TOGETHER WITH |
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COMMUNITY EVENTS |
☁️ Storyteller Lucky Budd will recount the story of Cloudwalker, an Indigenous creation story about Northern BC waterways. An all ages event! Saturday, April 22, 2pm to 4pm at Oak Bay United Church. Reserve a spot here. |
🖼 Oak Bay Artist Studio Tour set for Saturday, April 22, 10am to 4pm & Sunday, April 23, 10am to 1pm at the Monterey Recreation Centre. |
💜 Friends of Uplands Park to celebrate Camas Day on Saturday, April 30, from 12pm to 3pm. Meet at Cattle Point at Beach Drive for botanist-guided walks, activities for all, along with food, drinks and prizes. |
📚 The Oak Bay Heritage Foundation's upcoming Marion Cumming lecture series presents Growing Up Weird..A Memoir of an Oak Bay Childhood, Wednesday, April 26, at 7pm at the Windsor Pavilion. |
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COMMUNITY NEWS |
🐟 Friends of Bowker Creek Society volunteers celebrate the return of salmon fry. Though there is no way to tell how many of the 28,000 salmon eggs that were planted earlier this year will make it. This is a significant milestone in a project that has taken more than a decade of habitat restoration work. [Read about the latest on CBC News, and read more about the project on the Capital Daily] |
🐇 Remember when UVic was overrun with bunnies? The latest Canadaland podcast dug deep into what happened after the overabundant rabbit population in the 2000s were relocated in 2010. [Canadaland] |
🏚 Oak Bay Council asked to develop a bylaw for dealing with derelict homes six years after a fire damaged a large Beach Drive home that was abandoned after a 2017 fire left it moldy and inhospitable. [Vancouver Sun] |
🤔 Amalgamation discussions are back on the table for Victoria, Saanich, who held a joint meeting on April 3 and will move forward with a previously approved plan to study the issue through a 48-person citizens' assembly. The assembly will be chosen by lottery and will reflect a proportional variety of ages and housing circumstances. |
💸 UVic plans to increase student housing prices by 10% in September, even as student are complaining of the rising costs, and issues of the inaccessibility of campus housing are going viral on social media. [Read more by Michael John Lo on Capital Daily] |
🌱 Oak Bay is beginning to bloom! Check out the field of Fawn Lilies at the Oak Bay Plant Garden. |
🗓️ Spring is in the air! Paint Works has been servicing Victoria for 20 years. They look forward to hearing from you, and having you in their schedule. Book now!* |
*Sponsored Listing |
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PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT |
To join the conversation, become a member of the Oak Bay Local Facebook Group |
More conversations about multi-family housing |
One Oak Bay local posted about a recent information session for 2326 Oak Bay Ave., a proposal that was rejected in March 2022 after nine years of planning, and has been put forth again for consideration. A flyer was distributed to residents in the area for a new session that took place last week. There have been some changes to the proposed development, which now include plans for a sauna and rooftop garden. |
Some were concerned that they will be unaffordable and will not solve housing issues in the community. Others took a more optimistic outlook on the plans, saying that, if approved, the condos may be enticing to existing single family homeowners in Oak Bay who are interested in downsizing, but want to stay in the community. |
An arborist spoke at the session over concerns that a neighbouring Garry Oak could be threatened, and said the developer now plans to plant three new ones in order to make up for the potential loss of one Garry Oak. If the proposal is approved, some believe it could lead to a shift in how the community views multi-family homes and how they could meet the unique needs of Oak Bay. |
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Where can you ethically feed the ducks here? |
Despite concerns of avian flu outbreaks, some Oak Bay locals would like to know if there are any areas where it's okay to feed the birds. Despite some locals recommending oats and other wild seeds (definitely not bread) others reminded the community that feeding could bring overcrowding, and disrupt their natural habitat. Even though feeding is discouraged, there are plenty of places to view, including Spewhung (Turkey Head), Gonzalez Beach, and Beacon Hill Park. Do you have any favourite bird watching spots? |
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SPONSORED POST |
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IN OTHER NEWS |
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Some feel Oak Bay Parks is working against restoration efforts by Friends of Uplands Park |
The image above shows how populations of Limnanthes macounii shrank in comparison to wetter winters years ago as a result of the competition of introduced grasses, such as Lolium perenne or Poa bulbosa, which it can't compete with. Oak Bay locals have been discussing how this and other restoration efforts have been threatened by work from Oak Bay Parks. |
Another example is how Oak Bay Parks filled a wet depression, the site of Ranunculus alismifolius, with gravel, which was likely done in order to make the area easier and less muddy to walk on. Other locals expressed frustration that actions like these are not reflective of the rules that are already in place, and called on others to make official complaints about them. Some defended the practice of making the area easier to walk in, however the majority in the thread said that the priority of restoration should be upheld and even suggested that the area should be closed to human and dog-centric practices that are harming it. |
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SPONSORED POST |
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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UNITED WAY SOUTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND |
United for mental health |
Did you know young people are at higher risk, with 70% of persons living with a mental illness seeing their symptoms begin before age 18? Let’s unite for mental health. |
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PHOTO OF THE WEEK |
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Photo credit: Mary McArthur |
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