Trees are so awesome that the Park Board is almost giving them away for free

Vancouver Park Board

Media Advisory

October 1, 2015

 

The Vancouver Park Board is selling a variety of young trees for a modest $10 to help residents grow the city’s urban tree canopy.

 The 6-foot tall trees in 7-10 gallon pots will be available to Vancouver residents (with proof of residency) at the Park Board head office during the second annual Doors Open Vancouver on Saturday, October 3 between 10 am and 5 pm. The Board office is one of 18 City of Vancouver sites open to the public.

 “The Park Board has a long history of planting and caring for trees in green spaces and parks across Vancouver, but we need residents to also plant trees on their property in order to increase the urban tree canopy. I encourage families to come down during the Doors Open event where they can get a great deal on a tree for their front or back yard,” said Vancouver Park Board Chair John Coupar.

Media are invited to learn more:

When: Friday, October 2, 2015 @ 1 pm

Where: Vancouver Park Board head office, 2099 Beach Avenue

Who: Park Board Chair John Coupar, Park Board Urban Forestry Strategy Project Manager Katherine Isaac and urban forestry crews

What: Fruit, flowering, shade and conifer trees for sale October 3

 The trees being sold include fruit (Italian prune plums, apple and cherry), flowering (Snowcone Japanese Snowbell and Magnolia ‘Randy’), shade (Katsura and Autumn Gold Ginkgo) and conifers (dwarf mountain pine ‘mops’ and Frohburg Weeping Norway spruce) valued at up to $100 each. There is a limit of five trees per person.

 The Park Board is targeting to plant 11,000 new trees, including on private property, this year in support of the City of Vancouver’s Urban Forest Strategy, which was endorsed by the Park Board and City Council in April 2014.

 Vancouver is home to an urban forest with more than 140,000 street trees and 340,000 park trees along with trees on private property. The urban forest plays important environmental and social roles, such as cleaning the air, absorbing storm water, storing carbon, providing habitat and improving health and well-being.

 Every tree in our city makes up what is known as Vancouver’s urban forest. Today, 18 percent of Vancouver is covered by tree canopy (ground area is covered by tree leaf canopies as seen from the air) on par with Victoria and Seattle, but down from 22.5 percent in 1995.

 As our canopy declines, so do the benefits provided by the urban forest including cleaning the air, absorbing carbon dioxide, managing rain water and providing wildlife habitat.

 Residents with questions are encouraged to contact pbtree@vancouver.ca.

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Media contact:

Vancouver Park Board

604-257-8440

Southeast Vancouver Seniors Centre gets green light

Vancouver Park Board

News Release

September 23, 2015

Vancouver Park Board Chair John Coupar and all Commissioners are very pleased to share good news related to the construction of the long awaited Southeast Vancouver Seniors Centre at the Killarney Community Centre.

The Killarney Community Centre Association has approved the final hurdle of clarifying facility ownership, which now permits the immediate issuance of a Request for Proposal for the design and construction of the Centre. The successful company will be selected by January 2016. A full construction schedule will be released in the coming months.

The Park Board would like to thank the Killarney Community Centre Association, the Killarney Seniors Centre Society, and the Southeast Vancouver Seniors’ Arts and Cultural Society for their collective commitment and leadership in ensuring that this much needed facility gets built as soon as possible.

Chair Coupar states “this important step illustrates the benefit of the new, positive tone set by the Park Board toward a more collaborative relationship with our community partners.”

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Media contact:

Vancouver Park Board

604-257-8699

Marker of Change motion passes unanimously

Thank you to the Women's Monument Action Committee and all Commissioners for your support.

Here are my remarks from last night's Park Board meeting: 

It is my great honour and privilege to present this motion for your consideration tonight. I want to first thank the Women’s Monument Action Committee for bringing this issue to my attention and to Commissioner Kirby-Yung for seconding it.

 

The Women’s Memorial “Marker of Change” is an important and, to me, a sacred place in Vancouver. But it does not only belong to Vancouver. It is a monument of great significance to all Canadians and to people everywhere who believe violence against women must be stopped.

The murder of 14 women in Montreal touched us all. For me, as a student at Montreal’s Concordia University at the time, it has special significance. This massacre could easily have happened at Concordia or any other university. It could have happened at any school or workplace or in fact at any public place. It could have happened anywhere where women are found. It could have happened anywhere.

The significance of this event cannot be diminished, ever. It was the result of a society rife with misogyny and rooted in patriarchy. We have learned much and made many changes since then, but the Marker of Change reminds us of how far we still need to go. Violence against women is still a continuing problem in Canada. 

·       Half of all women in Canada have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16

·       67% of all Canadians say they personally know at least one woman who has been sexually or physically assaulted

·       On average, every six days a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner.  In 2011, from the 89 police reported spousal homicides, 76 of the victims (over 85%) were women

·       On any given day in Canada, more than 3 300 women (along with their 3 000 children) are forced to sleep in an emergency shelter to escape domestic violence. Every night, about 200 women are turned away because the shelters are full

·       Each year, over 40 000 arrests result from domestic violence—that’s about 12% of all violent crime in Canada. Since only 22% of all incidents are reported to the police, the real number is much higher.

