October 2012 Village VIbe

October 2012

villagevibe News and views from the heart of Fernwood

Labyrinth offers a new path What’s over 4,000 years old and found in many cultures around the world—but is new to Fernwood? A labyrinth!

›› Beth Threlfall

O

ver the summer I transformed a faded George Jay schoolyard into a thirty-nine by thirtyfive foot walking labyrinth with the support of George Jay Elementary School principal Leslie Lee and many helpful friends. The intention was to not only brighten the schoolyard but create a space for students, parents, teachers and the Fernwood community to reconnect and use for mediation, celebrations and creative learning.

What is a labyrinth and how is it different from a maze? Easy—a maze is a puzzle intended to amuse and confuse. A labyrinth is a pattern with a purpose. It has one single, visible path leading to the centre and out again. With no choices to make, you can simply follow the path while relaxing and meditating.

(Above) Local artist Beth Threlfall (standing) and a team of dedicated volunteers painting a brand-new labyrinth for the students of George Jay Elementary School and the community. Photo: Mila Czemerys (Left) The schoolyard before the painting of the labyrinth. Photo: Beth Threlfall

There are three parts to using a labyrinth: walking in, remaining in the centre and walking out. Walking in is the time to let go of the details or concerns in your life, while the centre is a place for meditation for as little or as long as you wish. Walking out is symbolic of taking what you received from the experience back into the world and bringing it into your life.

Many schools use labyrinths as a place where children can go when they feel a need to be calm. The students learn to “check in” with themselves and notice their state of mind while walking the labyrinth to regain concentration and mental balance.

Since George Jay is the local elementary where many Fernwood children attend,

we want our school to be seen as a place of growth and community. With our brand new playground, thriving garden boxes and now a walking labyrinth, we encourage and welcome the neighbourhood to be a part of our school.

Much gratitude for this project goes out to Leslie Lee, Ed Kennedy, Kate Wallace and my friends for their help— including donations from Victoria City Councillor Shellie Gudgeon, Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group and Christobel, with supplies from Castle Building Centre on Cook Street and Pacific Paint & Wallpaper on Hillside Avenue. Many thanks to everyone who helped and I hope you all enjoy using the labyrinth!

in this issue Guest Editorial

Feature

Mark Your Calendar

Community conversations page 2

Living breathing walls page 4

Fernwood Legal Info Clinic page 7

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guest editorial:

villagevibe Editorial Committee

Community conversations

Lee Herrin Mila Czemerys

Communities have

Contributors

been talking a lot lately

Published by Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group Matt Takach Azelia Serjeantson Founding Editor Lisa Helps Beth Threlfall Lilian Sue Bianca Bodley Margaret Hantiuk Quothe

Geoff Cross Azelia Serjeantson Mila Czemerys Tamara Hernandez Alix Tolliday

Art

Mila Czemerys Lindsay Mitchell Margaret Hantiuk

Axel Kevin Jones Tony Sprackett

Production Mila Czemerys Contact us

1313 Gladstone Avenue Victoria, BC V8R 1R9 T 778.410.2497 F 250.381.1509 vibe@fernwoodnrg.ca www.villagevibe.ca To enquire about advertising in the Village Vibe, please contact ads@fernwoodnrg.ca The views expressed in the Village Vibe do not necessarily reflect the views of Fernwood NRG.

declaration of principles & values ›› We are committed to creating a socially, environmentally,

and economically sustainable neighbourhood;

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We are committed to ensuring neighbourhood control or

›› Geoff Cross The recent Official Community Plan Review and Neighbourhood Visioning Forum held here in Fernwood last year are just two examples. The latter saw a number of neighbours come out, even some folk who didn’t live in the neighbourhood, to talk about the future of our community. This growth of dialogue and engagement seems to be a good thing. For me, what lies at the core of these community conversations is an acknowledgement that we all should be included in the process of discussion and decision- making that impacts our communities. A key component and goal for these discussions is to be inclusive.

But what should that look like? Having been around a few of these conversation projects, I think at times there is an assumed inclusion, in that since everyone is welcome to participate, the conversation is therefore inclusive. In certain ways, the level of inclusion is increased through these projects. However, the option to participate does not guarantee real inclusion and even having a representative from a particular community sitting at the table doesn’t necessarily indicate it either.

