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Graduating in a year of Covid

The grads of 2021 have had a roller coaster of a year. There were times it looked like there might not be a school year at all and by the end, the chance to celebrate was so close – but not quite there. We chatted with Argyle Secondary School graduates on the year and the challenges of being the class of 2021.

Resilience

As this year’s Grade 12s approached September they knew the script would be rewritten. They watched the grads of 2020 have their worlds turned upside down. The class of 2021 knew it would be a year of resilience, adaptation, and reimagination.

Mika Diebolt

“Last year it was taken away suddenly,” said Mika Diebolt, an executive member of the grad council. “I think we went into the year prepared it would be different from what we were expecting.” 

Students had a big education shift this year, gone was the usual schedule replaced with two classes each day, and the year divided into quarters. Students were kept in cohorts to reduce contacts and to limit social interactions. Depending on the grade there were differing levels of in-class and online instruction. The situation made learning intense.

“There were perks to the quarter system,” said Georgia Keir, co-president of the Argyle grad council. “It’s a chance to stay engaged in topics and explore them more. It was nice that we didn’t have to juggle as many classes and to focus, but if classes were a struggle it was really easy to get lost and the consequences of falling behind were bigger.”

Adaptation

For grads, the final year of high school is a combination of building community and polishing applications for post-secondary schooling. The typical volunteer jobs and community projects that fill out university applications were put on hold. 

“I started a community project on female empowerment before covid,” said Diebolt. “We couldn’t carry out our plans but we were able to keep going with virtual events and panel discussions – it was excellent, I was able to develop skills I didn’t have like learning technology, working a network and how to bring people together for social connection when we were apart.”

Lynn Choi

Fellow grad Lynn Choi similarly had plans for social outreach. 

“My friend and I created a project to support the Downtown Eastside with essential care packages,” she said. “We had to change our goals a bit. We transitioned from us directly distributing the care packs to finding good partner organizations and adapting to the work they were already doing.”

As for school, they didn’t know what to expect. The initial response of the administration was to pull back on all extracurricular activities, said Choi.

“We faced challenges like organizing student government,” she said, co-president of the Grade 12 class. “We had to talk with the administration, find sponsors, and then find ways to get it all going.”

All three students agree the staff and administration were very supportive in the school. 

“We see teachers who are 20 or 30 years into their careers and they are also learning something completely new. The shift to focus on academics, I think, paid off,” said Diebolt. “We had opportunities we wouldn’t have like in my law class, having professional lawyers, prosecutors, and judges present lectures.”

And they were grateful for some in-class instruction, knowing that some districts didn’t offer it to Grade 12 students. 

“There was a lot of support from administration,” said Keir. “Our feelings were validated, it wasn’t about any particular assignment or test, it was about keeping us engaged and helping us to be ready for next year to do whatever we choose.”

With restrictions on gathering, clubs, athletics and activities took the biggest hit. Many did not happen at all this year. It was particularly a challenge for students hoping to achieve athletic goals in the final year, said Choi.

“I have been a part of the Argyle Cheerleading program for four years,” she said. “I was lucky to be captain. We couldn’t stunt or have any contact. It was a challenge because that is kind of what cheerleading is about: teamwork. As a captain, it was hard to create an environment where everyone felt safe and supported because we couldn’t do those bonding games that establish a connection.”

Reimagination

As the year unfolded the grads of 2021 saw many of the milestones and celebrations that take place in the final year and create a sense of camaraderie passed by unmarked. 

“My sister graduated when I was in Grade 10, I saw what their year was like,” said Keir. “It was full of fun events that brought the class together like the banquet, winter formal, prom – I was so excited to be a part of that I bought my prom dress in Grade 10 – so I was ready for this year. But it didn’t happen.”

Georgia Keir

Diebolt echoes those feelings.

“When I was younger we would see the Grade 12s and they had such a strong sense of community. Dress up days, all the special events. And we have had them in a way but building a community has been harder with fewer classes, friends aren’t around as much and there weren’t the chances to create that bond in the same way.”

