Tag Archives: British Columbia

Jessica Pautsch – Positively Wooing Community

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Who are you?

Hello, I’m Jessica.  I’m still working on figuring that question out, but so far I’m a hopeful optimist, and an aspiring social entrepreneur volunteering to make cool community centric ideas into social profit ventures. Professionally, I am an aboriginal-industry engagement consultant that helps companies become more responsive to the communities in which they operate.

What do you do for fun?

I’m a big outdoor, food, eco, people, sport, and random encounters enthusiast.  So throw any of those into the equation and I generally have a good time.

What is your favourite community? Why?

I’m super lucky that my work, study, friends, and volunteer work expose me to so many interesting and dynamic communities in this city. The more I see the types of social organization here, the more I love this city.

This may sound nerdy but one of my favourite communities I’ve found is what’s been formed around the “social enterprise” movement.  This emerging community attracts socially and environmentally minded entrepreneurs who use business tools to create positive change in some aspect. People are supportive of other’s business efforts and often offer their experience to help build yours. That’s so cool!

What is your superpower?

If I love something, I benevolently coerce you into loving it too.

How do you use it to build community?

I love healthy communities.  I think that the number and type of connections you have with your social and physical environment ultimately determines your health and overall happiness. So, all of my professional and volunteer efforts have been geared towards creating positive connections between people and their environments. I started a non-profit called Eco Trek Tours with the intent to connect people to innovative environmental initiatives in their own back yards through fun, informative and affordable tours.  With my professional work, I’ve learned that financial independence is critical for First Nation self-determination and nation building, and so I use my role to help empower First Nations from the benefits of sensible resource development by building bridges between opportunity and need in responsible and collaborative ways.

My Three Favourite Things About Jessica Are…

1. The Power of WOO. The art of Winning Others Over can be used to achieve nefarious ends (never paying for anything, world domination, convincing others to do the wrong thing, etc.), so I’m pretty darn happy that Jessica uses her superpower – mindful passion that is convincingly contagious – to achieve positive, healthy and community-driven projects. Her “nerdy” love of the social enterprise community makes sense, too, as it takes both entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to persuade a diverse audience (investors, community-members, collaborators) to build and execute a common vision. And, well, when it all comes together its a beautiful thing!

2. Hardworking Team Spirit. I got to know Jessica on the football soccer field, where she is a force to be reckoned with. Jess brings the same kind of energy to sport as she does to work, and the team can always count on her to make plays and spark positive chatter with her hustle and willingness to throw herself into tough situations. And, when it comes to post-game-reflection, Jess is always well equipped with one or two timely, um, quips that reflect the kind of social intelligence that allows a person to speak with anyone, anywhere about anything. This is probably what makes Jessica such a great random encounters enthusiast.

3. She’s a Stylish Changemaker! Full disclosure: the “style” comment comes from my obversation that Jess can pull off colourful, possibly-Hawaiian, shorts on the soccer field and an argyle sweater vest during post-season-celebrations with unique aplomb. As for the changemaking, well, she lives it every day by engaging with First Nations communities for some of the most difficult and important conversations in this part of the world as well as, in her volunteer/”free” time, building community-minded enterprises that not only make a difference but, ideally, also an organization-sustaining profit. How she has the energy to play sports once a week is a superpower all on its own!

Did BC just radically change our energy policy?

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In four years as a Refrigeration Apprentice I learned that it takes a lot of energy to convert a gas into to a liquid.   Which is why I did a double-take when I read that the BC government has endorsed three liquified natural gas (LNG) plants near Kitimat.  In a province that has grown in leaps in population and energy consumption, I thought “Wow, that’s a lot of energy, where will it come from?”

BC’s wonderfully ludicrous politics makes for  excellent dinnertime conversation.  One of my favorite anecdotes is about a bunch of dam happy BC Hydro engineers who lost their jobs in the early 1980s because BC’s load forecast flattened.  Plans for a Site C dam were shelved simply because we had overdosed on capital-intensive projects and never had to give a second thought to energy consumption.