·       In 2014, the RCMP released a report on their "National Operational Review" on the issue of "Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women" which amounted to 1 181 women total - 164 missing and 1 017 murdered. Both Amnesty International and the United Nations have called upon the Canadian government to take action on this issue, without success.  According to the Native Women’s Association of Canada, “if this figure were applied proportionately to the rest of the female population there would be over 18,000 missing Canadian women and girls.”

The Marker of Change is an important place of remembrance and education and it deserves our respect. Through no fault of the Park Board, a flock of geese were displaced from an area behind the Pacific Central Station. While efforts have been made to clean the monument and I want to thank our staff for their efforts, it is now time to find a permanent solution to this problem.

I have no doubt that our staff can, through the examination of best practices, find a way to dissuade the geese from occupying this park. Working together we can return this area to how it was before the geese were displaced. 

I hope you will join me in support of this motion. Thank you.

·        http://www.canadianwomen.org/facts-about-violence

·        http://www.ammsa.com/content/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-and-girls

       For your information, the Park Board meetings are live streamed and archived. You can go to: http://civic.neulion.com/vancouverparkboard/ and click on the 14th on the calendar and then Regular Board meeting to get last night stream. My motion is introduced at 5:30, my remarks at 9:10 and the vote at 20:20.

Vancouver Park Board considers raising recreational fees

by Jonathon Brown News 1130

Posted Sep 13, 2015 10:18 pm PDT

(Courtesy of City of Vancouver)

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It could soon cost you more to use recreational facilities in Vancouver.

When the Vancouver Park Board meets Monday night, it will discuss a two per cent increase in recreational fees.

Though the increase is in response to inflation, Park Board Commissioner Stuart Mackinnon is wary of this increase, considering that the previous increase was only a few months ago in the spring.

“Two per cent in the spring, two per cent in the fall, I don’t know a lot of people who have had four per cent increases in their incomes this year,” Mackinnon says. “Any kind of increase, even if it’s 50 cents or a dollar, it adds up week after week, month in and month out.”

If the vote goes through, the increase would go in to effect later in September.

“Everyone is on a restricted income of some sort. All of these fee increases mean they (people) have to make choices on whether they are going to have their kids or themselves participate in recreation or not,” he says.

Increases would see swim fees rise by ten cents for adults, youth, and seniors, while swim fees for kids will increase by five cents.

Increases to the one year flexi-pass would hike from $393 to $401 for adults, $275 to $281 for youth and from $196 to $200 for children.

Children’s fees apply to those between the ages of 3-12, which is also a concern for MacKinnon, as he puts it redefining the idea of who counts as a child.

“In Vancouver, up until about 2010, children under five got their recreation and entrance to pools for free, but that was re-defined to pre-school age, two years and under. I’m still concerned that there may be families out there with young children that may be missing out on recreational opportunities because of these fees, I will also be asking about that,” he says.

Finding solutions to desecration of the Women’s Monument

     Remember Our Sisters Everywhere
PRESS RELEASE: 8 September 2015

Vancouver Park Board Commissioner Stuart Mackinnon is bringing forward a motion next Monday that will call for a long term solution to preserve Marker of Change in Thornton Park for activism against violence against women.

In 2013, a flock of Canada geese that lived north of the train station were displaced into Thornton Park by a new development. Their habitat had been turned into a gravel parking lot. The geese now use rain water in the "pool of tears" on each granite bench for drinking water and defecating. The granite benches have been in a terrible state ever since.

“Marker of Change is a circle of pink granite benches naming the fourteen women assassinated in
Montreal on December 6th, 1989. A dedication to women and girls murdered worldwide is inscribed in seven languages,” said Chris McDowell, member of the Women’s Monument Committee.

Chris continued, “The monument provides both a sombre and welcoming artwork in the park. It is a
place of action or reflection, a place that is embraced by activists, educators, and mourners, as well as
enjoyed by locals and visitors who enter and exit the nearby train station.”

“These geese have found a source of water and as a result they have all but destroyed the purpose of
Marker of Change,” said artist and creator Beth Alber. “The concept of this piece, characterized by a
shallow crevice on top of each bench that collects water, a symbol of tears and grief, cannot
accommodate the displaced wildlife. I am pleased that the Commissioners are looking into finding
permanent solutions to this aesthetically ruinous situation.”

“I do not want the family and friends of the women and girls who have been murdered to see a
memorial that is chronically covered in geese excrement,” said Alber. “I am saddened that this has been allowed.”

Hedy Fry, MP Vancouver Centre and long time supporter of Marker of Change agreed, "As Minister for Women's Equality, I supported the building of this monument, to honour the memory of the 14 women killed at L'Ecole Polytechnique. We cannot allow its desecration."