Having a critical eye to how this goal is pursued is important.

In March 2011, Fernwood NRG hosted the Fernwood Neighbourhood Visioning Forum. It was an opportunity to co-create a fresh vision of what might be possible in Fernwood. Photo: Mila Czemerys

Richer understandings of inclusion begin with recognizing context: we live in a society with great inequality; economically, politically, and socially.

Practicing inclusion contends with these realities. If this isn’t recognized then our community conversations may actually reproduce inequalities. To counteract them, positive action needs to be taken.

The key question to ask is whether our community conversations provide effective opportunities for the hitherto excluded to have their views and perspectives

heard. Achieving this goal may mean that a variety of strategies need to be implemented, such as establishing forms of special representation, providing the necessary means to attend forums (i.e. food, financial compensation, travel, translation, cultural safety, etc.), actively supporting groups to organize and at times privileging hitherto excluded voices in the conversation.

It takes an active commitment to realize inclusion, but I think a commitment that our community is all the better for.

ownership of neighbourhood institutions and assets;

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buzz:

We are committed to using our resources prudently and to becoming financially self-reliant;

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We are committed to the creation and support of neighbourhood employment;

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We are committed to engaging the dreams, resources, and talents of our neighbours and to fostering new links between them;

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We are committed to taking action in response to neighbourhood issues, ideas, and initiatives;

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We are committed to governing our organization and serving our neighbourhood democratically with a maximum of openness, inclusivity and kindness;

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We are committed to developing the skills, capacity, self-worth, and excellence of our neighbours and ourselves;

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We are committed to focusing on the future while preserving our neighbourhood’s heritage and diversity;

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We are committed to creating neighbourhood places that are vibrant, beautiful, healthy, and alive;

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and, most of all, We are committed to having fun!

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Stored in Dirt ›› Azelia Serjeantson Each and every Spring of my childhood my parents would buy a small mountain of cow manure from a neighbouring farmer.

This purchase heralded yet another growing season in the hamlet were we lived.

My mother and father tended their garden with much care and delight. Every evening during the summer months they walked through the garden, examining all the vegetables, plants and flowers. They would talk to and encourage each and every growing being in their care. I had no notion of it at the time, for I was more interested in the television and my books, but I was witnessing true stewardship in action. They cared for the land and for the beings who were sustained by the land.

This is one of the profound legacies with which my parents gifted me.

Once I left home, though, I ate utterly unconsciously. I didn’t garden. I didn’t make jams or jellies, chutneys or pickles as my mother had done for years; that was too much work. I bought and ate what made me feel better and feel full. I ate what was easy to prepare and quick to chew. I didn’t think about what I ate, I just ate it.

Advertising was my nutritional advisor.

This was a very different relationship with food than I had experienced in childhood.

October 2012

As I child I was nourished; as an adult I consumed. The act of love I benefited from as a child became a very impersonal activity.

Since my arrival in Victoria three years ago, my parents’ joy and determination in growing their own food slowly emerged from the recesses of memory. Everywhere I walked, I saw trees, flowers and vines blossoming with an abundance which would have thrilled them. And thus, I found myself seeking out the organizations and people who worked with the land in and around Victoria. I worked and volunteered, attended workshops and lectures, sought out mentors and asked for their stories.

During this time I found myself juggling rent and groceries with difficulty; I waited in line at the food bank more than once.

Food slowly transformed itself back into nourishment. The activity became so very personal again that knowing where my food came from, who grew it and how was of paramount importance. A child once asked the workshop facilitator at the Compost Education Centre why they stored their carrots in dirt. It grieves me that there is such great ignorance about the very edibles which sustain our lives. It grieves me that I, myself, had almost forgotten where food really came from.

A fourth question was added a couple of months ago seconds after Mila Czemerys

posed it to me: why is urban agriculture important?

As I sought the answer these past few weeks, I have walked through robust gardens; haunted the Compost Education Centre with my questions; spoken with numerous Fernwoodians and Greater Capital Region residents; sat beneath Garry Oaks and Weeping Willows; tasted freshly picked Goji berries and harvested Plantain leaves. I’ve witnessed that urban agriculture is popping up in backyards and window sills.

Lawns are being replaced with kale and peas.

Trellises are home to nasturtiums and sugar snap peas vines. Front walks are scented with lavender plants and rosemary bushes.

