Book lovers in Victoria will soon have one more place to browse for their favourite titles, as the Churchmouse bookstore opens its doors on Saturday.
The city’s newest bookshop will be located in St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church in Oak Bay. It will be staffed by volunteers, including Daphne Baldwin, 90, who was baptized at the church.
Because of zoning and permit issues, the charity project is not a commercial venture. The books are not sold, but are exchanged for donations, which will then be used to fund local and international charities.
The bookstore has already received an impressive number of good-quality books.
The store asks for a minimum donation of $1 per book, although organizers are hoping people will be generous.
The store’s grand opening runs 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday at the church, 1701 Elgin Rd. After that, regular hours will be 1:30 to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Friday. For more information, go to stmarysoakbay.bc.anglican.ca.
Botanist discovers 1,300 fungi species
While everybody around her on Observatory Hill was intently peering into the cosmos for new stars, botanist Oluna Ceska looked to the ground and found hundreds of mushrooms and other macrofungi lying undiscovered at their feet.
Ceska recently concluded a 10-year survey on the grounds surrounding the observatory on Little Saanich Mountain.
Over the course of more than 400 visits, she recorded almost 1,300 species of macrofungi growing on the 75-hectare property.
Some of those collections, along with earlier collections, have been DNA-sequenced and posted in GenBank, a genetic-sequence database. Some have been studied and the results published.
The majority of the fungi collected have been donated to the University of B.C. herbarium for inclusion in its database and in the Consortium of the Pacific Northwest Herbaria.
A virtual herbarium has also been created in Mushroom Observer, a web-based fungi database. It contains photos and drawings of about one-third of all the specimens found on the hill.
The project was partially supported by the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, Garry Oak Ecosystem Restoration Team and private donors. Cataloguing of the collections was supported by the Canadian Wildlife Service.
For more information, go to mushroomobserver.org/species_list/show_species_list/708.
Doctors donate consolation prize
A bunch of losers last month donated $5,000 to the Archie Courtnall Centre, home of the region’s Psychiatric Emergency Services Unit.
These aren’t your typical losers — they’re all doctors. While they are respected members of their profession, they aren’t very good at playing hockey.
The doctors, members of a local hockey team, won the money as a consolation prize by coming last in a tournament just for doctors last year. There were the last of 36 teams from across the province at the tournament, which was held in Vernon.
“We wanted [the money] to make a difference in mental health,” said Dr. Bruce Yoneda, a local orthopedic surgeon and unofficial captain of the 18-member team. “Our hope is that we can help prevent another suicide.”
The money benefits the mental-health centre, part of the emergency department at Royal Jubilee Hospital. The centre served almost 1,500 mental-health patients needing psychiatric treatment last year.
Most of the patients at the facility have their own rooms, bathrooms and access to outdoor gardens. The natural environment has been shown to calm patients, leading to a marked reduction in medication.
The centre was dedicated to Archie Courtnall, father of hockey players Russ and Geoff Courtnall and their brother Bruce. After Archie died in 1978 due in part to lack of psychiatric services, the brothers started the annual Courtnall Celebrity Classic. Proceeds from the star-studded fundraiser helped open the doors to the unit.
All three Courtnall brothers were on hand to accept the cheque from the doctors. For more information, go to victoriahf.ca/our-hospitals/mental-health.
Beauty-pageant hopeful seeks help
A young woman is hoping to use a beauty pageant as a platform to promote health, fitness and other causes.
Atong Deng, who goes by her middle name, Liz, is a refugee originally from South Sudan, which has suffered through internal conflict since its independence in 1956.
She was one of the lucky ones, finding a way from refugee camps to Nanaimo in 2009 and finally to Victoria 3 1Ú2 years ago.
She received an educational sponsorship and recently graduated with a bachelor of science degree from the University of Victoria. Now she hopes to become a doctor.
Appreciative of the help she has received in her life, Deng has always tried to pay it forward, volunteering in the emergency department at Royal Jubilee Hospital.
Her latest initiative is to enter the 2015 Miss Canada Globe pageant, which takes place in August, and use her time in the spotlight to promote causes that are dear to her.
“I have always want to do something positive in my community,” said Deng, 25, who is hoping to raise $4,500 to pay for the $3,000 entry fee as well as airfare and incidentals.
Her plan is to use her time on a national stage to be an ambassador for Victoria, promoting the importance of health and fitness in people of all ages.
People can contribute at fundrazr.com/campaigns/3tVKd/ab/f49ZXe.
Donate coats to warm the homeless
Help the homeless stay warm this winter at the seventh annual Cool Aid Coat Drive, now until Jan. 14.
The social agency, which advocates for the homeless, is hoping people will consider donating new or used winter coats to benefit those less fortunate. Mittens, gloves, hats, socks, sweaters, blankets and other winter apparel are also welcome.
Donations are accepted at Cool Aid’s Labour Pool, 1509 Douglas St., from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekdays, until Jan. 14.
For details, visit coolaid.org.
Student assembles backpacks for needy
Rachel Barr didn’t ask Santa for a present for Christmas. Instead, she asked friends, family and colleagues to help her assemble 31 backpacks containing things that would keep some of Greater Victoria’s homeless people warm.
Barr, a University of Victoria graduate in Women Studies — and soon to be master’s student — filled the backpacks with mittens, scarves, toiletries, snacks, coffee, tea and more.
“Rachel is a vivacious, kind-hearted, and motivated individual,” said friend Paresa Habibi, who wrote to the Times Colonist about Barr’s project. “Her heart is truly made of gold.”
Barr’s task of collecting and donating the backpacks to clients of Our Place was that much more impressive because she doesn’t own a vehicle.
“She made it clear that she would find a way to collect the backpacks,” said Habibi. “Her hilarity and passion have brought together many different people to contribute to her goal. I think she’s inspiring and I’m so humbled to know her.”
Tree-chipping supports Lions
Dispose of your Christmas tree in an environmentally friendly manner and send a child to summer camp at the same time at the Chip in for the Kids, B.C. Lions Society’s annual Christmas-tree recycling fundraiser today.
This is the 25th year that club members, along with volunteers from Davey Tree Services and Western Island Tree Service, will be accepting Christmas trees in exchange for a donation.
Money raised goes to support Easter Seals programs and services on Vancouver Island, including Camp Shawnigan, where 300 children with disabilities are able to go and enjoy themselves each year.
People can take their trees to one of six recycling depots around Greater Victoria.
• Tillicum Shopping Centre
• Broadmead Village Shopping Centre
• Save-on-Foods — Fort and Foul Bay store
• Westshore Town Centre
• University Heights Shopping Centre
• Sooke Home Hardware
The locations are open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. Only live, cut trees can be accepted with decorations and tinsel removed.
Cowichan Valley residents can drop off trees at the B.C. Forest Discovery Centre, 2892 Drinkwater Rd. in Duncan.
Chipping there is overseen by the Duncan Lions Club, along with Competition Tree Service. For more information, go to lions.bc.ca.