elementary School and Lynn Valley Parent Participation Preschool will be hosting their pumpkin patches to kick off the fall season.
Head to central Lynn Valley for pumpkin fun for all ages Oct. 19! Lynn Valley Elementary School and Lynn Valley Parent Participation Preschool will be hosting their pumpkin patches to kick off the fall season.
Fall fun is returning to Lynn Valley Oct. 13! Lynn Valley Elementary School and Lynn Valley Parent Participation Preschool will be hosting their pumpkin patches to kick off the fall season.
A love of art and local forests – including Kirkstone Park and the beaches of the North Shore – have inspired author Darren Lebeuf to create his first book. The project so successful two more Vancouver-inspired books are in the works.
Photographer and artist Darren Lebeuf has a busy, globetrotting life along with his wife, a teacher, and their two young children. From bustling Hong Kong to the mountains of North Vancouver, from the canals and cafes of Amsterdam to the prairies of Alberta, but he is always drawn back outdoors. 
“I would take my daughter out for walks in the forest with my camera. When you try to photograph a forest it just looks like a bunch of trees that sort of blur together,” said Lebeuf. “So I had this idea – what of instead of one big photograph I instead took hundreds of photographs of the small details. That sparked an idea for an exhibit of hundreds of photographs the captured the forest in a different way.”
An exhibit which inspired Lebeuf to create a book that shared his point of view with children.
“It was capturing the different shades of green, the texture of bark, the shape of a leaf,” he said. “I don’t know what inspired the leap from this idea to a book but it mirrored what I was doing with my young daughter at the time.
“I try to get them outdoors and surrounded by nature when I can. Like yesterday, we went out to collect sticks and I brought some string to see what we could create. It’s not really intentional to make art – it’s to play.”
Lebeuf’s first children’s book, My Forest is Green, follows a young boy through the forest with a backpack full of art supplies. It chronicles his journey encountering all the details one can find in the forest if they choose to look. The beautiful illustrations created by Ashley Barron support Lebeuf’s words encouraging children to slow down and use all their senses to explore.
“I don’t think there is a distinction between learning time, art time or playtime,” he said. “I think at at young age you make sense of them and do what comes naturally at the time.”
You can find My Forest is Green at the North Vancouver District Public Library or local book stores.
With more ideas than can fit in one book, Lebeuf is working with his publisher, Kids Can Press, on two more books. Partnering again with Barron, My Ocean is Blue is planned for publication next year and My City Speaks – a story from the perspective of a visually impaired child – has moved into the illustration phase.
“They all are inspired by Vancouver,” said Lebeuf. “But I think they are also universal. It’s really exciting to see what will happen this book. It’s a union of art and nature, perspective and interpretation.”
Lebeuf has even more ideas – in between his work as a photographer he continues to write. His current inspiration leans towards humour – and food.
There’s always something fun and exciting happening in Lynn Valley. Check out our Community Events Calendar or learn more about Local Activities, Mountain Biking or Hiking and Walking Trails.
Lynn Valley’s North Shore Disability Resource Centre is back with its 5 for 5 Raffle. With proceeds going to a new mobile sensory van and ongoing advocacy work – you have until Sept. 17, 2019 to purchase tickets.
The (almost) annual raffle is a key fundraiser supporting resources and advocacy work undertaken by the NSDRC. This year it is looking to expand its community resources by adding another multi sensory room available for community use and this time making it mobile to serve even more people.
An example of a Snoezelen room.
Multi-sensory environments are safe spaces designed to stimulate senses, explained Kathleen Jessop, interim executive director for the North Shore Disability Resource Centre. They can soothe and calm the agitated, as well as engage the withdrawn, she said.
“We are purchasing sensory equipment and putting into a van to make it mobile,” said Jessop. “There is one multi sensory Snoezelen room on the North Shore and it’s booked all the time. Our plan is to make it mobile so we can take it to a person or to a school or to a seniors’ centre or even to a community event.”
With ambient and active visual, touch, sound and smell stimulation, the existing Snoezelen room is already an important resource for local families.
“We will be able to serve the people we already do with the room but we can also expand and serve others and it will raise awareness of us in the community as well as what multi sensory spaces are and what they are used for,” said Jessop.
The goal is to be up and running by April 2020 or when all the funds needed have been raised. The project has gotten a big boost being the beneficiary of this year’s North Shore Community Foundation’s Mayors’ Golf Tournament. That $50,000 is a huge step forward, said Jessop.
“We have some families whose children are so anxious they don’t want to leave their houses. If we can bring the room to their doorstep, we can get them from their threshold to the van it will be a huge step for them,” she said.
“You can imagine these families seeing the van pull up and having their children able to participate in something, to smiling and enjoying something – it could change lives,” added Bob McCormack, NSDRC past-president and board member.
Where else for the price of $5 can you support a dream project and possibly win a dream trip? Tickets are available for $5 at the NSDRC office at 3158 Mountain Hwy or by calling 604-985-5371. More information can found on its webpage. Tax receiptable donations (does not apply to raffle tickets) to the Snoezelen van or any of their projects can be made in person or online.