At the Uvic community gardens people are growing vegetables specifically to be donated to local organizations. The Commons are being tended. An abandoned school yard is the home of a People’s Apothecary.

There are hidden corners of beauty and secret gardens everywhere in this city. Whether the debate is about food sovereignty or the merits and pitfalls of farming in the city, food is returning to people’s conscious minds.

This is my first answer to her question: it is an opening, a place to start, a chance to remember we are what we eat and I want to eat as I did as a child: from harvests of food grown with great care and love.

News and views from the heart of Fernwood

buzz:

Not just a bar of soap How a bar of soap became an entrepreneurial dream for Island Essentials’ owner

›› Lilian Sue After moving to Victoria from Calgary ten years ago in 2002, Paul Gillespie was intrigued by his roommate’s soap-making supplies and tools which were left over from her previous work with a soap company. Paul was struck with inspiration.

www.fernwoodnrg.ca

After retrofitting hundreds of dollars, possibly thousands of dollars’ worth of restaurant equipment, along with purchasing soap molds and other tools, Island Essentials was born.

What initially began as a part-time venture in his basement to sell lavender and tea tree oil soap quickly grew into a full-time business, expanding into cleaning products, liquid soap and lip balm. With two workshops in the Fernwood neighbourhood—one on Haultain Street and the other on Albert Avenue—for manufacturing, distribution and inventory, Paul is currently able to produce one thousand bars of soap in the course of a few hours. His decision to attach

a small retail store to his second workshop was brought on by a desire to attach a face to the Island Essentials’ brand and allow locals from within Fernwood and throughout Victoria a place to purchase Island Essentials’ products and ask questions.

Beyond expanding the product line, Paul’s line of soaps and other products have also made it into grocery stores like Thrifty Foods and Fairway. Utilizing his sales background, Paul has been diligently working with the existing stores to improve product turnaround, placement and promotion and to also assist employees in better understanding the benefits of his products.

Looking six months to a year into

the future, Paul has plans to purchase another kettle to double the production capacity for soap as well as extra space for inventory such as a warehouse. He also has plans to expand into new markets such as pharmacies and gift stores, allowing more people on Vancouver Island to experience the earth-friendly, natural, healthy product line from Island Essentials.

Island Essentials’ retail store is at 1442 Haultain Street and is open from noon to 5:00pm, Wednesday to Saturday. The products are 100% natural, made in Fernwood including soap, lotion, lip balm, cleaning products, essential oils, and soap making supplies.

October 2012

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feature:

From Grey to Green – Living Walls Cornerstone Cafe is home to recently installed living wall thanks to Bodley

›› Bianca Bodley

Owner of BIOPHILIA design collective ltd.

H

aving just returned from visiting the ancient streets of Rome, I am reminded that living walls and green roofs have truly been a part of our civilization since the days of old. The earliest examples date back to 600 BCE, in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Living walls today take many forms and serve vital functions. Living walls may be used as a piece of community art, as a separation between spaces or as a means of providing food production and thermal benefits to the occupants in the building.

I have had the pleasure of building living walls inside office spaces and residential homes as well as on the exterior of commercial buildings and the results have been inspiring.

Bianca Bodley working on the beginnings of the living wall which now has a home on the exterior wall of the Cornerstone Cafe. Photo: Lindsay Mitchell

Types of living walls

Some living walls are free-standing structures built to house growing medium, plants and typically an irrigation system.

The structure is often made from a combination of metal or plastic for a frame, cloth to hold the soil, irrigation lines (typically a drip system) and finally plants.

It is essential that both the growing medium and the plants are selected carefully to suit the environment into which the living wall will be installed.

More commonly, living walls systems are affixed to existing walls—both interior and exterior to a building.

The key is to install the wall in a way that does not damage the building envelope and that enables safe and effective system maintenance over time. The techniques for installing these systems are constantly evolving and are really up to the ingenuity of the installer.

There are some examples of soil-less systems that are fed with nutrient water rather than through growing medium, however, these systems are less common and are among the most expensive to maintain.