Instead, the class is pleased there are ways to celebrate. The graduates will be walking across the stage in small groups to receive their diplomas. The speeches and other ceremonies along with the walk across the stage will be recorded and edited together into a longer ceremony. Parents are busily organizing a car parade which takes place Tuesday, June 22 at 7 pm.  For Diebolt, Choi, and Keir there will also be small family celebrations. They have busy summers before starting at UBC and Queens universities. 

Looking for more?

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.

June 3, 2021 in Blog, Community Events, School News Comments (0)

Forging in the forest, not foraging

It took three years and countless hours to go from clicking an intriguing YouTube link to becoming a master bladesmith in his own right. Lynn Valley Forge’s Casey Vilensky now ships his creatively crafted knives all over the world. 

Forging patience

VilenskyWith a background as a luxury car mechanic and proficient woodworker, Vilensky pairs his metal and wood experience beautifully, making the blades, handles, and wooden sheaths of his knives. Three years in from his first attempt, his knives are unquestionably art. Vilensky’s Instagram account chronicles the progression from one art to another. 

“It’s a different thing, most people get into something like woodworking,” he said. “I kind of will metal into what I want it to do.”

A fateful day of woodworking research led Vilensky across some bladesmith videos. 

“YouTube is great for makers who share their craft,” he said “I was randomly watching videos and these Damascus knives came up and I was interested.”

Functional art

Using an existing space – not huge – about the size of a garage, Vilensky began to adapt his woodworking shop into Lynn Valley Forge.  

“I added tools as I could afford to buy them,” he said. “Definitely having a mechanical background gave me experience with the process and my skills for woodworking gave me the confidence to create. I knew absolutely nobody, no other blacksmith in the Lower Mainland. The learning curve was very high at first. Knifemaking isn’t just about making something beautiful it is also about making it functional. Nobody asked me to buy a knife for the first year.” 

His progress required patience and a lot of practice. 

“The shop gets hot, it’s noisy, you get covered in grinding dust and wood dust. It’s not glamorous but it produces results that are quite beautiful.”

His passion and pursuit of quality supplies and tools have also led him far from his previous career to fully embracing blacksmithing, not only as a creator but also as an importer. Vilensky now distributes trade tools to the growing blacksmithing community in Vancouver and Canada. 

As an artist, he specializes in intricate mosaic Damascus steel. He is strongly influenced by the history and traditions of Japanese knife making. 

“The mosaic means you are working with a repeatable pattern,” he explained. “They look like flowers or explosions or a river running down. You are basically trying to paint a picture with steel.” 

It’s a good time to be creating such labour-intensive pieces of art as more people are recognizing the time and effort it takes to make one knife, said Vilensky. 

“There was a huge failure rate as I was learning. I have a bucket of knives that didn’t work out,” he said. “It’s really frustrating – some patterns take two weeks, working the steel two hours a day, every day. You can only do one operation in one day, and prepare for the next. It can take two weeks and on the last operation it fails, overheats or cracks and you just . . . start over. Luckily that doesn’t happen too much anymore.”

Sharing the trade

With future goals to continue to improve his skills, Vilensky’s priority is to maintain the artistry, and despite the lucrative opportunity of high-end knives, not fall into the trap of overproduction. 

“I don’t want to fall out of love with this. I have no desire to make reproductions, every piece is unique and that is the way it is supposed to be,” he said. “It’s a fun hobby that I sell a few knives to pay for but I want to keep it a hobby I love and not turn it into a job.”

Instead, he is sharing his love. The next project on the horizon is joining the team at Fraser River Forge to teach classes on bladesmithing. 

“I know how hard it was for me to get into, it was just watching videos and not having any personal instruction.”

Sharing his work on the other hand is more complicated. He walks a fine line of producing enough to fund future pieces while maintaining his quality and passion for the work. Vilensky makes a few pieces available through specialty shops but most stay in the hands of friends. The knives have made their way into the hands of chefs and collectors – even to Japan, often seen as the world leader in artisan knives. 

