It has been a busy year – for us all. We don’t always get a chance to keep up with all the goings on in our community or to know what happens behind the scenes.
It has been a busy year – for us all. We don’t always get a chance to keep up with all the goings on in our community or to know what happens behind the scenes.
An interesting news release from the Lynn Valley Library, especially for young readers who are dog lovers!
North Vancouver District Public Library is thrilled to announce a new program aimed at encouraging children to further develop their literacy skills by reading aloud…to a dog! On Wednesday evenings from January 17—March 14, local children have the opportunity to come to read to Starr, the friendly Great Dane, at Lynn Valley Library at the Paws 4 Stories program.
Paws 4 Stories is a St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Community Service program that is designed to assist in helping to improve reading skills of children. Reading to a certified therapy dog has been shown to be motivating and calming to readers, and can potentially help children change their approach to reading. It can be particularly beneficial for children who may be hesitant or anxious about reading.
The program is recommended for children ages 6 -12.
Children can sign up for up to three twenty minute sessions while the program is running, but space is limited and registration is required. Those interested in participating can call 604-984-0286, ext. 8141 or visit the Lynn Valley Children’s Desk to register.
It has been a busy year – for us all. We don’t always get a chance to keep up with all the goings on in our community or to know what happens behind the scenes. LynnValleyLife reached out to pretty much every local group we could track down and ask them to share their how the year went, what their hopes are for 2018 and how the Lynn Valley community can help them succeed. A few shared their thoughts. We have three posts coming up featuring the diversity of our community. We hope you enjoy this series of hopes and reflections.
The 2017 NVDPL board
2017 was a year of many great accomplishments for the North Vancouver District Public Library system. This year, the Library completed a beautiful renovation to the main lobby of the Lynn Valley Library, hosted over 2,100 programs, loaned over 1.1M items across our three locations, and celebrated the 10 year anniversary of Lynn Valley Library’s ‘new’ location.
The Library is a safe, neutral hub for lifelong learning and community connection. As such, an ongoing challenge is to find a balance and adapt to the varying needs of our community for study space, increased technology capability, and a robust collection.
Our hope is to continue to demonstrate our commitment to the community, the wonderful programs and services we offer, and to welcome more residents.
We hope that Lynn Valley retains its warm community feeling while embracing and welcoming new residents.
North Vancouver residents have always been very supportive of library services and we appreciate that continued support. We encourage everyone to stop by and say “hello”!
To keep up with the NVDPL all year round follow their Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
It has been a busy year – for us all. We don’t always get a chance to keep up with all the goings on in our community or to know what happens behind the scenes. LynnValleyLife reached out to pretty much every local group we could track down and ask them to share their how the year went, what their hopes are for 2018 and how the Lynn Valley community can help them succeed. A few shared their thoughts. We have three posts coming up featuring the diversity of our community. We hope you enjoy this series of hopes and reflections.
The challenge we faced was fundraising for major projects and education programs. Although we were successful it took a lot of time from limited staff that have many other duties. Another challenge was that our fish fence was washed out in high flows in a storm this past fall. We are looking to repair it in the early part of next year.
In the year our goals are to continue to make progress on the Seymour River rockslide, we have fundraised over $300,000 for the work in 2018.
We would like to offer 70 field trip days to elementary-aged children next spring and fall, educating youth on the importance of salmon and a healthy watershed.
Finally, our main goal is to continue to enhance coho, pink and chum salmon and steelhead trout on the Seymour River to ensure they’re long term survival.
We would like to see Lynn Valley stay the pristine natural place that is wonderful to hike and spend time outdoors.
The community has been an incredible support in the past and we hope that they would continue to support the Society. A couple important way to help are by becoming a volunteer or by becoming a paid member (only $10 annually). Another great way the community can show its support is by coming and participating in our annual events like, Family Fishing Day on June 17th, Seymour Hatchery Open House on September 16th and Rivers Day on September 30th.
To keep up with the Society all year round follow their Instagram or Facebook.
We hope that everyone heading back to school or work this week (or last!) is feeling refreshed from a happy Christmas that included some good “down” time with family and friends. Our very best wishes to you and yours for 2018!
Speaking of refreshed, we have been working away on an updated look for our LynnValleyLife website and newsletter. All the same great community info is there, but we hope that this new format puts everything right at your fingertips. Please have a look – and check out the work of our new community newshound, Robin Thorneycroft. We are delighted to welcome Robin to our team of people who love to promote all that is good about our neighbourhood!
Students at Argyle Secondary are beating the cold tucked in a small corner working oxygen and flame to mould glass into art.
Cheryl, Olivia and Tim Green with LVLife realtor Kelly Gardiner
The annual Lynn Valley Walk of Trees lighting ceremony is always a festive event, and this year was no exception as a sunny afternoon and snow-capped mountains brought the crowds out to Lynn Valley Village on December 3.
New this year was a candlelit lantern parade that wound through the dark Christmas tree forest while we were serenaded by Lynn Valley’s Bobbi Smith leading Silent Night. The Christmas tree countdown took place shortly after, with Mayor Richard Walton and MLA Jane Thornthwaite pushing the big red button that lit up the trees that have been decorated by community businesses and organizations. Thanks to these sponsors, Lynn Valley Community Association Gillian Konst was them able to present the Harvest Foundation with a cheque for $2,750.
An extra-special highlight for us was being on hand to present the LynnValleyLife Good Neighbour Award to a local citizen who contributes time and energy to their community all year ’round.