Fast forward 30 years, BC’s population has grown by a few million, average home has grown from 1400 sq ft to 2700 sq ft, and I suspect the number of electrical outlets in the average home has more than doubled.  Items once reserved for elites are now everywhere, from residential hot tubs to energy-vamping home theatre systems.  Suddenly in the 2000′s, the energy picture looks different: BC Hydro steps up “Power Smart” conservation campaigns, proposes 10% per year rate hikes, and claims that infrastructure needs to be upgraded to accommodate increased demand.  We’re indoctrinated with the idea that conservation and retrofitting is considerably cheaper (and more environmentally friendly) than developing new energy sources.  Not a bad strategy.

Jump forward a few more years to 2008:  Gordon Campbell is elected to a second term and makes it clear that BC will lead the world in reducing GHG emissions, signing deals with Washington, Oregon and Arnold Schwartzenegger to create a “Green Corridor”.  Ambitious provincial targets are set to achieve 93% clean energy production and 33% reduction in GHG emissions by 2020 (80% reductions by 2050!)  Neat!

So in a time of unprecedented conservation, I was surprised when I found out that BC was wholeheartedly buying into the LNG movement.  Not that I disagree with it – it sounds pretty cool actually.

We don’t have to look far for the energy to drive these projects after all.  The plan to develop Site C (although still controversial and under review) was announced before Campbell was shooed from Office (he was pretty crafty in maneuvering the Climate Action Plan and allowing for economic development – I wouldn’t want to play chess against him).  Under traditional policy, BC is required to be energy-self sufficient when its dams are at “critical low” levels – enough cushion to weather 3 consecutive years of drought.  On Feb. 3rd 2012, however, new Liberal Premier Christy Clarke announced a significant change: BC dams would now only have to ensure self-sufficiency at “average” water levels.  In doing this, she reduced the need to build new generation projects and freed the necessary capacity for LNG.  We’ve essentially had free energy sitting around all along and we’ve been hedging it based on some apocalyptic scenario… like Global Warming or something.

Thankfully people much smarter than me make sure that our energy supply (and water supply) is protected.  Not to mention the slap and tickle of overlapping natural gas, electricity and rival energy markets that buttress LNG production (markets are never wrong.)   Unforeseen environmental considerations aside, this seems to me like a fairly intelligent investment in BC’s future.  Premier Clarke is quoted as saying, “It is an opportunity to establish an entirely new industry in British Columbia.  This isn’t something that happens every day and it’s not something that even happens every decade,” and I’m tempted to agree.

Still, in years when BC drops “below average”, we may need to import dirty electricity from Alberta.  Coal is a filthy energy source, far worse than oil sands bitumen or natural gas, and if BC’s water dries up anywhere similar to the Colorado River, we can kiss our 93% clean energy target goodbye.

So here we stand.  I still think I’m behind Clarke on this and when the NDP win the next election, I hope they back LNG too.  Real environmental solutions require the ability to make major energy shifts.   And although the Energy Industry likely doesn’t produce a fraction of the jobs that people think it does, the jobs it does produce are intelligent and high-paying.  LNG also creates nice royalties that pay for cool things like health care and education.  See you soon, Alberta and Saskatchewan!

Compared to hydroelectricity, burning natural gas may not seem like a step forward, but considering that hydro reserves are limited and the rest of the world is burning coal, LNG may save countless tonnes of CO2 emissions.  LNG may prove an absolute environmental disaster for other reasons, but again, hopefully there are smarter people than me working on this.   Fracking is already happening and we won’t be the only ones to head down this fracking path; hopefully BC can establish “Best Practices” for the rest of the world to follow.

All-in-all, LNG may have benefits worth the risk.  Some suggest that developing the natural gas economy could eventually lead to a hydrogen economy as both energy sources will likely require similar infrastructure.

–

Photo courtesy of Steve Punter

I Said ‘Macbeth’ at the Theatre and Disaster Struck

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I went to see the Vancouver Playhouse’s production of Red, a play about Mark Rothko at the height of his fame. This is not a review of that play. This is a story. There is a full review of the play in the Georgia Straight in case that disappoints you.

Mark Rothko via http://victoriatopping.blogspot.com/2011/04/rothko-moment.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As far as communities go, the theatre community is a superstitious bunch. The most well known display of this trait is the taboo of saying good luck to a performer before a show. They would rather be told to break a leg. This one I know but, somehow, after 3 years of living with a theatre major and the daughter of an actor, I failed to learn or at least failed to retain any knowledge of another famous theatre taboo; the “Scottish Curse”. As I read out the stage credits of the lead actor, I learned my lesson. Among his credits was a stint in Macbeth.