“It was humbling to have a few requests from Japan and having some good reviews from Japanese bladesmiths makes it feel like I have achieved something.”

Images courtesy of Casey Vilensky.

Looking for more?

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.

June 3, 2021 in Artistic Endeavours, Blog, Notable Neighbours Comments (0)

Celebrating June with Mountain Market

For more than 15 years Mary and Steve Choi have been doing business on Mountain Hwy – Mountain Market is an institution in Lynn Valley. Looking to brighten up your spring Mary is joining us with a flower giveaway.   

A community needs corner stores

Whether it is spending your hard found pocket money as a child or hopping out of your car to grab flowers or a desperately needed loaf of bread – a neighbourhood needs corner stores.

We have a few in Lynn Valley but the classic remains Mountain Market. For today’s parents, it is nostalgically frozen in time, a reminder of childhood 30 years ago. For local students, it’s essential to meet their daily “nutritional” needs. For families, many an occasion is celebrated with Mountain Market’s beautiful bouquets.

The Choi’s have been behind the counter of Mountain Market since 2005 – their kids growing up alongside. Frequently Mountain Market is fondly referred to a simply Mountain Mary’s. In those years they have been supportive of local causes – remember that amidst the early pandemic, dwindling shopping numbers, they stepped up to donate a trunkload of flowers to graduates of Argyle Secondary.

Community Blooms

Mary is back at it. She would like to make some homes a little bit brighter. This June we would like to celebrate grads, teachers, and anyone going through a transition. Celebration options are still few and if you or someone you care about has a change worth celebrating – let’s do it!

We will be drawing a winner each week. Winners will need to pick up their arrangements at Mountain Market. Draws will take place Friday mornings. If your name is not drawn, it will remain entered for future chances to win in June.

To enter, please fill out the form below.

Looking for more?

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.

June 3, 2021 in Blog, Contests, Merchant Mentions, Notable Neighbours Comments (0)

Camping meal solutions

As travel and leisure activities shut down last year it sparked an idea for Kim Saunders. The local mom is leveraging her work experience to create a side hustle that gets her family and others outside for easy camping adventures. Camper Hampers was launched earlier this spring and she has given us a promo code!

Filling a need

Most families have done it: load the kids, your gear, find a place to store the cooler, and head off to the campground. 

“I work a more than a full-time job and I am a single mom who loves camping, but trying to get to the grocery store, with preplanned camping meals with a five-year-old, at 6 o’clock at night, for two days of camping it was daunting,” said Saunders. “It limited the number of times we went out.” 

Like many others on the coast, she turned to camping last year to get outside and spend time with family in a safe way. One trip gave Saunders an important light bulb moment. 

“I would love to pick my kid up, throw some stuff in the car and know all my food would be there – and only the things you need, you don’t want to be eating hot dogs all weekend because they come in a pack of 10,” she said. “My parents get meal kits and they brought two of them. It made it so easy, but they weren’t the ideal meals for camping – I thought I could do this better,”

Saunders figured there were plenty of other families like hers – busy and getting busier, who love to camp but were facing barriers. For first-time campers it might be the knowledge of what to pack and how to cook, for others, it was other pressures. 

“I had all the gear but the biggest hindrance to camping was to find the time to get the food.”

Camper Hampers

Saunders has focused on simple meals that will satisfy hungry campers with quality foods. With a variety of delivery options, you don’t even need to bring your own cooler. 

“It’s slowly evolving as we test more recipes and they will be added. People seem to be responding to hand-held basics you can walk around or sit down by the fire,” she said, adding there are vegetarian options for most meals. “Our most popular items are our breakfasts and our s’more kits.” 

Using her career in logistics to find quality delivery partners, Saunders says Camper Hampers makes it easier to hit the road. 

