| This just in from Lynn Valley Community Association….
(For more information about adopting a Christmas tree, click here. As of November 6, there are only 13 left, so don’t delay!
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| This just in from Lynn Valley Community Association….
(For more information about adopting a Christmas tree, click here. As of November 6, there are only 13 left, so don’t delay!
|
You can bat for the home team by becoming a member of the historic Lynn Valley Little League, which has been playing ball for over 50 years.
Registration for the league, which is newly headed by president Jamie Bassett, is open now and will continue to December 1 (or February 28 for the T-ball and Rookie crowd). Click here for online registration information, or download this PDF form. If you’re anywhere between five and 18 years old, there’s a team for you!
While you’re on the league website, you can check out their handsome logo wear – and some of the archived photos on their ‘History’ page. You may see your 20-years-younger self staring back at you!
If you have any questions, please contact Michael Ferriera at [email protected].
It was swing-your-partner time Friday night as the District of North Vancouver hosted a dinner and barn dance to thank the many volunteers who take part in the muncipality’s outdoor programs.
Maplewood Farm helpers, parks and trails workers, Adopt a Street volunteers and others were all in attendance at Maplewood Farm to hear a few speeches and dance to the tunes of a fiddle band headed by newly retired DNV sign-maker extraordinaire, Cam Stewart. A special guest in attendance was former parks director Dirk Oostindie, whose energy and vision resulted in the creation of Maplewood Farm as a municipal park.
Trail and Habitat co-ordinator Graham Knell spoke about the huge impact volunteers have on our local landscape, both those who take part in the DNV outdoors programs as well as people in the wider community who gather armies of volunteers to work on neighbourhood parks clean-ups, salmon-enhancement projects, trail building and more.
It was a HUGE list of groups he named – way to go, North Van! – and he gave special mention to the Lynn Valley folks who worked with the District to clean up Doran Park this past year. He was very proud to report that 49 one-tonne trucks of invasive plants were carted away as a result of all their labour (and a tip of the hat was also given to the visiting American navy cadets who literally marched down the street to help out!)
If you’d like an invite to next year’s hoedown (and who wouldn’t, we ask?) just get on board with one of the many District outdoor programs. Graham says he’s got the best job ever – he’s always surrounded by smiling volunteers who love what they do! Contact details and more info are here.
Well, of course Lynn Valley’s got talent – lots of it! So we’re thrilled that Lynn Valley Village is putting together a Lynn Valley’s Got Talent event. And we’re confident it will rival anything you’ve seen on TV to date, if only because you might just know the people on stage!
There will be three age categories: Kids (12 and under), Youth (13-18), and Adults (19+). Get creative with your entry, your ‘talent’ might be anything from bands, singing, magicians, mimes, or something that’s a unique passion of your own. Participants will be asked to submit a video between Sept. 1 and 15; these will be posted on the Lynn Valley Village facebook page and the vote-counting will begin.
The Top Three in each category will perform live in front of judges at the Lynn Valley Village on Saturday, October 5 between 1 and 3 p.m. So start tuning your fiddle, warming up your yodeller, or polishing your dance shoes – we’re looking forward to cheering you on! Details are on the poster below, and in more detail, along with an entry form, at this LV Village facebook page; entries are to be sent to [email protected].
Watching a Canada Day parade, one can’t help but reflect on the many contrasting strands that weave together to make our sea-to-sea-to-sea country something to be proud of.
It’s right there on the pavement in front of you, marching behind the bagpipers. There’s the military; there are musicians. There are rescue heroes; there are politicians of all stripes. There are people driving tanks and people riding electric bikes. People boxing and people dancing.
And so it is at the community level. To be vibrant and sustainable, a neighbourhood needs to be full of people who are willing to step up and contribute their own unique gifts to the world outside their front door. The more diverse a talent pool Lynn Valley can draw upon, the stronger our community will be. Conflicting opinions aren’t a bad thing – a lack of engagement is.
In our ongoing conversation regarding town planning, density, and Lynn Valley’s future, there are repeated references to Lynn Valley’s “community character.” Our safe streets. Our small-town feel. Our natural environment.
So what is it that each of us is prepared to do to preserve or enhance these neighbourhood characteristics we all laud? Because – regardless of which NVD option you lean toward – it’s our contention that community spirit isn’t dictated by the height of a apartment tower.