In my own defense, if this curse is such a big deal actors should not be able to list the play among their credits. As far as I am concerned, that is just asking for trouble. Doesn’t everyone read the program aloud to their friends?

A little Googling after the fact has since taught that the antidote is a quote from Macbeth for someone to say, “‘Angels and ministers of grace defend us.’ Then the offender must leave the house, turn around widdershins (counterclockwise) three times, swear and knock to be readmitted.”

My companion looked at me aghast but did not call for any angels or ministers. I didn’t turn widdershins even once. So, naturally, disaster befell the production.

 

http://www.revitalizedesplaines.org/2009/11/now-on-youtube-1982-des-plaines-theatre.html

 

A gigantic screen that was used as a vehicle to change between scenes fell off it’s runners and the play had to be halted while four people tried to coerce the sail back into it’s tiny crevasse without dropping it onto the rapt audience in the process.

 

This could be chalked up to going to see the first preview of a show, but I did say the word and then…could it really be coincidence?

 

I overheard someone behind me say that it rid the theatre of its magic and mystery when things went wrong with the set. I don’t know that that was a negative thing for me. Particularly, since it was a play about the visual arts and the very next scene contained a reference to the adverse effects of bringing up the lights on a stage set. The line was apt but inaccurate. The lights up, behind the scenes moment gave the production a more physical presence. It gave more importance to the stage and set than the magic of a performance without a hitch would have allowed it to have otherwise.

 

Perhaps I will use this weapon strategy again the next time I attend the theatre. Watch out!

Community on the Juan de Fuca Trail

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47 kilometers of West Coast awesomeness!

Last week, John and I went on an adventure in the wilderness. After weeks of accumulating supplies, preparing menus, going on test hikes, and becoming far too acquainted with the staff at MEC, we set out on the Juan De Fuca Trail on Vancouver Island’s West Coast. Mentally – and somewhat physically – prepared for the 47 km, 5 day hike, what follows is a daily synopsis of the ups and downs (literally and metaphorically), our observations about community we found on the trail, and some stories and anecdotes that are just, well, funny.

Bear Beach looks good early in the morning.

Day 1: China Beach to Bear Beach

Filled with excitement and anxious to get started, we threw on our packs and headed towards the trail from the China Beach parking lot … only to be stopped in our tracks by a number of minor, let’s say, incidents. Incident #1: John realizing his water bladder, attached to his backpack, is empty … which subsequently made sense when we noticed that the back seat of the car was soaked. Incident #2: Michelle checking her pocket for the map to give it one last look, only to realize it’s nowhere to be found. Good thing it turned up … in her father-in-law’s pocket! Incident #3: Backcountry camping fees? Strictly enforced and payable at the start of the trail? Needless to say, we knew nothing of backcountry camping fees. To add to the confusion, we received five different answers from five different people about how we could pay and how much it was – luckily, the parents-in-law come to the rescue, making up for the near-fiasco with the map. Despite the multiple incidents, we head out on the trail (half an hour later than expected), arriving safe and sound about 4 hours later at beautiful Bear Beach.

This was one of the 15 or so times that Michelle walked up during the Day 2 experience. Also, love the pink!

Day 2: Bear Beach to Chin Beach

By 10am we had packed up our wicked awesome camp site – complete with giant table – and were striking out on the trail behind a group of Japanese tourists, Team Texas and a hardcore young man who was, apparently, doing the entire trail in three days. The kid was moving fast.

For seven hours – over about 12 kilometers – John and I hiked up and over about 15 different headlands. This basically meant walking up for about 150-200 meters, looking around at the gorgeous, lush and spectacular scenery, and then walking down for about 150-200 meters. And then we crossed a creek. And then we did it all over again. Other than expelling a combined 30 liters of sweat and starting to feel our packs weighing on our shoulders in achey new ways, this part of the trail was an achievement of epic proportions with very little collatoral damage to our bodies, minds and/or souls. By 7pm we settled into a delicious meal of quinoa next to a modest little fire and watched seagulls feast on shellfish under a misty sunset.

