#SilentSunday

#CoastSalish woman with ducks & salmon. A #PublicArt #sculpture in Esquimalt Gorge Park.

I'm thinking of organizing a few interactive public art events this year.

What do you all think about me organizing finger painting art therapy & some collaborative #MixedMedia art therapy sessions for adults in #VictoriaBC #Saanich #Esquimalt & some areas on Southern #VancouverIsland ? On donations basis(only to cover the costs of supplies needed).

Art & acts of creativity have been huge in my own personal healing journeys. I'd love to share that art healing power with others in the community that I live in & with surrounding communities too.

These would all be hosted outdoors. I have a few outdoor covered public spaces in mind.

I stumbled upon this lovely 20-minute documentary about #hummingbirds from The Nature of Things. A gentleman in #Esquimalt observes nesting and fledgling hummingbirds in his backyard.

#Animals #Nature #BirdsOfMastodon #Documentary

https://youtu.be/g02Ss3xgABc

I'm still struggling with PTSD triggers & am grateful for day off work today. I'm going sailing. I have 2 more long work days before taking a full week off work for Vancouver Island Adaptive Snowsports training next week - something I've been waiting on getting back into for 4 years.

Kicking off 2025 on a positive note with my first time #sailing in the annual Not a Whaler fundraiser fun regatta, co-hosted by #CanadianForcesSailingAssociation & #AbleSailVictoria. I'll be on the Big Foot sailboat, with CFSA skipper, Ryan Kaye. Registration is at noon. Race fun starts at 1:30pm. It will be a great time on the waters. We are sailing out of CFSA Baker Dock, at CFB Naden base in #Esquimalt in #VictoriaBC on #VancouverIsland in #BritishColumbia. I'll be at CFSA HQ until around 4pm.

*I'm awaiting to hear back on which crew I'll be placed with for upcoming Not a Whaler #sailing event.*

The annual Canadian Forces Sailing Association’s #CFSA Not A Whaler Race is taking place on January 1, 2025 at the Canadian Forces Base #Naden, #Esquimalt Harbour. #Sailors will gather at the Sail Training dock.  Boats pay $20.00 and each crew member wanting post race food and drink (chili including vegetarian and alcoholic and non-alcoholic Moose Milk (a Navy tradition) will pay $10.00. We invite our ASV members to join in the post race celebrations or perhaps on a boat as we do have skippers happy to take folks out, however, you will need to be able to negotiate getting in and out of boats without a lift and up and down companion ways of boats. If you are interested in being a crew member on a boat for $10.00 you will need to provide your name and contact beforehand so we can place you on a suitable vessel. You will need to arrive at the docks at 1200. The race itself commences at 1:30 pm for about 1-1.5 hours with boats returning to the docks for the apres sail festivities. You can join in the apres sailing festivities and enjoy chili and libations for $10.00 but please RSVP to fleetcaptain@cfsaesq.ca for either crewing or eating.

CFSA has a long history of supporting accessible sailing in Victoria as it was the program provider since #DisabledSailing came into being in the early 1990’s. CFSA supported the association with space, moorage and assistance with equipment, volunteers and training staff. 

Currently CFSA has had to change the location of their marina resulting in the dock not being accessible until the marina development is completed. Despite not being able to host the sails for the former Disabled Sailing Association (now #AbleSailVictoria (ASV), CFSA has continued to support the programs by #fundraising with the Not A Whaler Race and providing storage space for the program’s equipment during the off season.

https://www.ablesailvictoria.com/calendar/not-a-whaler-race

If you or your family or friends would to make a donation to Able Sail Victoria you can do so directly: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/103503

This will help us to continue our successful programs for which we charge $20.00 while the cost to provide the program is $130.00 per sail. We thank you for being members of ASV and for providing support for this worthwhile program.

Spanning half a kilometre, Trackside #Art Gallery runs parallel to the E&N Rail Trail in #Esquimalt. It's Canada’s largest legal #graffiti wall.
The walls feature graffiti art that changes on a rotating basis & self-managed by a community of urban artists.

https://m.youtube.com/shorts/uX6tgqkj-2g

More info at:
https://www.tracksideartgallery.ca/

#VictoriaBC #Saanich #ViewRoyal #Esquimalt #YYJ - Happening today!

Keep the #Halloween spirit going in our neighbourhood with a #community #PumpkinParade!

Bring your carved #JackOLanterns down to #GorgePark between 3-5pm on November 1st, then return from 6-8pm to see them all lit up together as you take a spooky stroll! There is no limit to the number of #pumpkins you can bring down - the more, the merrier!

