March 2010
The Canada We Once Were
My last entry was about the excitement and pride I was feeling about the Games. I wrote about the value of sport and recreation in our society. Now that the games are over, my feelings have not changed.
The opening ceremonies and the poem by Shane Koyczan, We Are More, captures many feelings we have about who we are but have never put into words. In John Forlong’s speech during the closing ceremonies he states ‘the Canada that was with the Canada that now is. I believe we Canadians tonight are stronger, more united, more in love with our country and more connected with each other than ever before’. Never before have we seen so my pride in the True North Strong and Free.
I was lucky enough to travel over to take in the middle weekend of the Games. I got to see first hand the spirit. We watch live with 22,000 others in BC Place as Jon Montgomery received his Gold Medal. As we all sang ‘Oh Canada’ loud and proud. W watched the hockey game on the ferry and shared in the disappointment in our loss to the USA. But later we were standing along with many others to clap for our amazing Ice Dancers. Of course both went on to win Gold. These are wonderful memories to share with my family for years to come.
A lot has been said about “Owning the Podium’. It is an expression, a mantra to focus on excellence to achieve. Let’s stay the course. So the Canada we once were. We now do BELIEVE!
Oh yeah, this is supposed to be about Parks. Maybe next time, I am still on an Olympic high, bring on the Paralympic Games.
….with glowing hearts….
This Blog will be updated to share our successes, some ideas & hidden gems. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please feel free to email us at parks@saanich.ca or call 250 475 5522.
Rae S. Roer
Parks Manager
February 2010
Let The Games Begin
I must admit, I have a fever. The only cure is to tune into the Olympics.
I remember the gathering to watch the bid announcement, I read lots of articles, I’ve heard all the criticism, I saw the torch go by the park offices, I have friends who are volunteers & we are going over next weekend but today as I write this, opening day, I am really excited.
Politics & sport have gone hand in hand since the beginning of time and from the origins of the Olympic movement. I recall at University in an introductory recreation class learning about & debating the issue. But let’s face it. National pride & community pride does come out of our sports. Ask any one born in Saskatchewan (like me) about football & they will start singing ‘Green is the color’. Edmonton is the City of Champions. But we also see politics & sport mixing in local community sport.
As I am writing this CBC is reporting on protestors blocking the torch run. I also saw on TV this morning the young Victoria student from St Andrews whose run in Victoria on day 1 of the relay got another chance on the Sea Wall today. Good for her. I have heard lots of complaints about the cost & expense of security. I was in Medicine Hat AB in 1988 when the Calgary Olympics were held. I recall the torch run. I looked down the street, saw the torch, it stopped at City Hall & then it went. In 2010, I saw cops cars, security details, sponsors then finally the torch then more cops & security. Apparently warranted as later that day marbles are thrown into the road & ultimately interrupted & rerouted stealing their Olympic Spirit & moment.
Does the cost of Olympics bother me; yes. Do we have social issues that need attention; yes. But sport does build community; yes. Now Rugby 7’s is now an Olympic sport & many young Canadians (including my son) now have an Olympic Dream to complete for their Country. As a professional parks & recreation administrator our movement believes that healthy communities benefit from recreation & sport.
I say GO CANDA GO! Put it behind us & let the games begin peacefully & may the best rise to the top!
This Blog will be updated to share our successes, some ideas & hidden gems. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please feel free to email us at parks@saanich.ca or call 250 475 5522.
Rae S. Roer
Parks Manager
January 2010
Happy New Year & Spring is Near!
As everyone returns to work & the regular retinue after the holidays we at Saanich Parks are already seeing the signs of spring.
Our terrific administrative support team are getting all sorts of spring like calls & parks bookings. Every year more & more residents want to book their favourite family event, school function or wedding in one of our parks.
As people also get out into the parks & trails we are getting reports of items that need our attention. Our staff does a great job of anticipating needs but we always appreciate a call if you think we need to know about something. The contact info at the bottom is a quick & easy way to report a problem.
But the sure sign of spring is our vegetation. The tree buds are swelling & we even have some early daffodils up. I saw them this week at the Quadra/Chatterton intersection. Our Horticulture staff tells me these are called February Gold but they are a month early, We won’t complain, we’ll take this January Gold anytime.
This Blog will be updated to share our successes, some ideas & hidden gems. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please feel free to email us at parks@saanich.ca or call 250 475 5522.
Rae S. Roer
Parks Manager
December 2009
Happy Holidays! ‘tis the season they say.
Over the past year our Saanich Parks elves have been busy maintaining our over 165 parks & 75o Ha of park land. They cut the grass, pick up the litter, line the sport fields, tend the trails, maintain the urban forest, beautify the community & of course are stewards to the environment.