The 16 kilometer marker was a long, long, long time coming. Mostly because we either missed marker 15 or it's missing along the trail. Needless to say, we stopped for lunch here.

Day 3: Chin Beach to Sombrio Beach

MICE! That’s right. Focusing a lot – perhaps too much – on nefarious bears and cougars, we underestimated the chewy vigour of some other four-legged creatures who live on Vancouver Island’s West Coast. During the night, a gang of wild mice gnawed through our packs in search of delicious treats. Luckily, no trail mix or my candies were harmed.

This hike was similar to – but not the same as – day two. We went up, up, up a lot right away, but there wasn’t as much repetition. Also, a kilometer of the hike took place along about a flat and groomed old logging road. Quite a nice respite!

Arriving at Sombrio Beach, John and I learned a lesson about “maps” and “distances” at Sombrio. The 20.7 kilometers listed on the map got us to Sombrio Point, not the beach itself. No, to get to the beach we hiked with our tired legs (in utter silence, which says a lot) along a sheer cliff, through some slippery, smelly muck and up, over and around two coves. Though the trail wasn’t actually all that technical, this is the place where – because of sheer fatigue – we could’ve died quite easily because of one little misstep (or perhaps because we let our guard down against the roaming packs of radioactive ninja mice that the Juan de Fuca Trail might possibly yield).

Oh, and Sombrio is the place where we started having deeper conversations with our new friends, the Texans, who were particularly impressed by the awesomeness of our campsite and my very pink hiking attire.

John relaxes by our very awesome campsite and even more awesome fire at Sombrio Beach.

Day 4: Sombrio Beach to Payzant Creek

Before leaving Sombrio we stumbled across a family of sea otters.

Waking up to the sound of crashing waves might be the best sound. Ever. Follow that with a delicious Spanish Frittata breakfast (thanks, MEC!), coffee, and a flawless pack-up, and we found ourselves setting out happily for an apparently “moderate” (according to aforementioned “map”), albeit long (13 km), day. The day was, actually, quite moderate – if one were to compare it to the gruelling terrain of the previous two days. Compared to day one, it was definitely harder and almost twice as long.

The hike itself was gorgeous. We left the comfort of the coastline for the more mysterious woods, finding ourselves surrounded by old growth trees and cooler temperatures. Setting up camp in the middle of a rainforest, mist and sunshine streaming through the myriad of trees, was one of the memorable moments of the trip. Team Texas wandered in a few hours after us – we felt a bit better about how incredibly sore we were after seeing them limp and drag themselves into the campsite. As we weren’t allowed fires in the woods, Day 4 was an early night – we were asleep no later than 9:30pm (which was probably a good thing, as it allowed our bodies to recuperate from the pain we had inflicted upon them).

The towering trees around Payzant Creek!

Day 5: Payzant Creek to Botanical Beach

A bittersweet day – a mere 7 km and we would be back in the real world! While we were looking forward to a homecooked meal and mostly, well, not smelling, it was sad leaving the calm, relaxing and awe-inspiring wilderness. This short four hour hike out, with lots of boardwalks and more and more hikers as we got closer to Botanical Beach, included a permit-check by a BC Parks Ranger/Warden/Guide/Hero as well as many fun chats with our Texan friends as well as Jonathan, a lone hiker from Winnipeg who was just downright delightful.

 Final Reflections

Since monkeys jumped down from trees, crossed the svannah, killed all the dinosaurs, and turned into people we’ve had a very interesting relationship with nature. We’ve worshipped, groomed, destroyed, restored, protected, developed, and celebrated the Earth during our time here. And that might be the coolest thing about getting out into nature and away from so much urbanity – a simple and fun five days in the woods is enough to remind any city dweller that people are a part of the natural environment and it’s a part of us. Taking time to appreciate this relationship is as important as it is enjoyable.

Thanks, Juan de Fuca Trail for being so darn enjoyably natural!