The Park Board was actively involved in the national design competition which resulted in Marker of
Change being built in Thornton Park. A great deal of care was taken to ensure the monument would be easy to maintain, but what has happened since the arrival of the geese has come as a surprise. The
benches are covered in geese feces affecting Marker of Change, and making the benches a health
hazard for anyone who uses them.

“Other municipalities like the City of Toronto take measured steps to reduce and relocate their
increasing goose population. We look forward to seeing how the Vancouver Park Board tackles this
issue in Thornton Park,” Elinor Warkentin, Women’s Monument Committee.


If you’d like more information or to schedule an interview, please contact the Women's Monument
Committee: Elinor Warkentin 778-389-4847

rememberoursisterseverywhere@gmail.com
www.rememberoursisterseverywhere.com

Opinion: VSB trustee looks forward to successful year despite constraints

Janet Fraser, Green Party of Vancouver School Trustee
 

 Children walk to their bus on the first day of school on Tuesday, Sept. 8.Photograph by: Errol McGihon , Errol McGihon/Ottawa Sun 

 My first eight months as a Vancouver School Board trustee have been an incredible experience.

As I have met and listened to many people who work in our schools — teachers, administrators and support staff — as well as our students and parents our district’s myriad complexities have revealed themselves. I wanted to become a trustee to help our students have the best education possible and I am committed to both effectively managing our district and effectively advocating for our students.
My position on our board is unique, as if Vision and NPA trustees vote as caucuses, my vote is the deciding vote. While most of the board’s votes are unanimous, there have been occasions when I was the deciding vote; a heavy responsibility that brings a great deal of public scrutiny.

Such was the case in voting for the board chair. Vancouver voters reshaped our board and I wanted to reflect that change with a new chair, even though Vision trustees did not want change. My votes for Christopher Richardson and Fraser Ballantyne were not an alignment with one party over another, but to show my respect for the electorate and consideration of the best leadership for our district. An example of this is building a better working relationship with the provincial government to complete our remaining 69 seismic projects as quickly as possible. The chair is an important role, setting style and tone, but is still only one vote among nine trustees.

Another case was the proposed four-year moratorium on school closures. Vancouver’s student enrolment continues to decline, and there are huge changes in the numbers of students in different neighbourhoods. We have just started construction of the new downtown International Village elementary school, yet we also have a school with no students enrolled next year. Trustees must also consider the commitment “to determine how to achieve 95-per-cent capacity utilization” made by the previous board to the province in the seismic upgrade agreement. The province considers our current utilization to be 83 per cent. To provide strong educational programs district-wide our board must respond to our ever-changing city. I do not want to close any schools and want to see any space not required for education used for community use.

Every B.C. school board trustee is faced with the challenge of underfunding by the provincial government. Statistics Canada’s most recent figures (2012-13) show B.C. is still the province with the second-lowest average expenditure per student, $12,113; the Canadian average is $12,377. In addition, at 1.2 per cent B.C. had the lowest growth in public K-12 education funding in the five years to 2012-13; the Canadian average was 12.8 per cent.

The inadequate provincial funding made balancing our 2015-16 VSB budget extremely challenging, especially with our $2.7-million share of the province’s “administrative savings.” I voted for a budget that found savings in benefits surplus ($1.95 million) and provincial holdback/leasing ($980,000), increased learning & technology ($520,000), added a psychologist ($80,000), and made cuts to administration ($3.51 million), facilities ($540,000 million) and education ($2.14 million). The cuts to education were very difficult as they include $1.06 million to K-12 teaching and $510,000 to adult education (to align more closely with reduced provincial funding).

The previous board’s decisions to use one-time savings to balance budgets added to our challenge as any one-time savings must be found again in the next budget cycle. For example in 2014-15 $2.5 million was taken from the local capital reserve for operating costs, leaving no funds available from this reserve until 2018-19.

Additionally, this year the education minister appointed a special advisor to review and make recommendations on our district finances. While the minister’s stated aim was to help our board balance our budget, none of the recommendations addressed the 2015-16 budget. However, our board must “read and consider” the 59 recommendations for the VSB, which I will do through the lens of student education and not an accounting spreadsheet.

With the recently passed Bill 11, the minister has increased provincial power and authority while eroding the ability of elected school boards to govern in the best interests of their students. For example, if the minister “believes it is in the public interest,” a directive can be issued to a board, and if the board does not comply they can be dismissed and replaced with an official trustee.

Despite all the challenges, I look forward to working on an ambitious VSB strategic plan that will support success for all our students, including Aboriginal students, those with special needs, and those living in poverty. I look forward to developing a VSB sustainability plan to become the greenest school district in North America. I look forward to this work as I strongly support public education and believe it will provide a bright future for our students, city and province.

Janet Fraser is a Vancouver school trustee representing the Green Party. She has three children in Vancouver’s public schools and has 10 years of PAC leadership experience.   

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