This year’s winner of the plaque and Black Bear Pub gift certificate is a real friend to many in the community – whether they know it or not! For as long as we have known Tim Green, he has always been found behind the scenes, making sure community events run smoothly for his fellow organizers and for all the Lynn Valley residents who come out to enjoy themselves at Lynn Valley Days, the annual toy sale, and more.
Tim is a volunteer extraordinaire and a genuinely nice guy, and we are delighted that he was put forward for this award by the Lynn Valley Services Society (LVSS) and the Lynn Valley Community Association (LVCA) for this recognition. His nomination letters speak for themselves, so we wanted to print them in their entirety, below. We hope they get you into the spirit of the season… and that you visit the Christmas Tree Walk in Lynn Valley Village soon!
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Dear LynnValleyLife,
We would like to nominate Tim Green for this year’s Good Neighbour Award. He is our “Silent Hero”.
Quietly, behind the scene, seeking no recognition, Tim has assisted and supported the LVSS at Mollie Nye House for many years. Each week he drops by to bring out our garbage bins for collection and returns to make sure everything is put away. This is a chore that would be difficult for us to manage without Tim.
This summer LVSS held a Heritage Fair which was a free community event in recognition of Canada 150. As a not-for-profit we were pressed to find cost-effective solutions to the many issues that came our way. When we realized that on-site security would be needed the night before the fair we reached out to Tim to see if he knew of any individuals or firms that might provide the service for a low cost. Without hesitation Tim volunteered his services and made sure our fair site was secure throughout the night.
Tim cares for Lynn Valley very much and serves as a volunteer for Citizen’s Crime Watch (CCW) on the North Shore. In January of this year, Tim was driving past Mollie Nye House and noticed suspicious activity. The motto of the CCW is to “Observe, Record and Report” and while he was not on duty that evening Tim monitored the activities, stayed onsite and contacted CCW who in turn contacted the RCMP. Tim’s quick actions stabilized a situation that could have been much worse and minimized the damage to Mollie Nye House. This is another example of Tim’s dedication to our community and why we know he is our “Silent Hero”.
Sincerely,
Ginny Phillips
Board Chair
Lynn Valley Services Society
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Dear LynnValleyLife:
Lynn Valley Community Association are pleased to support the nomination of Tim Green for your Good Neighbour Award. Tim is a longtime member of LVCA and served on the board for several years, keeping meticulous records of our membership database.
He and his wife Cheryl organized the Kids Toy Sale for many years. You can always count on Tim to help with setting up events, especially our Annual Parade of Trees. For the past nine years he has stopped by the Mollie Nye House early in the morning to put out the garbage and later in the day to bring the cans back in. Tim also helps out at Lynn Valley Days, making the parade route safe and marshalling traffic for the parade.
Tim always has the right tools, shows up rain or shine and it would be hard to find a more committed volunteer. Yet he does all this in the quietest possible way.
Thank you.
Gillian Konst
President
Lynn Valley Community Association
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The first weekend in December is always a special one in Lynn Valley, featuring the seasonal light-up of Mollie Nye House and the Christmas trees in Lynn Valley Village. This year was no exception, with many local residents coming out to have fun and join in the grand countdown to turning on the thousands of sparkling lights.
Holiday cheer in Lynn Valley kicks off this weekend. The season will bring, concerts, teas, Christmas trees and family activities.
Months of work have come to fruition, and this Saturday Lynn Valley Centre will be unveiling its new look.
“The theme of the renovation is ‘Bringing the outside in’,” said Lynn Valley Centre Manager Lorelei Guthrie. “We have a lot of elements like wood, and series of photographs of mountain trails – it exemplifies the great things the North Shore offers.”
There will be new washrooms, new seating areas, new art and new merchants arriving soon.
“We are excited about Miniso,” said Guthrie. “It is a Japanese retailer expanding into Canada and we are one of the first five locations in B.C.”
The new store will be opening before Christmas in the centre court near Winners, said Guthrie.
This Saturday, November 18, festivities will take place from 11 a.m to 2 p.m. From 11 a.m. to noon Save-On Foods will be presenting a reception, followed by the official ribbon-cutting and art unveiling at 12 p.m. The event also includes live musical performances, Mrs. Picasso’s face painting, and a kids’ Totem Pole craft station.
The next few days will be busy ones – by the end of the week there will be new soft seating and a new bistro area arriving.
We know we are a part of folks’ coffee trail,” she said. “We want to offer places to slow down and have a conversation. It’s quite amazing how many regulars we have and we want them to have a space to catch up.”
The key attraction to this weekend’s opening is the unveiling of Jeremy Humpherville’s sculpture The Return. The wood and metal sculpture is one of three First Nations’ works that will ultimately adorn the shopping centre.
“It’s beautiful,” said Guthrie. “It depicts the salmon return. It will be hung at the rear entrance near the washrooms. We wanted something that was reflective of the North Shore and B.C. This is an homage to First Nations who are here.”
The renovation was not without hitches. The 43-year-old floor proved to be a wild card in the process. Different parts reacted differently to removal, making the resurfacing project a challenge, said Guthrie.
While the work inside is largely complete – or will be by the weekend – the exterior work will begin next year in conjunction with the cladding on the The Residences at Lynn Valley. And parents will be pleased – a new play area will arrive after Christmas, said Guthrie.
To mark the grand reopening of Lynn Valley Centre, visit Saturday Nov. 18 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition to the ribbon cutting, art unveiling and kids’ activities there will be a sidewalk market sale presented by retailers at Lynn Valley Centre. For all the details visit the Centre’s website.