 

Going Interior: Driving and Big Boats

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For at least two federal and one provincial elections, I have been frustrated to see a large portion of the so-called ‘left coast’ support an anti-environmentalist, conservative agenda.  A recent visit to Kelowna, located in the interior of BC has made me understand why:

We experience the Wonderful World of Nature / our Rental Car

driving is king

Driving is fun.  There is relatively little traffic in town and the main highway between Kelowna and Penticton swoops widely around the lake shore.  A speed of 100 km/h or more is easy to safely maintain.  The average resident drives 35000 km/year [vs. a 14100 km/year as a province-wide average!].

Recent urban growth has focused on highway-oriented strip malls with panhandle suburbs on the hillsides, two of the worst culprits for massively increasing greenhouse gas emissions.  Human-to-human community building is difficult at best with these ex-urban patterns.

An individualist political agenda that minimizes personal income taxes and social expenditure makes sense to isolated monocultures of individuals.

Big White People with Golf Shirts looking at Big Boats

big boats are good; bigger boats are better

The lake has a huge psychological presence; boats are a huge part of life.  Boating does not mean sailing, kayaking, or rowing.  Massive rigs are required to wakeboard or booze cruise.  The faster and bigger the better.  The poor ride dirt bikes or ATVs.  A carbon-centric lifestyle means an average individual carries additional kilograms of body weight; mass that makes low-carbon walking or biking still more difficult.

A population that depends on the hyper-consumption of fossil fuels for daily routine and recreation does not appreciate a carbon tax, or understand subsidizing public transit.

golf shirts = fashion

Male fashion is dominated by misshapen corporate golf shirts and khakis.  Pop the collar if you want to be authentic.  Organic cotton shirts, re-used vintage pants or locally-tailored, trim suits are verbodden.

Golf shirts should be worn when golfing.  Corporate golf shirts should be worn when golfing with that corporation.  Wearing this outside of these important moments indicates a lack of imagination and creativity.

Imagination is not typically associated with political conservatism.

Kelowna is Anglo-Canadian white

Racial and cultural diversity is low in Kelowna.  The only non-Anglo Canadian culture I observed was drunken separatist Quebec fruit pickers.  This is unlikely to encourage cross-cultural tolerance, immigration friendly policies or support for a distinct french presence within a united Canada.

In short, this Vancouverite now understands why progressive politics have a hard time in the interior.  Urban patterns encourage isolation from the community of human suffering and facilitates the influence of traditional media.  An excessive personal dependence on fossil fuels derails the environmental agenda.  Low cultural diversity confirms long-held beliefs in the correctness of ones opinions.

And boy, does Ron Cannon, the Conservative MP for Kelowna look good in a golf shirt.

Sustainable Shipping: the Wave of the Future

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Solar/Wind powered marine system

“Sustainability”, “low emissions”, “saving fuel” – these are the buzz words in global shipping circles these days. With jacked up oil prices and pressure on ports to “Green” their operations, ship owners are frantically casting about for new technologies to lower the footprint of their vessels. Basically, the key players are getting innovative  both for the good of the planet and their pocket books too. This was the dominant message coming out of the Baltic and International Maritime Council’s General Meeting held last week in Vancouver.

It was no coincidence that this old boy’s maritime club held its first North American pow wow in green champion Vancouver, whose world class port is gamely singing from the same sustainable song book. For two days,  I sat in on enthused discussion between shippers, demographers, climate change academics and ex-heads of state on how shipping is doing and and where it still needs to go to lower its footprint.   The main consensus was that the economic benefits of going green are irrefutable; the technology is almost there to make it happen; keeping pace with demand, however, is questionable.

Interestingly, shipping is the most efficient form of  transportation on the planet, accounting for over 90 per cent of global goods movement, but just 3% of transportation’s fossil fuel emissions. Local presenters from Teekay, Seaspan, Robert Allan Naval Architects, and BC Ferries championed their efforts to lower these emissions even more through innovation in hull and motor design. The importance of better trained crew to operate more sophisticated vessels and new fuel management challenges were also emphasized.

Expect more of these ships on the horizon, cutting up to 35% in fuel use.

Tall Ships in English Bay, June 7, 2011

Basically, the technology is out there to create a greener world fleet and reduce its carbon emissions by up to 20% in the next decade. But is all this will and know-how a case of too little too late? World population continues to explode creating immense pressure to churn out more ships cheaply and quickly keeping the eye of many shippers on short term necessities rather than long term environmental goals.