Most of this work is recognized & I am always amazed at how appreciative our community is for the work we do. But believe me, I have had the pleasure of working in 3 provinces & in 5 different municipalities & without a doubt Saanich folks are the most thankful.
However, some of the more ‘unglamorous’ does go unnoticed. These activities include:
- Boulevard & roadside mowing
- Routine Playground maintenance (54 sites)
- 153 litter bins regularly emptied
- Over 3300 vandalism ‘tags’ removed
- 20 washroom serviced
- Over 85 km of trail brushing & maintenance
- Process 1000+ private tree permits
- Responded to 1300+ park or boulevard tree calls
- Respond to an additional 1500 park related calls for service
Some of our notable successes this year include:
- Braefoot Park artificial turf field at in partnership with Lakehill Soccer.
- Summit improvements at Mount Tolmie.
- Colquitz Boardwalk replacement Phase 1
- Repaired/refurbished park/beach access stairs at Arbutus, Glencoe & Doumac.
- Completed Mt. Douglas Churchill Road Parking Lot improvements.
- Commenced reconstruction of the Lakehill Lawn Bowling Clubhouse in partnership with the Club.
- Braefoot Park Lacrosse Box Sport Court Surfacing.
- Inverness Road Parkland Concept Plan.
- Beckwith Park Playground Replacement Project.
- Outerbridge Park refurbishment.
- Urban Forest Strategy draft completed.
- Record Tree Planting: 700 trees ,1,000 native tree / shrub plugs and 4,400 shrubs
- Mount Douglas Creek Restoration Project
- Saanich Trails Master Plan (Centennial Trails Phase 2) Planning.
- Royal Oak Trail, Layritz and Swan Creek trails completed/improved.
- Integrated Pest management Policy revision
So our elves have been busy all year long. I know that Santa will be good to all of them. So from all of us in Saanich Parks we wish all of you a merry & happy holiday season.
See you in 2010!
This Blog will be updated to share our successes, some ideas & hidden gems. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please feel free to email us at parks@saanich.ca or call 250 475 5522.
Rae S. Roer
Parks Manager
November 2009
Ch Ch Changes
David Bowie wrote about Ch Ch Change in 1971, Bob Dylan had already written about ‘the times they are a- changin’ back in 1964, Blind melon wrote Change in 1992. I am sure if I was to research artist, philosophers alike have written, talked or thought about CHANGE. In Saanich Parks, we are talking and living change.
Over the past few months Saanich has had 3 significant members of our management team retire. The first was our Planner extraordinaire, Russ Fuoco at the end of September. Saanich Parks will miss Russ as he was a tremendous support of parks and guided us through change with our role in the development process. However, we look forward to a continued great relationship with his successor, Sharon Hvodanski. Next in October, our own Ken Kreiger, Director of Parks & Recreation retired after 19 years with Saanich Parks & Recreation. Ken is tremendously well respected professional and a great believer in community development and partnerships.
Then before Ken’s successor could even be named; Gerald Fleming, Parks Planning & Design Manager retired on Nov 25/09 after nearly 23 years with Saanich Parks. Gerald arrived in 1987 and at that time we had less than 90 parks. Over the next 23 years Gerald has had a hand in the development of nearly 80% of the current park system. We are now over 165 parks & 750 Ha of land. Under his guidance many new parks or existing parks were constructed or redeveloped. The list includes: McMinn, Beckwith, Brydon, Sierra, Rutledge and Gorge Waterway. He was also very involved in Natural Park/environmental projects such as Quick’s Bottom, Glencoe Cove-Kwatsech, & Rithet’s Bog. He also over saw Sport Park and facility improvements with soccer fields, the skate park & the redevelopment of the 2 lacrosse boxes. He was also instrumental in the development of the Galloping Goose, Lochside Trails, the Blenkinsop Trestle and Centennial Trails. His contribution to the positive change in our community is evident through the park system. The sharing of stories and the genuine appreciation from many of our park “Friends of” and Community Associations is a tribute to the respect he has from the community, staff and industry professionals.
So we are in the middle of change with staff as well as social, economic and environmental considerations we face as we approach 2010. Our park infrastructure will be changing thanks to Federal funding though the Recreation Infrastructure Canada program. The focus of the program will be on our Playgrounds, Sport Courts, Sports fields & Tennis Courts. Follow the link for details http://www.saanich.ca/resident/parks/RInC.html Council will be soon considering a Bylaw to Regulate the Non-Essential Use of Pesticides along with a revision to the Council Policy on Integrated Pesticide Management. All the while we have continued to completed improvements along the Colquitz River, Mt. Douglas and Mt. Tolmie Parks as well as the Lake Hill Lawn Bowling Clubhouse project has begun.