Perhaps the easiest to install and the least expensive form of a living wall is a cable system and vines. Cables can either be free standing (i.e. within their own frame) or

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(Above) BIOPHILIA’s install team. (Below) All the succulents in the wall are native to this area— Sedum spathulifolium ‘Cape blanco’, Sedum spathulifolium ‘pupureum’, Sedum oreganum and Sedum divergens. Photos: Lindsay Mitchell

attached to a wall. Vines can be grown from a planter or from a garden bed at the base of the wall. The vines over time create a green wall and the only source for irrigation and growing medium is at the base of the wall, making this design far less complex to install and maintain.

Regardless of how a living wall is created, the benefits are plentiful and the visual impact is inspiring.

Benefits of living walls

The benefits of living walls are much the same as green roofs. They create habitats for birds and other living organisms to live in and feed on.

October 2012

Thanks to gravity, living walls inherently have great drainage; combined with direct sun exposure they are ideal environments for food production. As many city dwellers have little to no access to traditional green space (gardens), utilizing the walls of our buildings creates a completely new opportunity to create life, colour and food.

In an urban setting, living walls absorb dust and clean the city air and absorb and dampen noise pollution. They also cool the air which reduces the urban heat island effect. They cool the air by converting the liquid water they absorb into water vapor which is released through their leaves (evapotranspiration).

The average person spends 90% of their time indoors—a truly concerning fact.

I believe that people have an instinctive need and desire to be close to nature.

My company BIOPHILIA—defined as an innate love for the natural world and living systems—is built with the primary focus to create this connection between people and nature. Having plants around us—in our indoor environments—serves to increase productivity and the health of the occupants by cleaning and cooling the air and by re-connecting us to nature.

Fr o m a b u i l d i n g m a i n t e n a n c e perspective, living walls have insular value as well. Living walls absorb heat from the sun and thereby reduce the amount of cooling required in the summer; conversely, they work to hold in building heat in the winter months. Living walls also protect a building from the harmful affects of UV, which increases the longevity of the structure.

One of the most motivating benefits for building living walls and green spaces of all kinds is the creation of community. Plants improve the mental wellbeing of people; they inspire and create a common interest amongst community members. It is my hope that the living wall at the Cornerstone Cafe will be a source of enjoyment and inspiration for the residents and visitors of the Fernwood community.

For more information about living walls, contact me at info@biophiliacollective.ca or visit our website biophiliacollective.ca.

News and views from the heart of Fernwood

buzz:

GOOD FOOD BOX

Dynamic team in town ›› Mila Czemerys You may have noticed a few new friendly faces around Fernwood. An enthusiastic team of real estate agents has moved into the Square. They recently launched the website RealEstateDynamics.ca to provide services and information for everyone, from first time homebuyers to folks looking to retire. They have had over 50 sales in Victoria in 2012.

Their team includes four people: Chris Barrington Foote—team leader, 80’s enthusiast… “Run for it Marty!” or that bald guy. Krystal Scott—master negotiator, positive personality, loves reality cooking shows and isn’t afraid to admit it!

Kevin Jones—enthusiastic individual, he’s a proven star with a passion for service, favourite movie...? “Princess Bride,” get him talking soccer! Diane Beier—Office Manager/Realtor, 6’2” with a set of high heels, outdoorsy despite an irrational fear of bears!

Fernwood was an obvious choice for them. Chris Barrington Foote says, “We live in this neighbourhood; now we work in this neighbourhood. We want to be involved and help any way we can.”

He is really interested in forming a great relationship with the people in Fernwood and wants to be a resource.

Barrington Foote exclaimed, “We want to thank everyone we have met over the

Excellent produce, great prices, right in Fernwood

Outside the RealEstateDynamics.ca office in Fernwood Square. Photo: Kevin Jones

summer at FernFest, the Vining Street Block Party and at our grand opening.

We’ve already been invited over for barbeques!”

Everyone is welcome to come and have a look at their new office in Fernwood

Square. Their door is always open to answer any questions.

You can reach them at info@ realestatedynamics.ca or at 250-2946363. Their office is located at A1-1284 Gladstone Ave.

EVERY other WEDNESDAY CALL 250.381.1552 ext. 100 to order thegoodfoodbox.ca

I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that.

- Lauren Bacall

Put Your Best Face Forward

www.fernwoodnrg.ca

October 2012

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garden gleanings:

Deer: Oh Dear!

After hearing other gardeners complain for years, I have discovered deer in my own fenced backyard here in Fernwood!