Almost in pseudo recognition of the dilemma in which shippers currently find themselves – forced to navigate the contradictory imperatives of growth vs. green – these two beauties sailed unannounced into English Bay last week in stark, sustainable contrast to  the diesel monsters behind them.

A Hot ‘n’ Sexual Post: Yeow!

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“Sexual health is hot this summer!”

Taking care of your sexual health is sexy. That’s the message being promoted as Options for Sexual Health, Canada’s largest non-profit provider of sexual health services, unveils its new ad campaign.

Throughout the summer, you will see the advertisement below (see picture – perhaps squint a little).

Opt’s 1 800 SEX SENSE Line, a toll?free in BC phone and email service, is positioned as a great way to hook up with a clinic or ask a burning sexual health question.

“We wanted an ad that embodies Opt’s whole vision,” says Jessica Peart, Opt’s Manager of
Communications & Governance. “Sexual health is really central to everyone’s life. And we know that
being healthy means a lot more than only the treatment and prevention of disease. Our vision is for a
society that celebrates healthy sexuality, and understands that pleasure is a part that. And when it comes to young people, the ‘just say no’ messages just don’t work.”

To make the excitement over the ad campaign contagious, Opt and Hello Cool World are combining forces
to launch a “Sexy Summer Kissing Contest.” The contest invites people in BC to submit photos of
themselves kissing and promoting sexual health in public places to show just how hot taking care of
yourself and your partner can be. There will be draws throughout the summer for sexy prizes, including a
year’s supply of condoms and lube! Contest info at www.optbc.org; contest submissions can be sent to
contest@optbc.org. A short video about the contest and the making of the ad can be viewed by following this link.

Kissing Means Community!

John and Michelle Bornk! show the BC Community what a healthy, sexy and classy kiss looks like!

Everything about this campaign screams community – creative community! After all, what better way to demonstrate your affection for the favourite person – or, yeow, people – in your life than with a big, wet, sexy kiss? Because, as a wise, apparently-anonymous, person once said, “happiness is like a kiss – it feels best when you give it to someone else.”

So, people, find a partner, lover, open-minded-friends, a curious stranger, a pet (we here at the Daily Gumboot are fiercely accepting of all community-minded ideas and viewpoints), or your favourite symbol of Mother Nature and make out hardcore! And, hey, please make sure that both parties want to partake in the kiss. Finally – and most importantly – be safe out there.

In order to get your mojo moving even faster, here are some superawesome quotations about kissing:

  • “The decision to kiss for the first time is the most crucial in any love story. It changes the relationship of two people much more strongly than even the final surrender; because this kiss already has within it that surrender.” (Emil Ludwig)
  • “Kissing is like drinking salted water: you drink and your thirst increases.” (Chinese proverb)
  • “I never thought that love could feel like this – then you changed my world with just one kiss.” (N’Sync)
  • “Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.” (Albert Einstein)
  • “Soul meets soul on lovers’ lips.” (Percy Bysshe Shelley)

So there it is. Now get kissing. And have fun with it!

- JCH

Discovering a Town Square

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It rained, and rained, and rained.

Early spring on the west coast can be like that.

Somehow we’d managed to be on the ball enough to all be in Squamish on the same weekend. That in itself was a major triumph for a group comprised of a dad, a gypsy pirate with no fixed address, a serious diver who lives on the island, and a Northerner with two massive (and massively high-maintenance) dogs that need a dedicated sitter if he’s away for more than 5 minutes.

Yahoos, the lot of us.

So there we were, on the best granite around, but it was wet.

Soaked.

Even the bouldering, half-protected by trees, had gone damp.

Smearing was really smeary, more like spreading butter than sticking rubber, you could aid up a crack that would normally be a walk in the park, desperately fighting for every inch of vertical progress.

I should mention we’re not the supermen and superwomen mountaineers who climb massive mixed routes or redpoint/onsight/free climb. We’re regular humans who got bitten by the climbing bug a few years ago in Northern BC, when dragged out to a little top-rope crag outside of Chetywnd.

We’ve led 5.10’s, but been scared as hell doing it.

tea in a cave

Cave tea is good tea

So, being in a climbing locale and not being able to climb, we did the next best thing,  maybe the next-next-next best, it depends on how you feel about trundling, rock-fights, and tea-in-caves) we invaded public swim at the rec-centre.

