april 2014 - parkallen newsletter
DESCRIPTION
April 2014 - Parkallen NewsletterTRANSCRIPT
Parkallen News
April 2014
In this issue…
• Meet your Community League
• Garden Update
• Hall Happenings
• Classified
Community Consultation Sunday, April 27, 2014 1p.m. – 3p.m. Parkallen League Hall 6510 111 StreetYour Community League Executive would like your input on proposed changes, additions, repairs and renovations to the League Hall, Rink and Community Garden.
In 2010, the City of Edmonton contracted Stantec Engineering to do a complete assessment of all league halls in the city. Their recom-mendations include over 30 items to be undertaken between now and 2020. The League is proceeding with some essential repairs, upgrades and maintenance (see below). We
are asking your input in determining priorities for the next phase in 2014. We would also like your input on proposed additions to the garden that will promote age-friendly ac-cess and a diverse ecosystem. If you have not signed up for email notifi-cation and newsletters, please con-tact [email protected]. We do not share our email list, and use it only for community related notifica-tions and newsletter distribution.
Confirmed work for 2014:This work is recommended by the Stantec assessment and has been funded and approved for 2014
• Repair to damage in rink shack and mechanical room
• Replace broken exterior panels, exterior utility doors, and warped flooring
• Repaint floor in storage room
• Install new fire alarm
Proposed work for 2014: Either Stantec or your Community League has recommended the following work.
• Player’s boxes for the hockey rink
• Landscaping around the league hall
• Resurfacing the parking lot
• Making the hall accessible
• Renovations to rink shack and storage room
Important notice of Community consultation
2Parkallen News April 2014
Rink improvement projectTo make the rink more accessible for hockey tournaments, and more comfortable for all users, the Rink Manger has proposed the addition of boxes to the south side of the rink. These seating areas will also provide storage. Please refer to the diagrams to the left for location and design.
• Replacement of basketball court and rink lighting
• New hall sign
Garden additions and changesAddition of Bee Condos (see article and photo on page 3). This work is funded by the World Wildlife Fund.
The addition of raised beds which
will make it easier for those with mobility restrictions to enjoy and work in the garden; this was part of approved plan for the Community garden. A proposal for funding will be submitted to Age Friendly Edmonton for this work.
Visit www.parkallen.ca for more details
Age Friendly Edmonton, www.edmonton.ca/agefriendly is an exciting strategic initiative to help Edmonton be an age friendly city which values, supports and includes seniors. This work is being lead by the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Seniors Coordinating Council in partnership with over 90 community stakeholders and supports Edmonton’s work as a Global Age Friendly City.
Age Friendly Edmonton will support a limited number of community projects through a new Age Friendly Edmonton Innovation Fund. For 2014, one-time-only grants are available to Community Leagues to meet the needs of seniors.
What is Age Friendly Edmonton?
These raised beds in Callingwood are a good example of an age-friendly garden.
Family Rink
Hockey Rink
Community Garden
65th Ave
111t
h S
t
Hall
Light post
Regular Boards
Boards with Fence
Hinged Door
Bench
Family Rink
Hockey Rink
Community Garden
65th Ave
111t
h S
t
Hall
Light post
Regular Boards
Boards with Fence
Hinged Door
Bench
3April 2014 Parkallen News
Most people know what honeybees and bumblebees look like and how they pollinate our food. Honeybees, a non-native bee, are used agricul-turally. Hives of thousands of hon-eybees are transported from crop to crop by professional bee keep-ers when required. It is not legal to maintain hives of honeybees within the City of Edmonton. Bumblebees (a native species) and honeybees (an imported species) are social bees. When their colony is threat-ened, social bees have a “protect the hive” response. They release pheromones telling each other to swarm and defend. Not all bees are social – there are many types of solitary bee species too. If we aren’t biologists, we might not recognize them as bees: some are very tiny, some are not black or yellow but metallic and iridescent like flies, and they don’t sting people or pets. When solitary bees are threatened, they retreat or abandon their nests. They don’t live in colonies; they live in solo dwellings, which is why they are called solitary bees. In the springtime, solitary bees look for hol-low plant stalks or small holes bored in wood to raise their young. There are over 4000 types of wild bee spe-cies in North America. In Parkallen’s
Ellingson park, bejeweled orchard bees, busy sweat bees and tiny ad-renids pollinate our flowers. They are solitary, native, wild bees.