›› Margaret Hantiuk Deer are beautiful animals but it is frustrating to see my roses and hostas chomped, new shrubs pruned so carelessly and needlessly and my garden trampled. I tolerate and even welcome some wildlife: I feed birds; grow flowers for bees and butterflies; raccoons gobble up the plums and grapes. Now deer…what to do?

First, add more fencing: they are leaping over my shorter fences. I have noticed some good plastic fencing sold at garden and hardware stores that can be tacked, stapled or tied to posts, trees, buildings and above fencing: it must be at least 8 feet high. It can be stapled into hedges, as deer will cut through if there is a break. Add a tied bit of white rag, so they will not attempt to jump into the plastic at night and injure themselves. A dog helps deter deer. If you are using a birdfeeder, make sure it is ‘squirrel/rodent proof ’ and with a pan underneath to catch the debris; hang it high so deer can’t reach it.

The Internet is awash with recipes for all kinds of smelly homebrews to spray on foliage to deter deer. I wouldn’t want these on my food plants, and for ornamentals, they must be sprayed frequently, and after rain or overhead sprinkling: a hassle. So if you can’t afford to fence your entire yard,

Margaret’s roses won’t last long with deer moving into the neighbourhood. Photo: Margaret Hantiuk

at least fence off your food garden or your backyard. Plant ‘deer resistant’ (they may try them) plants where high fencing is not an option. Generally deer avoid plants that are prickly, strongly aromatic, strangely textured, very coarse, or particularly flavoured.

Here are some: Evergreen shrubs: Arubutus (madrone and unedo), Aucuba, Boxwood, Choisya ternata (Mex. mock orange), Ceanothus (Calif lilac), Cotoneaster, Daphne, Escollonia, Euonymus, Holly, Kalmia, Mahonia, Osmanthus, Privet, Pieris, Skimmia, Nandina (Heavenly bamboo), Santolina Conifers: Yew, Cryptomeria, Firs, Cedar, Juniper, Spruce, Pine Deciduous shrubs: Vine maple, Berberis,

Buddleia, Cistus, Fig, Hamamelis (witch hazel), Jasmine, Kerria, Kolkwitzia, Lilac, Magnolia, Potentilla, Pyracantha, Ribes (flowering currant), Staghorn Sumac, Spirea Small trees: Maple, Mimosa, Birch, Carpinus (ironwood), Cercis (redbud), Cornus (dogwoods), Hawthorne, Prunus (cherries and plums), Willow Vines: Akebia, Dutchman’s Pipe, Trumpet Vine, Campsis, Clematis, Honeysuckle, Virginia creeper, yellow Passionflower, Vitus (grape), Wisteria Bulbs: Agapanthus, Freesia, Snowdrops, Iris, Leucojum, Daffodils, Bluebells, tuberous Begonia, Camas, Crocus, (they love tulips!)

Gr o u n d c ov e r s a n d R o c k p l a n t s : Kinnickinik, Erica (heathers), Sweet

woodruff, Wintergreen, Hypericum (St. John’s wort) Jasmine, Lamium, Cranesbill (hardy geranium), Fragaria (ornamental strawberry), Dianthus (carnations), Euphorbias, Epimedium, dwarf Plumbago, Mahonia, Phlox, Pratia, Pulmonaria, Lavender, Salvia, Oxalis, Artemesia, Senecio, Lamb’s ears, Arabis, Aubretia, Sedums, Lithodora, Sedges Herbs: all are deer resistant except basil Pe re n n i a l s : A c h i l l e a ( y a r r o w ) , Acanthus, Aconitum, Japanese Anemone, Columbine, Cerastium, Shasta daisy, Columbine, Coreopsis, Dicentra (bleeding heart), Digitalis (foxglove), Calif poppy, Gaillardia, Hellebore, Iberis (candytuft), Kniphofia (red hot poker), Linaria, Lupine, Lychnis (rose campion), Poppies, Calla lily, Day lily, Helenium.

now offering individual instruction in guitar

Carole James, MLA

next writing group starting in November

Victoria-Beacon Hill

1084 Fort Street Victoria, BC V8V 3K4 Phone: 250.952.4211 Fax: 250.952.4586 Email: carole.james.mla@leg.bc.ca

Tamara Hernandez BA MA, Director 778-430-5569 | www.littlefernwoodschoolofthearts.com

www.carolejamesmla.ca

Here to serve you at my Community Office

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October 2012

News and views from the heart of Fernwood

Literary Arts:

FERNWOOD NRG FALL PROGRAMS OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2012

Dust Bunny

(Reg) Registration Required

›› Quothe & Tamara Hernandez This selection was written in response to a writing workshop at the Little Fernwood School of the Arts which explored poetry.