That “friendly, small-town feel” comes from inviting a new neighbour over for a backyard BBQ. It comes from choosing to plant flowers on the outside of your fence, where you can’t see them but passersby-can. It’s from realizing that when the Lynn Valley Lions ask for help setting up tables for a charitable pancake breakfast, there’s no reason in the world you shouldn’t pitch in, and many reasons you should. It’s from joining the Adopt-a-Street program with your children, so they grow up knowing the importance of community service.
It comes from attending an Argyle music concert or football game, even if you don’t have kids in the school. It comes from asking questions of the people around you, and learning more about their roots – whether those were planted firmly in Lynn Valley, or halfway around the world.
It comes from joining the Lynn Valley Community Association, a service group, one of Lynn Valley’s many different churches, or any other local organization that gives people a place to put their energies to work for the common good. Because you know what? All those clichés are true. Serving others brings a particular joy that can’t quite be replicated by any other means. And working with other people towards an altruistic goal is the stuff of which real communities are made.
We could name a hundred more things that people in this neighbourhood already do to keep it strong, and we bet you could, too. And there are hundreds more unsung heroes we don’t hear about – people whose compassion and commitment evidence themselves in quiet ways, all year through. (The kind of people, for example, we love to hear about for our annual Good Neighbour Award!)
So, next time you find yourself referring to Lynn Valley’s community “character” as a factor in the town planning debate – and it can be used by people on either side of that fence! – ask yourself what it is, really, that makes a neighbourhood great. Design is important, there’s no question about it, and good design will incorporate elements that serve to facilitate and encourage neighbourhood engagement.
But Lynn Valley’s story isn’t dictated by the number of storeys on a building – whether two, eight, 16 or more. Writing our community story is up to us. If we want to live in a friendly, small-town kind of place, we can each do our part to make that happen. And guess what? We don’t have to wait for feasibility studies, transit overhauls or council votes. That small-town feel starts with me, and with you. And it starts now, or it doesn’t. Our choice.
Leo the St. John’s Ambulance therapy dog hangs out in LV Village, after he and owner Rob’s visit to Lynn Valley Care Centre.
Have you shared your views regarding Lynn Valley town planning? Online feedback is open until Friday, July 5th. Click here to read some of the background, learn more about the options, and offer your thoughts via the user-friendly, online Metroquest feedback form.
The B.C. Mills House Museum, a hidden reminder of Lynn Valley’s history, is located near the entrance of Lynn Valley Headwaters Regional Park.
Originally purchased from a 1904 catalogue of the B.C. Mills Timber and Trading company, it represents the first prefabricated house on the North Shore. It was purchased and built in 1908 by Captain Henry Pybus as a home for his family.
Later, it was converted to a schoolhouse and still later became the political headquarters of the infamous Rhino party. After many years of neglect, the building was to be torn down. However, Stella Jo Dean, a councillor of North Vancouver City at the time, suggested it be moved to the newly established Lynn Headwaters Park to serve as a historic reminder of the early lumbering days.
With the approval of the planning department and the physical resources of the 6th Field squadron of engineers, the building was dismantled, reassembled and refurbished in its present location.
Over the next few years, various hikers and interested persons started bringing to the museum a variety of artifacts found in the woods – objects that dated back, in some cases, to the late 1800s!
Subsequently an inventory was created of all these items and became available about the time the museum opened in 1998.
Items have since been added and an update of our inventory is becoming a necessity. Although storage and display space is limited, the museum still lures visitors from a broad geographic region – many of whom have loggers as their forebears.
The museum is staffed by a few keen volunteers on Sundays and statutory Mondays from 11:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. from May to September. If you’d like to join us, just see our notice, below!
– Ruth Sherwood, Lead Volunteer
Spend the occasional Sunday afternoon in the park, and learn more about how our forebears first made their living in this part of the North Shore!
Join the group of avid volunteers at the B.C. Mills House Museum as an occasional host from May to September, on Sundays and statutory Mondays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The volunteers’ aim is to provide information about the early logging and mining history in this area. Experienced volunteers help newcomers become oriented to the program.
Volunteers also provide park and trail information to the many hikers and dog walkers who head out into this large wilderness region.