“There are coolers to rent, so you can have your food dropped right at your campsite in the afternoon so it waiting, after you arrive, or we can drop it at your home so after work it is there so you can throw it in your own cooler and go.” 

It was important for Saunders to offer meals that maintain the quality she offers her family at home. 

“I don’t serve anything that I wouldn’t eat,” she said. If I wouldn’t feed it to my kid, I wouldn’t sell it. For me, eating very little meat, the quality of what I do eat has to be there. I use Lindt chocolate, Two Rivers Meats. We have just gotten with Very Good Butchers for our vegan options – I am very excited about that. 

As a start-up, Saunders is learning from other meal prep businesses and trying to be as eco-friendly as she can. She is exploring corn-based packaging that can be burned or composted. 

“Everything does need to be portioned, so there is some waste,” she said. “My aim is that by 2023 that everything will be recyclable, compostable, or reusable.” 

Beyond using Camper Hampers, Saunders offered some other advice for families camping for the first time.

  1. Bring bikes – “Kids can just go and explore and have a bit more freedom.”
  2. Be prepared – “Bring the biggest tarp you can, bring an extra. It’s wet on the coast.”
  3. Extra layers – “The temperature can change or kids can get messy, packing a few extra clothes might save your trip.” 
  4. Don’t forget your promo code – Saunders has shared one for LynnValleyLife readers: 10% off until June 30, 2021: LVLIFE2021

Looking for more?

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.

June 2, 2021 in Blog, Merchant Mentions, Notable Neighbours Comments (0)

The noise of childhood

It is often said new moms should embrace the mess or chaos of motherhood, for two local moms the pandemic has been all about embracing the noise. Lynsey MacDonald and Caroline Garstin are reveling in being “boy moms” and launched a clothing line that embraces their lifestyle.

Noisy Boys

When Garstin and MacDonald – and their four boys under four – walk up to a playground, they say, you will know they are coming. 

“At the playground we’d see little girls playing cooperatively, having a tea party and then we show up with the boys having a yelling match,” laughs MacDonald. “We cause a scene.” 

The two Lynn Valley moms were friends back in high school at Argyle but lost touch. They reconnected a few years ago, in of all places, the maternity ward at Lions Gate Hospital. Another pair of babies later and they are loving the rough and tumble life they have – each with a 3.5-year-old and baby under one. 

“We were bored during the early pandemic and started taking more pictures and set up an Instagram page because we thought so many moms could relate to our lives. We celebrate the real. There are so many picture-perfect images on Instagram and we wanted to show the real-life of raising four boys between us,” said MacDonald. 

People really responded which gave way to leveraging Noisy Boys even more. 

“Everyone has a noisy boy in their life whether it’s a teenager, a dad, a brother, a son and we took that idea and it grew,” said Gastin. “So now people can hear us coming and see us coming.”

Moms helping moms

Once the pair took hold of the idea, they credit their families and moms supporting moms for getting them to where they are now. Garstin and MacDonald are also grateful to the hive-mind of local Facebook groups for giving them momentum to get started. This is their first entrepreneurial venture. 

“It’s a huge learning curve,” said Garstin. “It has been a lot of fun to use our creative brains while on maternity leave. I am a full-time stay-at-home mom and Lynsey is going back to teaching this fall. This is different than anything we have done before.” 

“It has been nice to think about something other than snacks and nap times,” added MacDonald. “My husband owns a business and Lynsey’s dad owns a North Shore business – so we feel supported.” 

They have launched a line of hats, tees, and sweatshirts – with more pieces in the works for summer. With sales growing they are excited about the future. 

“We are surrounded by a lot of boy moms, I feel like we were destined to be boy moms – it’s a whole other thing,” said MacDonald. “I love the chaos and there is a lot of humour in it,” added Garstin.

Noisy Boys is giving back to the community too. By using the promo code: NOISY10 you can get 10 percent off a crewneck sweatshirt and Noisy Boys will donate 10 percent to the Cause We Care Foundation which empowers single mothers and children living in poverty. 