***If you're unable to bring your pumpkin down to the park and live in the #GorgeTillicum area, please put your pumpkins at the end of your driveway by 1pm and we will attempt to pick them up.***

The event will be held in Gorge Park adjacent to the parking lot opposite Orillia Street. Entertainment will run from 6pm - 7:30pm and there will be free hot chocolate and treats for the community.

This year, your pumpkins will get a third chance to entertain as they'll be delivered to the Tillicum Centre Pumpkin Smash the following day! Saanich Firefighters will be dropping the pumpkins from atop fire ladder before they go to compost station.

#MonochromeMonday

Old #historical building for #trains repair/maintenance.

We had an amazing public turnout for 2024 Esquimalt Lantern Festival. Thank you to everyone who helped make it happen this year. I was working the lanterns making station inside the pavilion until 8pm. I walked around some of the festival after my shift.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1D2vpB-Hi8M

YMCA song - sung with only #cat #meows
Part of #Esquimalt #LanternFestival this evening. #Pianist is Brooke Maxwel - a lovely person & well appreciated, local musician.
https://www.brookemaxwell.com/

Fun, giant walking #puppets at #Esquimalt #LanternFestival this evening. It runs until 10PM.

The puppets were from #MixedMediaMonsters by lantern festival organizer & art director, Jessica Hickman.
http://jessicahickman.net/mixedmediamonsters

At #Esquimalt #LanternFestival. Festival runs til 10pm.

Giant walking #puppets at festival. The glowing blowfish is from #MixedMediaMonsters by lantern festival organizer & art director, Jessica Hickman.
http://jessicahickman.net/mixedmediamonsters

From earlier.

#Esquimalt #LanternFestival at Esquimalt Gorge Park.

Big walking #puppets seen in video were made by #PuenteTheatre - a local #theatrical production company.
https://www.puentetheatre.ca/

At #Esquimalt #LanternFestival. Wrapping shift at lantern making station soon. Festival runs til 10pm.

One of a few truckloads of #driftwood dropped off at Gorge Park for the ongoing nature rewilding restoration project. This is near the estuary area of the large urban nature park; by the Gorge nature house.

Our new date for the #Esquimalt #LanternFestival is Friday, October 4th!

https://www.townshiparts.org/esquimalt-lantern-festival.html

Very busy weekend here.
I'll update more & catch up on messages here, this evening or Monday morning, depending on how I feel later.
I'll be at Fall Fairfield festival this afternoon:
https://fairfieldcommunity.ca/events-projects/fall-fairfield/

#GorgeWaterway Action Society is part of the federal Department of #Fisheries and #Oceans #EuropeanGreenCrab #MonitoringProject.

The local monitoring team caught a few invasive crabs during the Gorge Waterway trapping yesterday. The team is back out, today(Sept. 19) at 10am.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x5-MeifU5FA

This is an ongoing environmental project for our #GorgeWaterwayActionSociety.
https://www.gorge.ca/projects/european-green-crab-monitoring

In association with #DFO - #PacificSalmonFoundation
https://psf.ca/
#PeninsulaStreamsSociety
https://peninsulastreams.ca/
#InvasiveSpeciesCouncilBC
https://bcinvasives.ca/

More info on these #invasive #crabs be found here:
https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/profiles-profils/europeangreencrab-crabevert-eng.html

If you see any of these invasive green crabs - please report them:

Toll-free: 1-888-356-7525
Email: DFO.AISPacific-EAEPacifique.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/plants-animals-ecosystems/invasive-species/reporting-invasive-species

Local #invasive #EuropeanGreenCrab monitoring team caught a few invasive #crabs during the #GorgeWaterway trapping yesterday. The team is back out on the waterway, today at 10am.

This is an ongoing environmental project for our #GorgeWaterwayActionSociety. In association with #DFO - #PacificSalmonFoundation - #PeninsulaStreamsSociety - #InvasiveSpeciesCouncilBC.

I'll be at #Esquimalt #GorgeWaterway /Kinsmen park in a few hours to join the invasive green crab monitoring team. It's another trapping/netting day & I'll be documenting some of the project's work.

[ Since 2022, we have participated in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ European Green Crab Monitoring Project. European green crabs are a destructive invasive species that removes eelgrass very efficiently, destroying habitat for everything else in the Gorge. Unfortunately, we caught adult European green crabs in the Gorge for the first time in August 2024 through our monitoring program.

We are working with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Peninsula Streams Society to remove as many as possible before the problem worsens. To prevent the spread of European Green Crabs, make sure to clean, drain, and dry off any watercraft according to BC Invasives. ]

https://www.gorge.ca/projects/european-green-crab-monitoring