So CHANGE is all around us, it’s always easier when you initiate it but it’s inevitable as the song says ‘you got to change’. I am pleased for Russ, Ken and Gerald and miss them all greatly. However, I am excited about the future very much looking forward to working with our talented team of park staff to keep meeting the changing needs of our community.
October 2009
Where has the time gone? Its been too long since I have Raeved about our parks. Over the summer I did the ‘Chevy Chase’ vacation, we drove over 6800 km taking in Western Canada back to Saskatchewan, then south through Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada & California. Then home through Oregon & Washington. We saw lots of countryside, communities & of course parks along the way. It was a great but even better to be home. Returning I am proud to boast about our parks & the work our staff do day in day out.
Recently BC Rivers Day was celebrated & we were pleased to support RiverSong. The event will included a celebration of pebble mosaics created by the students of Colquitz Middle School. It also marks the reopening of the boardwalk. This section features a new curved concrete platform with wood handrails. Parks have worked closely with Public Works and Environmental Services in building this structure in a sensitive riparian area that was completed as part of our capital program this year.
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We have also been working on the lower Churchill Drive Parking Lot in Mount Douglas Park. Once complete, the lot will be better organized for parking and pedestrian use, while reducing encroachment and dumping into the natural areas of the park.
In Browning Park two bridges are scheduled for replacement and a multi-use trail will be built connecting Knight Street to Wordsworth through Browning Park. This project is supported through a LocalMotion grant, and is a step toward the vision of the Bowker Creek Greenway.
Its so good to be HOME!
Rae S. Roer
Parks Manager
July 6 2009 - Beach Season is here!
It’s a great time to get out & enjoy one of our many waterfront parks, beaches or beach accesses.
In a recent article in the TC Jack Knox lists some of the well known favourites & of course some of the hidden gems. Our web site has a listing for your reference.
The Frog Park (Beckwith Water Park) is also now open daily from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. It’s another great place to enjoy some family fun & keep cool.
I also want to thank the Gorge Tillicum Community Association for having us as part of their 10th Annual Canada Celebration. We participated in the Parade & our staff we on hand answering questions & meeting many happy people. It is always rewarding to get such great positive feedback as well as many great suggestions on things people would like to see.
This Blog will be updated to share our successes, some ideas & hidden gems. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please feel free to email us at parks@saanich.ca
Rae S. Roer
Parks Manager
June 1, 2009
Feels like summer. June is here.
Baseball season is in full swing. Trail and beach use is up. We have over 44 beach accesses that call on days like these. But the best sign of summer is June 1 when the water gets turned on at the Beckwith Frog Pond water park. The waterpark operates noon – 4:00 pm daily in June/September and 10:00 am – 6:00 pm July - August.
Another sign of summer is park bookings. Over the next month Cadboro-Gyro Park, Mount Douglas and Beckwith are popular destinations for dozens of schools and thousands of students who use our parks for year end celebration.
On Saturday May 30, I attended the release of 50,000 Chum Salmon Fry into Douglas Creek on Saturday. Bob Bridgeman, Streamkeeper with the Friends of Mount Douglas (FOMD) has been working to restore salmon to the creek for the past 10 years. Recently, an oil spill into the watershed delayed the planned release. And now, 24 hours after the chum fry release we have experienced another. This is very frustrating for all involved. We all have a role to play in protecting our watersheds. We are working on watershed planning for Douglas Creek and it now seems a broader approach with more education may also be required. We will be working with Saanich Engineering to follow up on the immediate concerns and the rest of these other efforts will take time and resources.
The Rhododendrons are peaking in Playfair Park. The late spring seems to have brought them all to bloom at once. Get out to see them while the show is still on.
Garlic Mustard is the latest invasive plant that is challenging us. We are working with many to launch an early Detection Rapid Response. Follow the link below to find out more on this new invader. http://www.saanich.ca/resident/environment/invasive.html
This Blog will be updated to share our successes, some ideas & hidden gems. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please feel free to email us at parks@saanich.ca
Rae S. Roer
Parks Manager
April 22 2009
Happy Earth Day!
What better day to rave about Saanich Parks than the annual Earth Day. The annual celebration is 39 years old this year. It was intended to bring attention to environmental degradation by staging an environmental teach-in. Today it is celebrated in over 170 countries in the world.
Today we are planting trees in Gordon Head, we are supporting some stewardship activities at Glendale Gardens and this weekend more community stewardship activities will take place in Cuthbert Holmes Park in conjunction with the Gorge-Tillicum Community Association.