Prizes include:
1st prize: Trip for two, anywhere WestJet flies*
2nd prize: $180 BC Ferries voucher; two night stay Ocean Village Beach Resort in Tofino; $50 gift card to Shed Restaurant Tofino*
3rd prize: Harbour Air Panorama Tour & $150 gift card Pacific Centre
4th prize: Harrison Hot Springs Resort one night stay & breakfast for two*
5th prize: $250 gift card The Bay
*Some conditions apply, details on the NSDRC website.
There’s always something fun and exciting happening in Lynn Valley. Check out our Community Events Calendar or learn more about Local Activities, Mountain Biking or Hiking and Walking Trails.
An interesting speaker series is happening through February at the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre. One Earth.
Culture Days is an opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to try something new, experience something totally different, discover creative spaces in the community and meet the artists that work there.
The North Vancouver Community Arts Council is combining art and technology in an innovative project and you can support it.
A 105 years ago one of Lynn Valley’s most well known citizen’s life change forever.
The best ideas for summer fun for all ages
Lynn Valley is a place where some days it seems like the trails are filled with just as many dogs as people. With the luxury of green space and yards there are many, many furry members of the community. With more families welcoming canines into their homes Lynn Valley dog trainer Valerie Barry is leading the charge to make your transition as smooth as possible, especially if you are moving from a couple with a dog to a family with a dog.
Unlike many professions, those related to pets in B.C. are unregulated (some do have licencing). The BC SPCA AnimalKind launched its accreditation program in 2018 to offer some guidance to owners on humane, science-based training programs.
“No dog professions [walkers, trainers, boarders] are regulated, which is a concern,” said Barry. “And the appropriate ways to train are not the the most popular ways to train. The SPCA’s initiative is important because it raises public awareness. Prior to this there were no standards. Having never experienced a dog, you can get some business cards and buy a google ad and get started.”
The rise of pop-culture adoration for “leader-of-the-pack” training, à la Cesar Millan, has lead to popularity of punishment-based training, said Barry. She also cites a popular 1960s wolf study that does not pass scientific rigour that falsely promote dogs as pack animals. She also raises concern about balance training, which Barry says is deeply worrying because they will do anything to train dogs.
“They have great marketing techniques and terms that sound good,” said Barry. “Positive trainers will say they are positive trainers and we will use food to train your dog. Punitive trainers won’t tell you what they are going to do, they just give you magical sounding buzzwords.”
Without a program like the SPCA, people have to turn to Google and are surprised to find the trainer is going to use a shock collar and not knowing anything about dogs you’d be surprised what people go along with, says Barry.
“If my dog is barking and I use a shock collar it appears to work, however there is that reinforcement that causes the dog to associate children, or mountain bikers, or joggers or whatever with pain because they are continually hurt in the presence of that something,” she said.
Positive training or rewards-based training are humane and based in science, said Barry.
“It’s interesting when I go to visit families, often I will get the response of ‘That is what I do with my kids.’”
Both Barry’s website Dog Partners and SPCA’s AnimalKind offer resources of positive training methods.
A walk in Lynn Valley is bound to encounter a dog or two, we love our four-legged friends here.
“We have got fantastic trails, most of the spaces are dog friendly – you are allowed to bring your dog on leash – even the fantastic square at Lynn Valley Village,” said Barry. “On the trails people are friendly and willingly to help accommodate you as you work with your dog to train it.”
However, one common source of conflict in Lynn Valley Barry hears about is trail interactions – especially between unleashed dogs and families. She has two big tips: always ask owners to call back their dogs – something the dog should respond to, and carry dog treats in your pocket.
“Dogs respond to energy, so if you are scared or your kids are scared, the dog is barking – I would throw food in its face,” she said. “An owner may ask why you are feeding their dog, and explain if the dog had respond to its call or been trained you wouldn’t have but you are allowed to stop the dog from barking at or jumping on your children.
“It can be good to ‘train’ your kids how to encounter a dog. Ask your kids to walk behind you and explain you are waiting to see if the dog is friendly. Running around and screaming will get a dog amped up – asking your kids to maintain stillness with you will calm the situation down. Asking a dog to sit can also work – especially if you have treats.”
She also suggests being aware of the trails most popular for dog walkers and the times they frequent the trails. This time of year it is busiest from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. she said.
A personal passion for Barry is supporting families as they add a dog to their household or young dog-owners who are parents to be.
“One of the things I am most concerned about is children and dogs,” said Barry. “I am concerned when I hear from a client that they are expecting a baby in three weeks and they have a dog that has been biting people for seven years. We need to get the information out to people who are going to have children that they need to prepare their dogs or prepare children for the addition of a dog.”
Her blog has a wealth of information on these topics – with the ultimate goal being to have happy kids and a happy dog.
Photos courtesy of Dogpartners.ca.
There’s always something fun and exciting happening in Lynn Valley. Check out our Community Events Calendar or learn more about Local Activities, Mountain Biking or Hiking and Walking Trails.