Wildlife gardeners can help wild pol-linators by building artificial nests for them. You can build a “bee hotel” or “bee condo” by collecting natu-ral materials like hollow plant stalks, lengths of bamboo, and logs or bricks of wood or clay with tiny holes drilled into them. Tubes roughly the size of a drinking straw or smaller are appropriate. This type of nest is attractive to solitary pollinators only, and not at all to social bees and wasps.
Google “bee hotel” or “bee con-do” to see designs ranging from birdhouse-shaped structures full of bamboo lengths to the grandiose K-abeilles hotel in France, built for an architectural festival, which features a walk-in observation deck with seating for people.
My bee hotel, pictured here, is a small bundle of bamboo and stalks from my garden held together with two elastic bands and suspended in a tree with a little bit of floral wire. The bees can’t order $6 orange juice there, but I think they’ll love it. I
asked Dr. Matthias Buck, the Assis-tant Curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the Royal Alberta Museum, if wild bees were likely to inhabit such a structure in Edmonton. “For sure,” he told me.
What is a Bee Hotel?by Marlene Wurfel
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Please weigh-in at our Community Consultation
Sunday, April 27, 2014 1p.m. – 3p.m.
Parkallen Community League Hall
Marlene Wurfel’s bee hotel
Hip Hop Dance – ages 6 to 9 Monday July 7 to Friday July 11, 2014 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Course code: 517700
Multi-Mania – ages 8 to 12 Monday July 28 to Friday August 1, 2014 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Course code: 518606
Mmmonsters! – ages 3 to 5 Monday August 11 to Friday August 15, 2014 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Course code: 517666
Nature Explorers – ages 3 to 5 Monday August 11 to Friday August 15, 2014 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Course code: 517708
Registration opens April 29, 2014. Register early to avoid disappointment! Browse all camps at edmonton.ca/daycamps
To Register: • Call 311 • Online at eReg.edmonton.ca • In person at any City of Edmonton Recreation &
Leisure Centre
Summer Day Camps at Parkallen Hall
4Parkallen News April 2014
Dr. Mary Ann Kuharchuk, Dr. Jason Nijjer b.sc., d.d.s b.msc., d.d.s
www.makdental.com
We provide a full range of comprehensive general services including:
See what your neighbours are saying about Mak Dental: www.demandforce.com/b/makdental
(780)434-7616 5534-111 Street, Edmonton
Complimentary happy visit for children under 3.
State of the art in office professional whitening.
Digital radiography.
5April 2014 Parkallen News
Meet your Community League
Where did you grow up? I grew up in a little town called Ayr, ON.
When did you move to Parkallen?I moved to Parkallen 3 years ago when I began my PhD at the University of Alberta.
What do you like best about this community?When I first came to Parkallen, the people here were very welcoming and friendly from the first moment. I was attending the unveiling of the splash park and ended up being coerced by Nora to be a target in the Dunk Tank - I left the event with new friends, but I was also soaking wet!
Who inspires you?My Aunt. She was always positive and able to make anyone laugh. She really brightened the lives of everyone she met and that is the type of person who I strive to become.
Why do you volunteer for the Community League?I really enjoy being a part of the community and having input. I like the idea that I can effect change within the community and work towards making things better. Plus, the people are wonderful to work with!
Tell us one thing that most people would be surprised to know about you.When I was in Kitchener-Waterloo, for a few years I organized a summer camp for children with special needs. It was one of the most inspiring jobs I have ever had; I think those kids taught me more than most of my university courses!
Alex Clifford is currently the co-president of the Parkallen Community League. He has also served as president. Thank you for all your work Alex. See you at the dunk tank.
Alex Clifford
6Parkallen News April 2014
lindsayerickson
Graphics & layout for Parkallen News courtesy of:
780.707.0522 | www.lericksongraphics.com
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It seems hard to believe, but as of March 20th, I’ve been in office for 150 days - almost half a year. The past few months seem like a blur, and for good reason: there’s been a lot going on!
During the campaign, I made a number of com-mitments to you. I’m happy to say that I’ve already taken action on the most pressing issues, and I’m making progress on others. I’d like to note in par-ticular a couple of accomplishments:
At the February 5, 2014 meeting of Transportation Committee, I put forward a motion, which passed unanimously, asking Administration to look at pos-sible alternatives for existing lanes and to provide a meaningful five-year implementation plan for new lanes. I’m excited to find ways that bike lanes can work better for Edmontonians.
Many people in the neighbourhood of Skyrattler expressed serious concerns about a First Place Housing development on their park - a small park in an already dense neighbourhood. It’s clear that this particular site requires better engagement and
more consideration, so on February 18, Executive Committee deferred this site to the last phase of the program. We need to think of ways to make infill housing work in mature neighbourhoods, but we also need to listen to those neighbourhoods more effectively.