To obtain further information about this opportunity, contact West-Area Metro Regional Parks at 604 224-5739, or just drop into the museum during the open hours.
UPDATED: June 28, 2013
You’ve seen the signs around the neighbourhood, the pamphlets in your mailbox, and the emails in your inbox. As public consultation regarding the implementation plan for Lynn Valley’s town centre intensifies, a range of views are being expressed from North Vancouver District, informal citizens’ groups as well as individuals, and Mark Sager on behalf of Bosa Devlopments.
Exchanges amongst fellow citizens range from enlightening to heated. Well-presented opinions have the undecided amongst us swinging from one perspective to another and back again. Less helpful are those people who are taking up a post at the entrance to the NVD open houses and encouraging attendees to sign their anti-high rise petition even before they’ve had a chance to go inside and research the information for themselves. (This was the subject of one recent presentation to council by LV resident Dan Ellis.)
At LynnValleyLife our position in this whole process has been to encourage two things: first, that people get engaged in learning about the options and expressing their views; apathy isn’t the path to a healthy neighbourhood. Second, that people engage in debate that is constructive, not inflammatory. Anger is rarely the path to a creative solution.
To that end, we asked our readers to give us their response to the earlier implementation plans that included mixed housing, including high-rise towers, and a variety of public amenities. We published all the responses we received; they were well thought out and make for good reading.
Now that a new consultation round is under way, there are a range of individuals expressing their considered views. Two very different perspectives are expressed by longtime Lynn Valley community volunteer John Gilmour, whose recent email describes why he sees the proposals as a great chance to create a “multi-use lifestyle centre,” and by the anonymous author of this tract, which is being distributed online and around the neighbourhood and calls the proposals a form of gentrification.
The “StopHiRises” citizen activist group is decided in its views and its eagerness to get more signatories to their petition, which demands a cap of five storeys on future building in the valley. Recently, a supporter of the tower-inclusive development proposal published his views on a “Lynn Valley Revival” website of his own; it includes a page of letters from other residents supportive of building up, not out.
Fortunately, amongst the divergent voices there are some resources available that will help you make up your own mind. The North Vancouver District “Identity” website has been made easier to navigate in the past view days, and includes a “Frequently Asked Questions” document that gives an excellent background to the debate (and explains why more homes need to be built in the first place).
The Identity website has links to the display boards and models from the open houses, and to an online feedback form that is available until July 5. Under Step #4, they have also linked relevant documents, such as the aforementioned FAQ as well as the recently released Lynn Valley traffic study that will show the impact of density on traffic flow in the neighbourhood.
At time of writing, there is one more DNV open house at which to see the models in person and to ask questions of the District planning staff. We’ve been to two of the four open houses, and are pleased to see that they seem to have been well attended by a mix of people. The last one is at Argyle Secondary on Wednesday, June 12 from 6 to 9:30 p.m.
As promised, North Vancouver District has expanded the time frame for public consultation on the issue of how the municipality’s Official Community Plan will be implemented in Lynn Valley town centre.
We hope that people will share their views and bring their ideas to the table. You can visit the North Vancouver District booth at Lynn Valley Day, and attend one of the four open house events that are taking place in our neighbourhood from between June 1 and 12. Online feedback will also be collected. All details for engaging in the process are here.
Once options are explored over the spring and summer months, the vision will be narrowed down in the fall to preferred option(s) that will be put before NVD council for their consideration.
We’ve already reported on Mark Sager’s invitation to give your thoughts about the Bosa redevelopment of the mall area, and this will be ongoing up to and including Lynn Valley Day. Read this post for information about Mark’s storefront in the mall.
There have never been so many opportunities to share your thoughts, Lynn Valley, so we encourage you to get out there and have your opinions registered!
Here’s some information from the NVD Identity website:
From the garden of Lynn O’Malley…
This was going to be a celebratory post about the fact that my sunflower seeds poked their heads above the soil last Saturday, a scant week after I detailed their planting in this post.
From the garden of Lynn O’Malley, voice of the valley:
For the past two months, the LynnValleyLife team has been planning and promoting its scheme to blanket Lynn Valley in summertime sunflowers. We’ve talked sunflowers, mailed sunflowers, photo’d sunflowers and dreamt sunflowers. It occurred to me that amidst all the fuss, I might forget to actually plant the darn things!