The students learned about the sonnet form—via Shakespeare’s sonnets. Then read “Ode to My Socks” by Pablo Neruda and discussed how content of poetry isn’t necessarily always “grand”, but can be

about the everyday. The assignment was to write a poem that was about something most people would consider banal.

“Quothe” (his nom de plume) melded the styles of both poems introduced and wrote a cheeky response to the lesson, describing a situation where his dog ate a dust pile…

Parent and Baby Play Group (DI) Ongoing, 9:30am - 11:30am Kundalini Yoga & Meditation (DI) Sept 10th - Dec 17th, 6:00pm - 7:15pm Victoria Street Soccer (DI) Sept 10th - Dec 17th, 6:00pm - 7:00pm LifeRing Secular Recovery (DI) Ongoing, 6:45pm - 8:00pm Okinawan Karate (Reg) Sept 10th - Dec 17th, 7:30pm - 9:30pm Ball Hockey (Closed Group) Sept 10th - Dec 17th, 7:30pm - 9:00pm

TUESDAY

Parent and Tot Play Group (DI) Ongoing, 9:30am - 11:30am Blue Sky Meditation Class (DI/Reg) Oct 2nd - Dec 11th, 4:00pm - 5:30pm Victoria Bootcamp (Reg) Nov 6th - Dec 18th, 5:30pm - 6:30pm Iyengar Yoga (DI/Reg) Sept 11th - Dec 18th, 5:30pm - 6:30pm Hatha Yoga (DI/Reg) Oct 2nd – Dec 19th, 7:00pm - 8:30pm (no class Oct 30th) Hula Hoop Dance Class (Reg) Sept 4th - Dec 18th, 8:00pm - 9:30pm

WEDNESDAY Child Care Provider Program (Reg) every other Wednesday starting Sep 5th, 9:30am- 11:30am Best Babies (Reg) Ongoing, 12:00pm - 3:00pm Good Food Box Pick Up, every other Wednesday starting Sept 12th, 1:00pm - 5:30pm Hatha Yoga (DI/Reg) Oct 4th – Dec 20th, 5:45pm -7:15pm (no class Oct 31st) Blue Sky Meditation Class (DI/Reg) Nov 7th - Dec 12th, 6:00pm - 7:30pm Nuu Chah Nulth Drumming (Closed Group) Ongoing, 7:00pm - 10:00pm

THURSDAY

Dust bunny, Oh Dust Bunny!

Ah, but that fateful eve,

How long hath thou looked down upon me from thine perch?

A breeze blew by, tossing you asunder.

I noticed you not ‘til yestermorn.

You kept observing me from the floor

FRIDAY

‘Til a foul mutt snuffed out your flame

SATURDAY

You sat and watched my work for hours,

(DI) Drop In

MONDAY

Never losing interest.

Rest in Peace Dust Bunny

Parent & Tot Play Group (DI) Ongoing, 9:30am - 11:30am Best Babies (Reg) Ongoing, 12:00pm - 3:00pm Victoria Bootcamp (Reg) Nov 8th - Dec 20th, 5:30pm - 6:30pm Iyengar Yoga (Reg) Sept 13th - Dec 20th, 5:30pm - 6:30pm Laughter Yoga (Reg) Sept 13th - Dec 20th, 7:00pm - 8:00pm Victoria Sport & Social Club (Reg), Sept 6th - Dec 20th, 7:00pm - 9:30pm Okinawan Karate (Reg) Sept 6th - Dec 20th, 7:30pm -9:30pm Mother Goose (Reg) Sept 14th - Nov 23rd, 10:00am - 11:30am (no class Nov 16th) Autumn Glow (DI) Ongoing, 12:00pm - 2:30pm Frizilla Friday Youth Group (DI) Ongoing, 6:30pm - 9:00pm

