For the past several months Strathcona BIA has been in the running for a $90,000 grant from the Aviva Community Fund to build 20-30 microgardens in Strathcona, part of Vancouver’s inner city. The grant winners are determined through an online voting contest. They’ve already made it through the first round,and now you can support them by voting for their idea 10 times (once per day) between December 2 and December 15 as they compete in the semi-final round against 29 other projects across Canada. AND THERE ARE PRIZES FOR YOU TOO!

They’re in the running, but we’d like to see them get a whole bunch of votes over the next week and a half leading up to the deadline.

If you’d like to help Strathcona and Vancouver, sign up here and they”ll send you an email a day with a reminder to vote, some pre-made Tweets for you to Retweet, and interesting links about how urban gardens are changing communities. Everyone on this list will also be entered to win great daily prizes! Sign up and you can win:

• A gift certificate from Boardroom Eco Apparel
• A box of gourmet chocolate from Saul Good Gift
• An etched glass water bottle from Eclipse Awards
• A gift certificate from Quench Designs
• Dinner for two at Pat’s Pub
• 500 business cards (including layout) from Special Screencraft
• Or one of many other great daily prizes.

That’s what members of the Strathcona Business Improvement Association (BIA) are hoping as they put forth an application for funding for a number of micro-gardens throughout the Strathcona neighbourhood. Aviva Insurance is holding a competition for the best ideas that support positive change within communities, and the BIA needs your votes to keep it in the running.

The proposed 20-30 gardens would be situated adjacent to public spaces in the area. This would contribute to the beauty of the neighbourhood, allow for the local growth of edible plants, and engage the community in the gardens’ collective upkeep. Barbed wire fences and other deterrents currently found in Strathcona can create an exclusion of people from their neighbourhood.

Building nice green spaces in urban areas is in line with the principles of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design.  The principles suggest that the use of openly visible space in a positive manner can strengthen a person’s bond with their physical environment. The more connected individuals feel with the space in which they live, the less likely they are to do harm to that space and to others. This interplay can create the ideal mutually beneficial relationship between a city and its residents, where each is influenced by the other.

The gardens would be constructed by landscapers from Mission Possible Enterprises, a non-profit organization in the Downtown Eastside which helps people with job readiness barriers find employment opportunities. Mission Possible hopes working with local youth in this endeavour will engage the youth with the neighbourhood and allow them to make a meaningful contribution to a large project.

Strathcona has always housed a progressive group of citizens with very strong views on what happens to their neighbourhood.  In the 1960s when urban activism was just beginning to take form, protests were held in Strathcona to fight the plan to build a highway through the neighbourhood. This helped spur a number of similar campaigns in later years in Canada and the US.  The pride and passion residents have with regards to their area is inspiring. It is very appropriate that Strathcona may once again have the chance to be a trailblazer in terms of community building.

You can read more about the project and vote for it here: http://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf5454

Every vote counts!

In the 1970s, Vancouverites fought to a standstill the construction of a freeway through our historic neighbourhoods and take real pride in knowing that Vancouver is the most livable city in North America as a result.

As a resident and organizer of the Strathcona Property Owners and Tenants Association, I was there with my family and neighbours to protest the opening of the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts, as we knew then that they would compromise the safety and livability of our community.

For 40 years, the viaducts have remained a finger in our eyes. Now, thanks to the vision of Coun. Geoff Meggs, who was a Strathcona resident in the 1980s, the fit of these freeway scale structures within the “Greenest City in the World” is being questioned.

Decisions, decisions…This Saturday April 17th at the Carnegie Theatre (Main and Hastings) come out for the Monthly General Meeting of the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Council (DNC) and see what’s developing in your neighbourhood!

The meeting will begin at 4pm and will deal with these proposals from the newly elected Steering Committee: (to add some context I’ve given a little background to the issues where I can, thank you April at Aha Media for posting this earlier today)

First: To adopt new committees and get reports from their members

1. Safety committee

2. Constitution committee

3. Membership and communications committee

Second: To consider working on these 7 hot neighbourhood issues or opportunities:

1. Stop shelter closures April 30th. These shelters were put up just before the Olympics, have temporarily housed over 200 people, and if they close it may put sudden pressure on numerous support networks and organizations in the DTES like First United Church, as well as green spaces throughout the city celebrated by tourists and locals alike as some have postulated. These shelters have been well used, funded by the City and the Province and  many in the community are hoping to pressure both levels of government to continue them until a comprehensive affordable housing solution created.

2. Get a pool at the new VPL site on Hastings. Pretty self explanatory I’d say.

3. Start up a street market for second hand goods and get city funding available but not being used. Ken Lyotier at United We Can has mentioned the idea of binners having a forum to sell cool stuff they find (and fix up or clean) for several years apparently, this may be related to that. If anyone knows please comment.

4. Get free wireless at Carnegie and in the whole DTES. There have been rumblings regarding the idea of making downtown Vancouver and the entire peninsulae a free wi-fi zone, but this also has security issues inherent to it as well as resistence from various ISPs who may stand to lose market share.  Free Wi-Fi for the DTES would be great for low-income residents though as it would take some financial pressure off them for what many believe has become an essential resource and service. The internet is a powerful tool for communication, job searching, education and news and it could benefit a lot of residents who may not have access to it, or who can barely afford it, for sure.