Only, we weren’t really invading much, because a good three-quarters of the people there were yahoos too. Mostly concentrated around the hot tub, conversations started with nods and “hey weren’t you working on…” questions.

We soaked our battered selves in the tub, and as we sat there it dawned on me that this was the town square of a community focused on active living – and a beautiful thing.

There’s been a lot of debate in Vancouver over where the real Town Square is or ought to be, even here on the ‘boot, but the more I connect with communities of practice or interest, rather than of physical space, the more I find a town square can be anything from your local haunts, to the dog-park, or even your own home.

Dear readers give some thought to your communities and let us know, where’s your town square – the hub of your community? Is it more important during your downtime, or is connecting there part of your daily routine?

The Last Olympic Neighbourhood – Merville

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As a key media outlet for the 2010 Olympics, the Daily Gumboot is excited to bring you our “Olympics Neighbourhoods” series. Here’s how it works: each week, Managing Editor, Kurt Heinrich, and Editor-in-Chief, John will profile a different Vancouver neighbourhood with a specific focus on things that might interest out-of-town visitors who arrive in The Couve for the Olympics. We will do this between now and the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver and the story will be told be the Gumboot’s editors asking and answering the five questions below. These are the straight goods that you can’t get from VANOC, the Ministry of Tourism or the City of Vancouver. Let’s get to it!



1. Where is this neighbourhood exactly, and how do I get there?

JOHN: Merville is a mysterious and secret neighbourhood that exists between the West End and Stanley Park. Few Vancouverites have ever truly found this hidden gem of a community. Unfortunately, it is unreachable by public transit, although a quick hike or bike ride through some of Merville’s amazing trails will get you into the community’s heart in no time at all!

KURT: If you want a real answer, I’d suggest typing in Courtenay, BC into Google maps. Then go a little into the bush and presto, you’re there.

2. Why should a tourist/traveler be interested in it?

KURT: My favorite part about Merville is the streams. I can remember several happy occasions where I had the opportunity to A) float down them and B) dive underneath the rocks and through carved holes in the riverbed. No, I’m not on acid. There is such a place and its called Nymph Falls.

JOHN: The Merville General Store is probably one of the coolest, most eclectic places in Vancouver. Colourful local characters who never, ever leave this hidden community pull up a bar stool and engage as many tourists and newcomers as possible in conversations that run the gamut from inspiring to downright weird. Merville also yields spectacular beeches, lush pastures and forests, as well as one of the most diverse mushroom populations in Coastal British Columbia. Finally, it’s the gumboot capital of Canada, which may or may not have inspired a couple of editors back at the beginning of this project.

3. What good and/or unique things are there to eat?

JOHN: As I said before, there are mushrooms galore! But if fungus isn’t for you, I recommend sampling some other amazing treats from the 100% local bounty of Merville. A lot of people here live off the grid (and some don’t like strangers shooting film on their porches, apparently), so their diet consists of truly local beef (we saw two or three cows during our trip), chickens and other fowl, pigs, goats, sheep, small-to-medium-sized-rodents, shellfish and non-shellfish, and a wide variety of roots, tubers and berries. The culinary highlight was probably stumbling across a gentleman who was harvesting some winter squash that he was planning to serve with heaping portions of rabbit stew. Yum yum!

KURT: Another great place to check out is the Atlas. Make sure you order their chicken focaccia sandwich. And also make sure you bring an appetite. John once finished second in an international hot dog eating contest (at least that’s what he tells me) and he still has trouble eating the whole sandwich.

4. What can I do for fun in this neighbourhood.

JOHN: Merville has one of the weirdest community traditions I’ve ever seen in my travels – which include history books, television shows and face-to-face adventures around the world. The locals love to rock fight. I don’t know how to explain it more simply, other than to write this: find someone else in the ‘hood and throw rocks at that person. Typically, the first rock is a warning shot and might not actually hit the person. After that, it’s game on! Like I said, it’s weird.

5. What are your three favourite things about Merville?

1) It’s a real place. If you’re only in town for a few more days, forget the Olympics and try to find Merville. This unique, hidden and quaint little community has a lot to offer and is a once-in-a-lifetime place to visit. In exchange for my telling you the community’s location I would accept hockey tickets. It’s worth it. Trust me.