Looking for more?

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.

May 6, 2021 in Blog, Merchant Mentions, Notable Neighbours Comments (0)

School board trustee by-election May 29

There is a by-election for residents of the District of North Vancouver May 29th to elect a school board trustee for the remainder of the term (approximately one year). There are five people stepping up to the plate with two representing Lynn Valley. 

Linda Munro

A life-long North Vancouver resident, Munro has been a long-time community supporter, in a variety of roles. In fact, we recognized her with the LynnValleyLife Good Neighbour Award in 2018. 

Linda works in University Relations at Capilano University. She has children at Ross Road Elementary and Argyle Secondary schools, and she is currently co-chair of the Parent Advisory Council at Ross Road School. Linda has served as a board member for North Vancouver District Public Library, Lynn Valley Parent Participation Preschool and Capilano Community Services Society. She is committed to inclusive education, support for complex learners, raising Indigenous graduation rates, and promoting learning models that recognize a whole-person approach to education. She believes in creating positive K-12 school experiences and centring schools at the heart of the community. You can learn more about Linda Munro on her website: www.lindamunro.ca

Alex Kozak

Another life-long resident, Kozak is a West Vancouver Secondary teacher. His children attend Lynn Valley Elementary. He aims to build on the lessons of COVID and to bring back the performing arts, athletics, field trips, and ceremonies/celebrations that make schools great. Other priorities include: supporting anxiety and mental health issues among students, parents, and staff, and financial shortfalls amplified by increased cost of safety measures in schools and decreasing international enrollment. You can learn more about Alex Kozak on his website: https://alexanderkozak.ca. 

Other candidates

Three other candidates reside in other parts of North Vancouver: Jo-Anne Burleigh, Jullian Kolstee, and Linda Williams. 

When and how to vote: 

The general voting day is May 29th. There is a polling station at Argyle Secondary as well as  Seycove and Windsor secondary schools, and Braemar, Capilano, Cleveland, and Lynnmour elementary schools.

There are two advanced poll days: May 19 at DNV municipal hall and May 24 at DNV’s municipal hall and Windsor Secondary.

Looking for more?

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.

May 6, 2021 in Blog, Notable Neighbours, School News Comments (0)

Looking forward and planning for the future

The District of North Vancouver is reaching out to residents to think about the future of the district. It is in the middle of a “targeted Official Community Plan (OCP) review.” It has assembled background documents in four topic areas and is asking for feedback from residents. It’s a lot to take in and it may be intimidating but it is a chance to have your goals for the future of Lynn Valley. Our neighbourhood has seen rapid changes, many forecast by the OCP and still, the community seemed surprised at times. This is a chance to get out in front of community issues. 

What is the OCP?

The Official Community Plan (OCP) helps a local government describe its long-term vision for the future. The objectives and policies help guide elected officials and employees in land use, transportation, sustainability, and many other areas of managing a municipality.  According to the DNV our current OCP was completed in 2011 and over 5,000 people participated in its development.

“It works together with more detailed strategic action and implementation plans, such as corporate and financial plans, our Town Centres’ Implementation Plans, the Transportation Plan, the Parks and Open Space Strategic Plan, and others,” said Justin Beddall, communications coordinator for the DNV. “Many of the changes you see today in Lynn Valley, Lynn Creek, and Lions Gate Village, for example, originated from the direction and policy in the 2011 OCP.”

Why should this matter to you?

A scan of local social media there is a lot of back and forth from residents about the changes to Lynn Valley. Some love the densification and the opportunity for more people to make this great community home. Others agree but find the growth puts the community financially outreach for a diverse community. Some don’t like the growth direction at all. For local mom, and now rental housing advocate, Kelly Bond wishes she engaged earlier in the OCP process. 