Part-Time Permaculture Design Certificate (Reg) every 2nd weekend starting Sept 1st, 9:00am - 9:00pm Beyond Mindfulness (Reg), Sep 23rd, Oct 21st, Nov 12th, Dec 2nd, 9:00am - 4:00pm Parent Child Mother Goose (Reg) Sept 15th - Nov 17th, 11:00am - 12:30pm Aviva Method Dance Therapy Workshops (Reg) Sept 15, 29, Oct 13, Nov 10, 24, 10:00am - 2:00pm

SUNDAY Part-Time Permaculture Design Certificate (Reg) every 2nd weekend starting Sept 2nd, 9:00am - 5:00pm Muttley Crew Freestyle Club (Closed Group) Sept 16th - Dec, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

No classes October 8th, November 11th & 12th. Holiday closure from December 24th to January 1st.

mark your calendar:

Fernwood Legal Information Clinic Legal clinic here to connect Fernwood residents with information

›› Alix Tolliday Ever increasing legal costs and the slashing of Legal Aid funding in the Province has created an access to justice crisis in our community. The impact of these devastating cutbacks has been felt not only by low-income persons but also by middle-income earners who require legal services but do not qualify for legal aid.

As the average BC resident has a fortyfive per cent chance of interacting with the justice system at least once in any three year period, many often resort to self-representation, a trend that can lead to longer and more expensive proceedings which place a burden on both the individual and the system. However, time and money are not the only costs of this crisis; people who find themselves unable to afford appropriate legal counsel may face physical and mental health challenges as a result.

It is not only major criminal charges or family breakup that cause strife in a person’s life; rather, it is often it is the more commonplace legal issues that cause significant distress. These issues span a wide area of topics and include tenants who face eviction, employees undergoing tension with their employer and citizens grappling with government benefit programs. Fortunately, Fernwood residents www.fernwoodnrg.ca

need not face these problems alone as there are many organizations available to help including web-based resources such as Clicklaw, as well as larger programs such as Access Pro-bono and the Vancouver based Law Students Legal Advice Program (LSLAP).

Closer to home is the University of Victoria Student Legal Information Clinic, a branch of which is located right in the heart of Fernwood. This service seeks to help community members with summary advice on their legal issues in a confidential, compassionate and welcoming setting. The clinic will be opening in early October and will be able to offer information on topics including residential tenancy issues; non-land property valued under $10,000; contractual concerns; family issues that do not involve children or divorce; nonunion employment issues; human rights; consumer issues; consumer debt; small claims processes and procedures as well as immigration and bylaws problems.

The Fernwood branch, located in the Fernwood Community Association boardroom at 1923 Fernwood Road, will be open Tuesday evenings from 6:00pm to 7:00pm with the Uvic campus branch offering more extended drop-in hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 12:30pm and 1:20pm, Wednesday from 5:00pm to 6:30pm in room 138 of the Fraser Building.

If you are looking for legal information or have any questions do not hesitate to contact the clinic. They can be reached at legal.info.clinic@gmail.com or 250-7218159. There is more information at http:// web.uvic.ca/~lawinfo/.

For more information contact:

SPECIAL EVENTS Permaculture Harvest Speaker Series - Oct 26, Nov 23 Public Budget Workshop with Lisa Helps - Oct 4 CB Booking Fest All Ages Show - Oct 6 How to Get Yourself Happy Workshop - Oct 11, 18 & 25 Humanities Information Session, Oct 16 & 24 University 102 Information Session - Nov 7 Movember Event - Nov 16 & 17 Owl Designer Fair - Nov 30 & Dec 1 Cycling Coalition Christmas Light Ride - Dec 15

Fernwood Community Centre 1240 Gladstone Avenue, Victoria, BC, V8T 1G6 T 250.381.1552 F 250.381.1509 info@fernwoodnrg.ca | fernwoodnrg.ca

Zamian Sells Fernwood For more information on buying and selling real estate in Fernwood please visit ZamianSellsFernwood.com

250.514.1533 (direct) FERNWOOD’S REAL ESTATE EXPERT

October 2012

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Scene in Fernwood : Long Live Fernwoodians

PHOTO: TONY SPRACKETT

wednesdays thursdays fridays

Bluegrass Pickin’ Parlor Live Music/Art Openings Open Mic

1301 Gladstone Avenue thecornerstonecafe.ca | 250.381.1884