2) Adventure. Whether it’s getting in a rock fight, evading curmudgeony locals or careening through a breathtaking forest, Merville has all sorts of spectacular outdoor sights to experience in a myriad of different ways.

3) Olympic Spirit. Did you know that 100% of Mervillians support the Olympics? Also, Canadian Hockey Defenseman, Brent Seabrook is actually from the tiny Stanley Park hamlet of Merville! True story. Before moving to Delta/Tswwassen, Mr. Seabrook honed his hockey skills by shooting rocks against trees with his grandfather’s hockey stick.

Frolicking, Tofino and Gumboots!

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Readers of The Daily Gumboot, your help is needed. Recently, Michelle Burtyk and I entered a contest on an up-and-coming Canadian radio station called the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (the kids are calling it “CBC” for short). Mark Forsythe, the host of BC Almanac (goes from 12-1PM on CBC Radio One), is spearheading a superawesome and amazing photo contest meant to showcase the spirit and beauty of the West Coast. As described by Mark and the CBC, BC Almanac “…connects British Columbians as they share stories and ideas about what they have in common and what makes them different.” Well played, Mr. Forsythe. Let the connecting begin!

So, here’s the deal (and here’s the link to the contest): the Gumboot’s correspondents need your help to triumph over the likes of “second beach” and “bull kelp” and a disgustingly romantic picture of a couple kissing on Long Beach at sunset. Our photo is called “frolicking at Tofino” and we would like you to vote for it. Here it is in bigger-version-format:

Frolicking at Tofino (click on the photo and vote today!)

Frolicking at Tofino (click on the photo and vote today!)

Still not convinced we’re worth your vote? Well, here are five reasons to give “Frolicking at Tofino” a chance:

1. The photo captures the spirit and beauty of the West Coast. Sandy beaches that go on as if forever? Check. Lovely couple running, jumping, dancing, frolicking, and loving all over the West Coast? Check. Smokey skies that make one reflect on the stormy possibilities of Long Beach, Vancouver Island and the West Coast? Check. Simple yet indescribable beauty that can’t truly be understood without a steaming hot cup of coffee sipped slowly as the Sun rises warmly over your shoulders while you feel the chilly, salty wind on your face and smell the fishy fresh air? Double check! Communicating the previous statement (more or less) through photography? Check.

2. My family won’t support me. What did my father do when I called him last night and asked him to spread the word about the contest and help us win? Well, he said something like, “Forsythe? Almanac? Right on, I love that show! Where do I upload a photo? We’ve got some great ones from when your mom and I went to Ucluelet!” No joke. My dad uploaded his own photo and is now competing against us. Incidentally, you can vote for Geoff Horn by selecting the “After the Storm” photo. Unbelievable. And people wonder why I’m so competitive!

3. It is a good, technical photo. Full disclosure. As Michelle and I frolicked towards the camera my mom, Janet, was snapping many, many pictures. And she snapped a great one here. Her shot is well framed, balances the background and foreground of the scene, makes great use of the backlight, and is a crisp, not blurry, dynamic action shot. Well done, mom.

4. Michelle and I are getting married, and the contest has a great prize! That’s right, everyone, the grand prize for this contest is a two-night stay at the Wickanninish Inn on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. This would be a wonderful way for us to celebrate our love, togetherness and ability to frolick. Also, by voting for us you will be able to give the gift of awkwardness! I mean, since my mom took the picture, she’ll probably want to come along if we win, right?

5. We’re having a really, really good time in the picture. This photo was taken during the holidays last December. Before leaving the West Coast, we stopped at Long Beach for a brief, shared moment of existential delight, which some call frolicking. We had fun with it, and our delightful leaping certainly inspired some smiles by a few people who shared the moment with us. And it was a beautiful thing we’re happy to share with you today.

So there it is. Our case for “Frolicking at Tofino” has been made and I hope it inspired you to vote for us and perhaps tell 10 or so friends about the contest, too. This CBC thing might go places, man – Forsythe knows his stuff. Once again, here is the link to the contest. Thanks very much for your time and consideration and, hopefully, your votes, too.

- John and Michelle