“As one who was in the throws of raising tots and teens during the years leading up to the OCP adoption in 2011, I didn’t take the time to learn or understand the importance of being engaged in the process. If I’m honest, I didn’t even know what an Official Community Plan was,” said Bond, even as a very active community volunteer, at the time the process didn’t grab her attention at first. “ If I had taken a moment to become fully informed, I might have understood that the very OCP being created put my (and that of 60 other) family’s purpose-built rental housing and its luxurious green space that surrounded it at extreme risk of redevelopment.  I would have more strongly advocated for a greater inclusion and protection of purpose-built rental units for town centres areas over the more widely considered strata and investment options.”

As Bond was forced into action to advocate for more diverse housing, it led to a better understanding of all OCP issues and how they relate to each and every resident. 

“While replacement rental housing is what brought me to be actively engaged in municipal action, I now see how intricately that transportation, economy, recreation, education and climate issues co-relate and I frequently choose to make my thoughts heard to the decision-makers as they debate resolutions and motions,” she said  

What is the review?

This current review process was requested by district council to take a closer look at four specific areas to ensure the OCP continues to support the current vision and goals for the community. 

“The targeted OCP review seeks to address the biggest issues facing the citizens of the District of North Vancouver – housing, transportation, climate emergency, and the economy and employment lands,” said Beddall. “This engagement is an opportunity for citizens to voice their opinions and views to help shape the actions the District will be taking to address the biggest issues facing this community.” 

The DNV is open to all residents, business owners, and employees that work in the district to give their input through May 16. 

“In particular, families, seniors, students, disabled, new immigrants, and renters should actively participate and add their voices into the four areas established for targeted review,” said Bond.

For the district it helps gauge the current climate which has moved on from 2011. 

“The goal of the targeted review is to ensure we account for emerging issues, challenges, and trends in these four areas, and set guidance through an action plan as we continue to implement the OCP through 2030,” said Beddall.

The district’s webpage dedicated to the review gathers documents on transportation, housing, the climate emergency, and economy and employment lands for residents to review and a survey to offer feedback. 

“We’ve made efforts to help people engage in ways that works for them, while staying safe during the pandemic,” he said. “District residents have told us that many people prefer to participate in civic matters when it works for their schedules, rather than at specific times, so people can participate in a survey online at DNV.org/OCP-review. We’re making an effort to be respectful of peoples’ interests and available time to devote to something like this, so participants can choose to share their thoughts about all four areas or choose the topics that they are the most passionate about.”

For Bond, it is an opportunity she hopes others will take, and it could have a direct impact in the years ahead as the district updates its direction within Metro Vancouver’s 2050 regional growth strategy. 

 “Public input in the targeted OCP review can potentially impact what share DNV commits to as far as growth and population for the immediate years ahead,” she said. “The questions are fairly self-explanatory and presented in layman’s terms. If you feel less strongly about one particular topic, but have strong opinions or new ideas about another, your comments are equally vital and valid. All feedback provided helps establish the direction the district will seek and which experts would need to be further consulted to ensure the community’s priorities are acted on in strategy and policy formation.”  

There were also a number of virtual workshops to join, the last occurring May 10th. Details can be found here: DNV.org/OCP-review.

Looking for more?

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.

May 6, 2021 in Blog, Current News, Development and Town Planning, Governance and Services Comments (0)

A space for digital storytellers

The goal of enhancing the community’s digital literacy has led to an innovative maker space at the Lynn Valley Branch of the North Vancouver District Public Library. The StoryLab’s covid-delayed public debut allowed the library to seamlessly pivot to its pandemic programming, and now it is open for creating.

Evolution of storytelling and literacy

“The original goal was to launch in April of 2020,” said Maryann Kempthorne, manager of innovation and learning for the NVDPL. “But a silver lining was we had this space and resources to take the library digital [during the pandemic restrictions]. We had a studio that allowed us to continue our programs online.”

The new StoryLab facility is a new creativity and learning space. Essentially it is an audio-visual maker space stocked with computers, digitization equipment, an audio booth, and a film studio – complete with lights, mics, and a green screen. It’s a technology hub that builds on the North Shore’s tradition of storytelling, said Kempthorne. 

