Everything from digital to sculpture in salmon art contest
Two Vancouver Island children have won first place in their age categories in the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s annual Kids Salmon Art Contest.
Mavi Terhune, an eight year-old Grade 3 student at Ucluelet Elementary School, was the winner in the age eight-to-10 category.
Jayla Boudewyn, a 17-year old Victoria student who just completed Grade 11 at the South Island Distance Education School, won in the 14-18 category.
This was the third year of the contest, which saw more than 300 students from British Columbia and the Yukon submit salmon-inspired art.
Submissions ranged from digital art and Lego sculptures to salmon egg drawings inspired by Kwakwaka’wakw artist Steve Smith (Dla’kwagila) of the Oweekeno Nation in Port Hardy. Several art pieces referenced the impact of wildfires on salmon.
Mavi said she and her sister found out about the contest from her grandfather, who has volunteered for years to help rehabilitate salmon-spawning areas in Qualicum Beach.
“We got excited. My mom found us lots of salmon art to get ideas from and got us learning watercolour. I used birthday-candle wax to get some neat textures. It was a lot of fun. I took my time and spent three days on it.”
The annual contest, open to children ages four to 17, is meant to help raise awareness about the challenges salmon face amid climate change and habitat loss.
The Pacific Salmon Foundation is a Vancouver-based organization that advocates for salmon through watershed initiatives, support for volunteer and community-driven conservation projects and funding of marine-habitat conservation programs.
For more information, go to psf.ca/blog/psfs-third-kids-art-contest-celebrates-pacific-salmon.
Wildfire risks hit home in Sooke talk Wednesday
Find out more about practical steps you can take to protect your home from wildfires that spread to urban areas at a talk in the Sooke council chambers, July 10.
The talk will be led by Alan Westhaver, who has more than 30 years’ experience in wildfires and community fire protection with Parks Canada and as a consultant.
Using disasters at Lytton and Fort McMurray as examples, Westhaver’s talk will focus on the principles that underlie wildland-urban fire disasters and offer affordable actions homeowners can take to reduce the vulnerability of their homes.
He will also discuss the importance of neighbourhoods acting collectively, offer strategies for undertaking these efforts and dispel some of the myths that surround these fires.
The talk is sponsored by the District of Sooke and Greater Victoria Regional Fire Departments.
The event is free to attend. It starts at 7 p.m. July 10 at the Sooke council chambers, 2205 Otter Point Rd. Seating at the event is limited so people are advised to arrive early.
For more information, go to sooke.ca/events/event/firesmart-presentation-in-sooke.
Volunteers in demand for fish habitat recovery projects
The Peninsula Streams Society is looking for volunteers for stream and shoreline restoration projects it has planned for this summer and fall to enhance the recovery of salmon and other native fish species in urbanized watersheds.
Volunteers are needed to help build salmon habitat and rain gardens in multiple watersheds. Work may include the construction/maintenance of riffles (rock crests) and gravel spawning beds, addition of boulders and large woody debris, bank armouring, removal of stick jams, garbage and invasive species, water-quality monitoring and planting.
Projects are taking place in View Royal, Oak Bay, the Colquitz watershed, Lochside Meadow; Hagan Creek in Central Saanich; Tsartlip First Nation; Tatlow (Chalet) Creek; Tenten Creek; Tetayut (Sandhill) Creek; Millstream Creek; ḰEL¸SET (Reay) Creek and Portage Inlet.
The Peninsula Streams Society was formed in 2002 with the goal of supporting populations of salt and fresh-water native fish through stream and habitat conservation. It also offers education programs for local schools.
For more information, or to sign-up, go to form-can.keela.co/creek-and-salmon-habitat-restoration-volunteer-signup.
An Island artist is donating all proceeds from her art sales to support the publicly funded Home for Us care model being piloted at The Views at St. Joseph’s long-term care facility in Comox.
Why artist is supporting Home for Us care mode
Artist Judi Wild, whose husband is receiving long-term care for vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, said the care model has greatly improved his quality of life.
The care model, based on the concept of a “dementia village,” offers an individual and family-centred approach, with residents setting the flow of their own days. Scheduled long-term care routines are flexible, with resident activities aided by staff.
Plans are in place for the care model to be rolled out within most of Providence Health Care’s six long-term care homes.
“It is gratifying to know that someone who has experienced our new model up close is so inspired by it that she is willing to make this extraordinary gesture,” said Mark Blandford, president and CEO of Providence Living. “This speaks volumes about the value and positive impact this care model will have on the lives of seniors in the years ahead.”
The Views is located on the former site of St. Joseph’s General Hospital. The facility is owned and operated by Providence Living, a faith-based non-profit long-term care organization established in 2017 by Providence Health Care. The facility was designed for seniors with or without dementia as well as younger adults who require long-term care.
To purchase artwork, go to judiwildartist.com.
For more information, go to providenceliving.ca/our-homes/the-views-at-st-josephs.
Walk raises $65,000 to help those with Alzheimer’s
The 2024 IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer’s, presented by Go Auto in May, raised more than $65,000 for the Alzheimer Society of B.C.
Funds raised will go towards the society’s programs and services, including the First Link Dementia Helpline, online and in-person education, social and fitness programming, as well as community support.
The funds will benefit the more than 85,000 people living with Alzheimer’s in the province, including more than 7,900 in the south Vancouver Island region.
For questions about memory loss or dementia, call the First Link Dementia Helpline Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 1-800-936-6033. For more information, go to alzheimer.ca/en.
Enter for your chance to win a classic 1996 Ford Mustang convertible, an acrylic painting by Kenna Barradell, a refurbished 16-foot canvas cedar strip canoe or a two-night stay at Nosy Point Bed and Breakfast at the 2024 Pender Island Epicentre Daycare raffle, now until Sept. 22.
The raffle is being hosted by the Southern Gulf Islands Neighbourhood House Society, with the funds going toward renovating the Epicentre into a fully licensed daycare.
The society’s part-time childcare facility, currently located in the Pender Island Hall, will continue to operate while the society waits for permit approvals and planned work to go forward in the new year.
Single tickets are $20, a three-ticket pack is $50 and six tickets are $100. Tickets for the 50/50 jackpot are $5 for a single ticket, $20 for a pack of five. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. Sept. 22.
To order tickets, go to sginh.rafflenexus.com/s/8-943U_GWZ-OH.
