Celebrate World Rivers Day today on the banks of Bowker Creek.
The Friends of Bowker Creek Society is staging a free event from 2-4 p.m. at the Kings Road Community Nature Green-space, located between Kings Road and Haultain Street, just west of Richmond Road.
From the Ghost and Sara Rose will provide music and Michelle Poirier Brown will read poetry.
Those attending are asked to follow public-health guidelines, and are encouraged to walk, cycle or ride transit to the site.
The event will also celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Bowker Creek Blueprint — a 100-year action plan to restore the Bowker Creek Watershed.
The blueprint has been endorsed by Victoria, Saanich and Oak Bay, as well as community partners. (For more on Bowker Creek, see Monique Keiran’s column on page 10.)
>>> Memory Café open
The Memory Café, an in-person and online research initiative that allows people with dementia to connect and and enjoy things like music and storytelling, is taking registrations for its next phase, running from now through Dec. 11. It’s organized by University of Victoria nursing professor Debra Sheets. UVic students are encouraged to get involved, as well, and make it an intergenerational effort.
Sheets has taken on the project with a vision of Victoria becoming a more dementia-friendly place — and serving as a pilot for creating more dementia-friendly cities around the world.
The Memory Café’s current schedule includes eight online sessions and four in-person sessions that will feature outings around the region.
• Contact Sheets at [email protected] or 250-853-3947.
The incoming president of the group overseeing parent advisory councils in the Greater Victoria School District wants more people to get involved.
Angela Carmichael says she would like to have a representative from each school in the district taking part in the Victoria Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils. The Greater Victoria School District is the Island’s largest, with more than 20,000 students and 47 schools spread over six municipalities, and also serves the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations.
“Basically we’d like a representative from each school because that way, we can know what’s going on with each school and take it as individually as we can,” Carmichael said. “Kids have so many diverse needs and they’re not being met.”
She said parents have opinions that deserve to be heard, and VCPAC has a non-voting seat at the school board table to raise issues.
“The only way really, other than [for parents] to present to the school board themselves, is to have VCPAC present for them or at least represent them,” she said. “And we can’t do that unless we have representatives coming to our meetings and letting us know what’s important and letting us know what the issues are.”
VCPAC can be a unifying force, Carmichael said. “I think we found out last year with the budget process and just with COVID, constantly changing and never knowing from one day to the next what the restrictions were going to be, we needed to be able come together,” she said. “We’re stronger when we have the same voice.
“The more the merrier, because we do need to hold the district accountable.”
Right now, VCPAC is run by a handful of people. Part of the need to grow is to fill out various committees, such as the inclusion committee for students with a range of special needs.
Carmichael said now is the time to get involved because the school year is just getting underway, and vaccine passports are becoming part of day-to-day life.
“So how is that going to look for students, especially when they approve a vaccine for the younger children?”
Contact [email protected].
The Victoria Brain Injury Society has teamed up with the Nanaimo Brain Injury Society to stage an Oct. 1 fundraising event called Toss the Boss, in partnership with WildPlay Elements Park.
The idea is for businesses to form company teams and put their bosses forward to do a bungee jump at WildPlay’s Nanaimo-area location.
Teams are required to raise at least $500 for the opportunity to see their boss take a plunge, and those raising over $1,000 will be given super soakers to drench him or her.
“This is a fun and exciting way for us to reach a new audience and let them know about our organization,” said Pam Prewett, executive director of the Victoria group. “And for any boss who declines to bungee jump, the company will be required to double its donation, and the boss can choose a teammate to take their place.”
Acquired brain injury is Canada’s leading cause of death and disability for people under 40.
Kix Citton, Prewett’s Nanaimo counterpart, said fundraising and awareness are vital to helping people affected by a brain injury, noting brain injuries occur at an annual rate of over 166,000 in Canada and over 22,000 in B.C.
To register, visit www.tosstheboss.ca.
Langford’s 25th annual Mayor’s Charity Golf Tournament brought in $145,000 to support 31 Langford charities.
The Sept. 15 tournament pushed the overall fundraising total through 25 years over $1 million.
Beneficiaries this year include the Jordie Lunn Borrow-a-Bike Program, the Goldstream Food Bank, Juan de Fuca soccer and minor hockey, the Langford Volunteer Fire Department, the Malahat Nation and Community Living Victoria.
“Langford has always been a family community with a focus on recreation,” said Mayor Stew Young. “Many of the charities and organizations supported by this event have struggled immensely through the pandemic while continuing to do important work in our community.
“It’s thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and local development community that make this event possible every year.”