“Maker spaces are a trend in libraries,” she explained. “We went with audiovisual instead of a sewing machine or 3D printer to suit the community. There is a lot of impact from the district and the shore that is visual and very media. We have North Shore Studios right here. We have an opportunity to influence storytelling in an audiovisual way.”

With a commitment to diversity and inclusion, the StoryLab is also an effort to support more people. 

“Our library has a really strong background in creating readers,” said Kempthorne. “Literacy can be digital literacy – podcasting, film, green screen production.”

But more than that, the StoryLab is about meeting patrons where they are and helping them grow, she said.  

“There are people who are not interested in our anchor services around print. We are able to reach them with content we make that is more accessible. Youth who can’t see themselves reflected in other services might see themselves in digital media learning. It also allows us to support multilingualism.”

When the StoryLab is not booked by the public, it is used by staff to enhance the digital collection, to run online programs and events, and to record audiobooks by patron request.

There are other practical uses for the space. In a pandemic world and the rise of video conferencing and digital connection, people without resources at home or the knowledge to participate can be helped by the StoryLab, said Kempthorne, giving the example of a senior needing to attend a virtual court hearing.

Collaborative creation

The original plan was to have a space where creators could come together to innovate. There is an entire room still on covid-hold that will host technology education sessions in the Digital Learning Lab. As the pandemic pivot continues the NVDPL has plans to host virtual sessions from expert creators, think filmmakers speaking in a similar way to an author talk. 

In the short time, it has been open, the current vision of collaboration has shifted and is supporting creators, small businesses, and local organizations. 

“One of the best examples is North Van Arts was completing one of their local videos and wanted to get people in to record in alternate languages.”

The space is also part of a larger collaborative North Shore vision between NVDPL, the North Vancouver City Library, and the West Vancouver Memorial Library as they all explore maker spaces and aim to provide complementary services with little duplication, said Kempthorne.

How it works

Users can now book the film studio, audio booth, computer stations, or digitization stations. Staff will have a quick consultation to see how much support a creator might need and offer reading materials, digital resources, or other prep materials to make their session a success. Users will need to utilize cloud file transfers or their own portable storage to save their projects and they are also welcome to bring in their own equipment. 

Kempthorne is excited about the innovation opportunities the StoryLab will provide. 

“We have an opportunity to attract and develop storytellers and digital media artists. Having more storytellers in residence at our local library is really exciting. One of the founding projects we did was for youth. Some of my podcasters we have now, came and attended when they were 12 – that’s the continuum of digital literacy and learning.”

This project is the first step in an evolving vision, said Kempthorne. Just as patrons can recommend books they can chat with and make requests with the digital services librarian to improve the space and further innovate.  

 

Visit the Lynn Valley branch or its website to learn more. 

Looking for more?

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.

April 8, 2021 in Artistic Endeavours, Blog, Current News, Neighbourhood News, Notable Neighbours Comments (0)

Easter Surprises!

It is with heavy – but wise – hearts we are not hosting our annual Easter Egg Hunt. It is not the time to bring together scores of families for an afternoon. Instead, we are having a contest that will win you a (physically-distant) visit from the Easter Bunny on Easter Monday – complete with some treats.

Egg-citing visit

The Easter will still be bouncing around Lynn Valley – just a little differently than years past. There is still a chance it will come for a (distant) in-bunny visit and drop of some treats – all you have to do is enter our art contest! We are offering three lucky winners a visit from the Easter Bunny on April 5!

We know not every child loves to colour, so we have expanded our contest to include a nature option – photograph your bunny creation and send that along. Check out some inspiration below:

  1. You can download the nature template here, the eggs here and the rabbit here.
  2. Drop off your entries at 3171 Moutain Hwy or email a photo or PDF to [email protected], Subject: Easter contest, include name, age, and contact number.
  3. Entries must be received by end of day March 31.

Looking for more?

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.

March 4, 2021 in Blog, Contests Comments (0)