COMMUNITY EVENTS | 🌿 No Ivy League: Ivy removal in Uplands Park will continue on Sundays in May from 1-3pm. Meet Friends at Uplands Park at the Dorset/Lincoln entrance off Beach Drive. All tools, gloves and instructions will be provided—including refreshments at the end. | 💜 Camas Day Celebration will be held at Cattle Point - Uplands Park on Sunday, May 5 from 2 to 3:30pm to celebrate the renewal of spring. There is no cost to attend, but donations will be accepted to support restoring Uplands Park. | ☕️ A pop up touring 30-minute opera about a woman’s unshakeable thirst for coffee has been held at various times throughout this week, including in Oak Bay. The final free show will be held on Saturday at Friends of Dorothy at 11am. | 🏞 Join the SeaChange Marine Conservation Society Resilient Estuaries of the Salish Sea project and help prepare eelgrass shoots for transplant in Oak Bay. Learn about eelgrass, estuaries, and the RESS project while you work hands-on assisting restoration work on Wednesday, May 8 at Willows Beach Park from 9:30am to 3pm. | 🎡 Oak Bay Tea Party will return to Willows Park, May 31 to June 2. Check out the details of the annual summer fair, including the parade schedule, food, kids craft centre and the floating tea cup challenge! |
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| | COMMUNITY NEWS | 🚒 Saanich council will discuss merging firefighting forces with Oak Bay, Victoria, and Esquimalt. Benefits of merging forces include more buying power, faster response times, and increased ability to keep up with regulations. [Capital Daily] | 🛑 Emerson’s antics shut Beach Drive for three hours this past Sunday morning. Oak Bay Police shut part of the street after the local celebrity seal kept crossing it. He later returned to the water in the afternoon. A local photographer with a long lens posted photos showing that his moult appears to be going well. | 🌊 Check out this video clip of the Zeballos orca's pod off of Cattle Point on July 2, 2023. | 🚨 Oak Bay Police released a photo of a suspect who allegedly stole $900 from a local store in the 2000 block of Oak Bay Avenue. The case remains under investigation. [Oak Bay Police] | 🏃🏻♀️ Oak Bay half marathon is just around the corner on May 26. While registration is closed, there are several organizations who are seeking to raise funds for a variety of local charities, including CFAX Santas and Easter Seals, through fundraising and other sponsorships. [Oak Bay Half, Relay, 10K] | Do you plan to take part in the Oak Bay Half Marathon events on May 26? | | | P.S. Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe here. |
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| | PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT | To join the conversation, become a member of the Oak Bay Local Facebook Group | Woman shamed for picking Camas | One local commenter was upset this week after spotting a local woman with a handful of blooming Camas flowers, which she had picked from a local park to display on her table. The original commenter was upset at this, as there have been several local groups that have been dedicated to preserving the local ecosystems and celebrate the season with the arrival of Camas in spring. While several other commenters chimed shaming the woman who picked the flowers, others said it’s possible she just didn’t know, and suggested a better way would be to treat situations like this one as a learning opportunity. | Camas was a dietary staple for many Indigenous peoples wherever it grew, and has been called a “cultural keystone species.” To learn more, be sure to attend the upcoming Celebrate Camas Day events for botanist guided tours and other activities to learn about the important work being done to protect the natural areas in Southern Vancouver Island. | |
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| | | How to move a bee colony | An Oak Bay local reached out to the group this week in order to get some information on how to move a bee colony. The near unanimous advice was to call a beekeeper or the Capital Region Beekeepers Association to report a swarm. | A local beekeeper also commented on the particular bee that was reported by the original commenter, suspecting that they were actually mining bees, which can’t be moved to another location, and are also tremendously beneficial. He advised that these bees were likely burying their eggs to keep them cool, and to just let them “bee”. Another commenter said that there is a lovely colony of this species in their parents Oak Bay yard and they are completely harmless to humans and very beneficial and provide a great opportunity for co-existence. | Have any bee-related questions? There is also a local beekeepers group which can provide other helpful suggestions. | |
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| | SPONSORED BY VICTORIA FOUNDATION: COAST CAPITAL | | Take Victoria's 2024 Vital Signs survey today | Your opinions are vital! | Take Victoria’s 2024 Vital Signs citizen survey to share your opinions on living in Greater Victoria. | We sure love our climate, but we face challenges with housing, healthcare, and more. Complete the survey for a chance to win a $100 gift card to Country Grocer. Double your chances with the long-form survey! |
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| | IN OTHER NEWS | | Sunday at the movies in Oak Bay! | Sunday May 5 at 5pm | at *CCPA Performance Hall — 1701 Elgin St. | Next to St. Mary’s Anglican Church (also home to the “Church Mouse Bookshop”) | The link to OBCF is both in the inherent need to support local culture, as well as the content of this particular movie addressing the problems of Indigenous peoples everywhere, including on the lands where we live. | By donation, supporting *CCPA’s student Programs. |
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| | | SPONSORED BY HELP UKRAINE VANCOUVER ISLAND | | Don’t miss the show everyone is talking about | Experience the raw and powerful journey of love, resilience, and survival in A Dictionary of Emotions in Wartime at Metro Studio. | Get your tickets today! |
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| | PHOTO OF THE WEEK |  | Photo credit: Christy Grinton |
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