5. Start guerrilla police complaints process and emergency cell phone donation drive. This I don’t know anything about, although I’m sure someone at Pivot Legal does.

6. Work on safety complaints in Strathcona. One of the items on the table may be concerning a contaminated plot of land that a few different groups have expressed interest in (or concern with). Some ideas on the table are tax breaks & other incentives similar to what Burnaby & Coquitlam are offering and possible breaks for doing needed environmental assessments and clean-up.  Some have suggested a community garden or Social Housing be put on this land but members of the Strathcona BIA and other residents have expressed concern that the site needs to be properly remediated before anything like that can happen.

7. Stop closure of 2 DTES daycares Citygate and Phil Bouvier. Central City Foundation and a group of community partners created the Phil Bouvier Family Centre to provide support for kids and their families in the DTES in 2004. Named after Phil Bouvier, who championed the project, the centre has been of great benefit to the community. Citygate Early Learning and Care Centre (1192 Quebec Street) provides care for children aged 3 to 5 years, specializing in integrating special needs children in the centre. I was recently talking with John Tylee at the Vancouver Economic Development Commission and he, like others in economic development and government, are perplexed and concerned about BC (and Vancouver’s) poor childcare record. Childcare costs in Vancouver are outrageous (20% of household income) and access to quality care is an issue for many families. If these two facilities were to close down it could be more salt on the wound for struggling Vancouver families.

So show up on Saturday, 4pm if any of these issues are of interest to you. I’ll see you there.

-Wes-

Eos Lightmedia recently lit up several building surfaces in Yaletown

Lighting has always been an integral part of architectural and urban design but over the past decade the progression from light as utility to light as creativity utility in urban space has been dramatic. During the Olympic Games Vancouver will be lit up with some of the most creative and environmentally sustainable lighting designs ever seen. Eos Lightmedia, whose offices are in Strathcona, will be one of the companies whose work the world will be seeing up close. Eos are a relatively new company, but they’ve already been lighting up some of Canada’s most recognizable buildings, including our Federal Parliament. Their work can be seen in several high profile locations during the Olympics. I took some time to interview Steve Bedard, Design and Coordination specialist at Eos about their work during the Olympics.

BOB-Wes: “Have you as a Downtown Eastside business benefited from the Olympics?”

Eos-Bedard: “In a word, yes. The Olympics have been a major opportunity for the design side of our business. We have completed Olympic related design/installations for several local municipalities, government projects and corporate clients. The scope of every project has been unique, with a unique set of challenges. Beside the finished examples we have also seen many projects around town that have come out of design reports and consultations we have prepared over the past couple years.

Eos lights up Whistler Olympic Village

Secondly, the environment the Olympics have created within the local community has given us all a positive growing experience. For every project we landed there were ten that we missed. So along the way, there were countless brainstorm sessions, partnerships, successes and disappointments. I can say without hesitation that everyone in our office has grown and developed into a sharper, more creative, and confident professional due to our experience.”

BOB-Wes: “The Hastings Renaissance Program has recently helped to light

The Smiling Buddha Cabaret, one of Vancouver's most legendary neon signs. Will it go up again one day?

up the downtown eastside with neon signs, reminiscent of Vancouver’s heyday as one of the neon capitals of North America. The Rickshaw Theatre, Bao Bei, and several other businesses have had facade improvements and more are on the way. Is there a building or park or part of the DTES that you’d particularly enjoy lighting?”

The lovely neon sign for Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie. Photo by Lani Johnson.

Eos-Bedard: “there are always great opportunities for lighting urban environments. I live and work in this area. I think the Powell St / Cordova St corridors are a prime example of an area that could really come alive. I walk past the Sugar Refinery on Powell every day. What an awesome opportunity. Check out this show they did in Quebec. [seriously check it out it's insane]

BOB-Wes: “What’s the most impressive urban lighting you’ve ever seen? Mine was in Paris, that place is lit up something crazy.”

Eos-Bedard: “I’ve never actually seen this one, but the Worlds Largest Timepiece (still holding out for a business development trip to Zurich)”

BOB-Wes: “What’s your favorite pub in the Eastside?”

Eos-Bedard: “6 Acres, or the Princeton”

BOB-Wes: “I’ve been in love with 6 Acres since the day it opened (as Moonshine nontheless, still have the business card) and I once saw a guy eat a slightly moist, old drink coaster for a jug of beer at the Princeton. (he’s gone on to be an award winning filmaker now) What’s your favorite place for quick lunch? ”

Eos-Bedard: “Lolo’s or JJ Bean”

BOB-Wes “Have you heard about that crazy mind control lighting show here during the Olympics where you can control lights on the CN Tower, Parliament and Niagra Falls by wearing a special thought reading crown with nodes on it. What’s up with that?

Eos-Bedard: (no comment…maybe it blew his mind)

BOB congratulates Eos on 25 years of success and for accomplishments and professional development they’ve experienced in the buildup to the Games. We’re looking forward to your talents continuing to light up the DTES and rest of Vancouver, and maybe the Roger’s building sometime soon too!

To see some of the projects Eos has worked on in vancouver and elsewhere go here

For more information on BOB go here