Eco-Awareness & The Great Outdoors

Green Coast Rubbish cleans up at awards night

Many congratulations to Lynn Valley’s Green Coast Rubbish, a local company that doesn’t just haul your ‘junk’ away … it finds good homes and uses for as much of it as possible. That dedication to waste reduction was recently recognized when the company was given the 2013 Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award in the Green Business category. Green Coast Rubbish joins other well-known  previous award recipients that include the David Suzuki Foundation.

It isn’t the first honour the company has received, as you’ll see if you read their LynnValleyLife Merchant Profile. But it’s great to hear they certainly aren’t slowing down any in their efforts to find ever more ways to divert waste from the landfill and incinerator.

These are some of the impressive stats from Green Coast Rubbish’s recent blog entry: “Whenever possible, we divert and donate materials to local non-profit organizations that can put them to good use (over 9 tonnes of goods & material in total, this past year alone). Since 2010, we’ve kept over 522 tons of waste materials away from our local landfills by recycling or diverting them (a 76% diversion rate), with our ultimate goal being a 100% diversion by 2020. And while our business is built upon helping clients effectively manage their waste, we also believe in consciously working toward bettering our own environmental footprint on a daily basis. In 2012, we managed to reduce our personal greenhouse gas emissions by 7.73%.”

Many congratulations again GCR, and remember, Lynn Valleyites, this company is happy to come to your home or business, so if you’re wanting a simple way to keep your own waste disposal as green as possible, keep Green Coast Rubbish in mind!

 

November 8, 2013 in Blog, Current News, Eco-Awareness & The Great Outdoors, Merchant Mentions

Harvest sunflower seeds in days to come

It’s been fantastic travelling around Lynn Valley and seeing more and more sunflower patches out in full bloom. Perhaps they are showing up more now, thanks to the backdrop of our recent grey weather!

Some of our own flowers are still to emerge, and others are drooping. But just because their petals may no longer be perky, don’t forget that your sunflowers are far from finished. For many creatures, the best is yet to come!

(more…)

September 17, 2013 in Blog, Current News, Eco-Awareness & The Great Outdoors, O'Malley's Musings, Project Sunflower

Volunteers keep North Van clean & green

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.

 

September 13, 2013 in Blog, Current News, Eco-Awareness & The Great Outdoors, Getting Involved, Governance and Services

Project Sunflower to honour best blooms

The stems are staggering, the leaves are lion-sized, and the blooms are bursting open. Congratulations to all you Project Sunflower growers who managed to nurse your seedlings through to flowering!

We’ve seen the results as we’ve been cruising the neighbourhood streets, and some of the sunflower patches are a sight to be seen. Unfortunately, a fair number of people (and we thank them for their efforts!) planted seeds that rotted in this spring’s ongoing rainy weather. Alternately, some of the seedlings that did manage to poke their heads up were promptly decapitated by irksome slugs. But we figure that’s all the more reason to celebrate the ones that survived!

(more…)

August 16, 2013 in Blog, Community Events, Contests, Current News, Eco-Awareness & The Great Outdoors, Project Sunflower

At mid-summer mark, sunflowers overtake editor

Can you spot the editor? Thanks to a wall of sunflowers (and her sunhat!), probably not – but she’s there!

It’s official, my sunflowers are now taller than I am (which, I have to admit, isn’t saying much). Still, I’m very proud of them, especially since much of the rest of my garden is suffering.

My Shasta daisies are once again this year covered with aphids, despite ladybugs, blasts from the hose, and insecticidal soap. The blooms are starting to brown and wither; whether it’s from the aphids, the ants that follow them faithfully, or the all-out attempts at cure I do not know. My neighbours enjoy cheerful, unblemished daisies with nary a bug; mine look like refugees from a biblical plague of locusts.

My clematises (clamati?) are, save one, stubbornly refusing to flower. One is brown with a few straggly green leaves; no, it’s roots are NOT in the shade as prescribed by garden books everywhere, but even when its roots WERE carefully put in the shadows last year it didn’t behave any better, so to heck with it. Another is a standard jackmanii, but ever since I bought it it has refused to bloom, and though it looks healthy enough it only grows teeny-tiny leaves, as if it drank something from Alice in Wonderland (or was it eating something that made her shrink?)

(more…)

July 25, 2013 in Blog, Current News, Eco-Awareness & The Great Outdoors, Project Sunflower

Project Sunflower foot-lings can use boron boost

From the garden of Lynn O’Malley:

Well, I’m very glad I planted my Project Sunflower seeds out in mid-May, because ever since then – between Lynn Valley Days and end-of-term festivities and grad and visitors – there has certainly been no chance for much meaningful gardening.

Fortunately, Mother Nature has been doing all the work, and most of my seeds have turned into fine young plants, many of them now over a foot tall. I need to thin out the ones in the garden bed; although sunflowers don’t prefer to be moved, I am hoping some will transplant into neighbours’ gardens.

(more…)

June 24, 2013 in Blog, Current News, Eco-Awareness & The Great Outdoors, O'Malley's Musings, Project Sunflower

B.C. Mills House: a step into the past

 

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

Volunteer in beautiful Lynn Headwaters!

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.

 

June 21, 2013 in Blog, Current News, Eco-Awareness & The Great Outdoors, Getting Involved, Guest Voices

June Garden Tips for Lynn Valley

What’s on this month’s garden to-do list? We asked local landscapers Matt and Rob Boyd of Endless Summer Landscaping to give us their top tips for a beautiful yard.

Mulch. It seems to be many landscapers’ philosophy that when all else fails, just go for a thick layer of decorative mulch or rocks. It gives a clean look and hides a multitude of landscaping failures. Mulch is also a relatively cheap material to purchase. There are a million types of mulching materials, including natural sources like fallen leaves, and you can get creative.

Outdoor lighting. Most people assume outdoor lighting means solar lights along the driveway, but there are many ways to incorporate lighting outside, including candles, lanterns hung from trees, and others. For a unique look, DIY Network dresses up a plain strand of lights with aluminum screening.

Pots. While we acknowledge a large collection of pots can be expensive, it encourages people to buy one or two a year over time to create an impressive display.

Annuals planting. You can start to plant your favorite selection of annuals to bring colour and life to all your garden beds.

Trim Perennials. Trim up and divide your perennials to get ready to complement your annuals.

June 3, 2013 in Blog, Current News, Eco-Awareness & The Great Outdoors

Project Sunflower Diary #1: Lynn O’Malley sows her seeds

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!

(more…)

May 5, 2013 in Blog, Community Events, Contests, Current News, Eco-Awareness & The Great Outdoors, Getting Involved, O'Malley's Musings, Project Sunflower