Everyday, we work to preserve, protect and enhance the over 700 Ha of parkland in Saanich. In addition, we look after boulevards and administer the Tree Preservation Bylaw. We have also been working hard to find ways to re-green Saanich Parks. Over the past few years efforts have been made to preserve/protect the environment by making changes in the following areas: Irrigation, Fertilizer, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Buildings, Parks Maintenance, Natural Area Mgt, Storm Water management, Hybrid vehicles, Tree Planting, Native planting, Stream keepers and Trails.
We are also currently undertaking the development of an Urban Forest Strategy. The Urban Forest Strategy will recommend direction and actions that will allow Saanich to optimize the benefits of it urban forest by envisioning and enabling an integrated and sustainable approach to preserving trees and enhancing Saanich’s Urban Forest. You can participate by taking the on-line survey on our web site or plan to attend the Open House June 11.
This Blog will be updated to share our successes, some ideas & hidden gems. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please feel free to email us at parks@saanich.ca
Rae S. Roer
Parks Manager
March 5 2009
Saanich, the community, its people, our politicians and our staff care deeply about our Parks. For over 50 years Saanich Parks has been committed to ‘greening’ our community. Our mandate is to work in partnership with the community to create a quality of life that supports healthy lifestyles and preserves/protects our natural environment. I am reminded of the value and regard placed on parks by the community and our elected officials weekly, often daily. These beliefs are matched with a similar dedication and professionalism in the way the staff approach their daily work.
Recently, I enjoyed an all too rare, ‘walk in the park’ with our Construction Foreman, Larry Middleton. Larry has been with Saanich over 35 years and is a testament to this approach. With great pride Larry walked me around Outerbridge Park (formerly Shangri-La). Our crews have been working on a restoration plan for the site and have recently completed the pond loop trail. It is now accessible to the community off Royal Oak Drive. No off street parking exists at this time.
It is a wonderful oasis. Mrs. Outerbridge spent over 20 years to create her bird and nature sanctuary and we are proud to now be the caretakers of this legacy. We have worked with her trustee to develop the current state of redevelopment. Over time we will continue this work, expanding the input into the community for any future phases of work.
In the meantime, I encourage you to explore this gem. If you ever wonder what one person can do, while you walk the site think of Mrs. O. As well, I hope you notice the quality of work and care taken by our staff in the restoration of this phase of the project. I am very proud of the work done by our planning/design, arboriculture, horticulture and construction crews.
This Blog will be updated to share our successes, some ideas & hidden gems. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please feel free to email us at parks@saanich.ca
Rae S. Roer
Parks Manager
February 2009
Over the past few years Saanich Parks has been working to improve communications with the community. One of the ideas our group came up with was the Blog, specifically the Managers Blog. We thought it was a great idea, a 21st Century idea, a new e-connected way to reach the community. The only hang up was writing it. So here is the first, maybe it’s a New Years resolution but I really think it’s motivated by the recent loss of a great community builder Frank Leversedge. He seemed to always have time for community, soccer, youth, & his family; surely if he could do it I have time to write a Blog.
I met Frank when I arrived in Saanich in 2003. He was a part of the Cordova Bay Soccer Club. I soon learned he was tiger, passionate about his game (soccer), his club, the players (young & old) & the community. We began to work on ways to meet the needs of the Club as they had lost the Trio fields. We were working on some ideas with the ultimate solution being the artificial turf field that is now in use in Lochside Park. FELPS was Frank’s baby. It’s said without him it would not have happened. I agree. For more about Frank follow the link to the CBSC web site www.cordovabaysoccer.org
I have been in the Parks & Recreation business over 25+ years in 3 different Provinces & in 5 different communities. I have made many mistakes but I learned a few things along the way too. One of the things I have learned is that its people like Frank that build community. Every community has them & in Saanich we are lucky to have many such folks. Community partnerships have built most if not all of our parks. From the 4 artificial turf fields we now have (a 5th on the way this summer), the lacrosse boxes, the ball fields including the Lambrick Park dugout project this year. But it’s not just the sport clubs we have many active Community Associations & ‘Friends of” organizations that are passionate about their community. They work with our staff on many projects often challenging us in many ways but in the end we all must remember we are building community. Frank’s celebration of life at Lochside Park Jan 16 reminded me on this & much more. So to all those who help make Saanich a Healthy Community thank you; I look forward to continuing to build safe, healthy & sustainable Saanich Parks with you all.
This Blog will be updated to share our successes, some ideas & hidden gems. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please feel free to email us at parks@saanich.ca
Rae S. Roer
Parks Manager
Contact Us:
1040 McKenzie Ave
Victoria, BC V8P 2L4
(250) 475-5522
parks@saanich.ca
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