In addition to those specific accomplishments, I’ve also spent countless hours in Council and commit-tee meetings - my role as Vice Chair of Transporta-tion Committee keeps me particularly busy. I also sit on the Capital Region Board’s Regional Transit Taskforce and the board of the River Valley Alli-ance.
All that aside, my favourite part of this job is meet-ing with engaged citizens. So many of you have great ideas about how we can build our city dif-ferently, and I’m grateful to you for taking the time to share those ideas and keep me informed about the issues your communities face.
-Michael
Message from Councillor Michael Walters: 150 Days Update
Hall Happenings for April 2014Parkallen Playgroup
Mondays 1 pm - 3 pmGirl Guides
Tuesdays 6:30 pm – 8:30 pmParkallen Knitters
Wednesdays 12:30 pm - 3:00 pm
7April 2014 Parkallen News
Volunteering for our biennial casino night is one of the best things you can do to support your League and the many activities we are able to provide for you and your family. And, it only takes a few hours every 24 months.
The Casino is our largest source of funding yielding ap-proximately $75,000 every two years.
How important is that cash? Let’s put it in context: we get approximately $10,000 each year from other grant sources for day-to-day operations, $6,000 membership revenue, $12,000 hall rental income, and $2,000 from newsletter ads (about 25% of the cost of producing and delivering the newsletter).
To replace the casino income of $75,000 we would have to sell 834 full page newsletter ads or 2,143 mem-berships (that is 10 times the amount we sell right now – every single household in Parkallen would need to buy more than two memberships each!)
How we use that moneyCasino funds are restricted to a certain set of pre-defined activities. Right now, we use our funding to maintain the hall and the rink, and to pay our rink supervisors and hall cleaner. It also helps to pay for the
Parkallen Community newsletter.
Casino funds mean you can use the rink for free, and we can keep hall rental rates low, or no-cost for some groups. Casino night also frees up other funds (like membership fees and hall rental revenue) to pay for programs we put on with the City and social events like Pub Night, Movie Night and Snowfest.
We need volunteersThe casino is run over two nights. The next casino runs Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29. We need vol-unteers for these two nights. Volunteers work in the cash cage or the count room, in positions such as cashiers and chip runners. We are not allowed to pay you for your time, but there is free food (yum!)
To be eligible to volunteer you have to be 18 years old or older, have picture ID and be competent in handling money. Casinos in Alberta are open from 10am – 3am, so volunteers work on a shift rotation. Different roles have different schedules, with some shifts being as long as 8 hours and others as short as 4 hours.
A few hours, once every two years – it’s all we ask
Please join us. Email [email protected] today.
Casino cash crucial for Community League
8April 2014 Parkallen News
ClassifiedParkallen resident since 1990 and pet/house sitting for 12 years. Will shovel walks, bring in mail, water plants, take care of your pets while you are away. Contact Michele @780.434.7871. References available on request.
Lendrum Pottery Group Mother’s Day Sale, Saturday May 3, 2014 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM, 11335 – 57 Ave; Pottery for all tastes at reasonable prices. Dishwasher, oven and freezer safe. Free coffee.
Your Parkallen Community League Executive: Co President: Alex Clifford [email protected]
Co President: Leanne Kohn [email protected]
Treasurer: Julie Beschell [email protected] Casino: VACANT [email protected] Membership: Sandra Stessun & Janet Mayhew [email protected]
Secretary: Allison Chevrette [email protected]
Past President: Nora Begoray [email protected]
Parks & Recreation Director: Meghan Dunnigan [email protected] Rink: Sal Blair [email protected] Soccer Coordinator: Meghan Dunnigan [email protected] Hall Coordinator: Jennifer Fedor [email protected] Hall Maintenance: David Begoray [email protected] Social Coordinator: Todd Beschell [email protected] Programs: Laurel Miyashita [email protected] Garden Coordinator: Marlene Wurfel [email protected]
Communications Director: Anne Pratt [email protected] Newsletter Editor: Anne Pratt [email protected] Website: Marc Pearce [email protected] Social Media Coordinator: VACANT [email protected] Graphics and Layout: Lindsay Erickson [email protected]
Neighborhood Development Director: Jesse Lafrance [email protected] SCNC Representatives: Donna White & Jarret Orchard [email protected] Civics Representative: Donna White [email protected] UACC Representative: Oliver Rossier Transportation: Andrea Anielski [email protected] Housing and Development: Jesse Lafrance [email protected]
Community Recreations Coordinator: Anna Vesala [email protected]