Strathcona Centre Community League
August/September 2010 Newsletter
The copy deadline for the October-November newsletter is September 8, 2010. Please contact Donna Fong, Newsletter Editor, at 780-433-5702, or by e-mail at donnafong@shaw.ca
Membership Drive
Membership in the league gives you free skating, free swimming at three
different pools, access to children's sports, discounts at City of Edmonton
facilities, a voice on civic matters, Pub Night, and more.
Please consider joining the league or getting others to join. Membership fees
are $20/family, $15/single, $5/senior.
To volunteer, please contact:
Jeanie McDonnell, 780-433-0521,
jeaniemc@telus.net
Lois Hameister, 780-439-5774,
loish@athabascau.ca
The Strathcona Centre Community League is one of 154 leagues belonging to the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues.
Update on Spray Park Construction
Construction of the new spray park is underway.
Timelines:
Week of August 3:
Work to follow:
Construction will be completed by September 14, 2010. The contractor on site is Aspen Pride Construction.
If you would additional information about this project, please call Becky Redford, Project Manager, Asset Management and Public Works, at (780) 446-9464.
The new Spray Park is made possible through the cooperative efforts of:
League Programs and Activities
We are currently looking for a volunteer to help organize and facilitate the playgroup for the fall. The Strathcona Playgroup provides a safe and happy environment for babies, children and caregivers of the community to meet, socialize and have fun. There are books and toys for all ages. Trikes, strollers and push cars with plenty of room to zoom. Trucks, dolls, balls and a tent too! Playgroup meets on Mondays and Wednesdays, 10:00 - 12:00 at the community hall (September - June), 10139 - 87 Avenue.
Come in the north door and up the ramp. The playgroup is free to community league members; memberships are available on site. Please bring a snack for your child and a coffee for yourself. Note that there may be playgroup members with severe allergies to nuts and other foods. So please be aware and responsible.
For more information, or to join the Playgroup e-mail list, contact: Eric Murphy 780-454-2509 or by email at sccl.programs@gmail.com
Green Shack Party
Our
community league kicked off the Summer Playground Program with a fun Green Shack
Party at Tubby Bateman Park on July 6. Although it was delayed a day due to
rain, the sun came out bright and strong on Tuesday. Megan, Green Shack leader,
kept the kids going all day with crafts, games, Red Rover and Dodge ball! Ice
cream, sunshine, crafts and fun with friends - who could ask for more? 
Edmonton Community Challenge
Strathcona Centre was one of 20 community leagues to participate in the
first-ever "Edmonton Community Challenge," this June. For one month, neighbours
(and a few friends from outside of the community) cleaned up, collected food,
fixed and donated bicycles, and scoured the city in a photo scavenger hunt.
Our team ended up placing fifth, with Sherbrooke taking the $15,000 grand prize.
Forest/Terrace Heights came so close to winning the challenge that the EFCL and
Next Gen Committee had to find another $2,000 to award them a prize, and
celebrate everyone's great community spirit.
Strathcona Centre brought in the most donated food for our Edmonton Food Bank
sculpture challenge. We couldn't have done it without the great students,
families, and staff of King Edward School, who brought us a car-full of items
their last week of school.
The challenge was a fantastic way to meet neighbours, enjoy our community, and
explore Edmonton.
For more info about the 2010 Edmonton Community Challenge, visit http://ecc.edmontonnextgen.ca/
Successful Reuse Fair
Our first-ever Reuse Fair on June 26 was a great success. It was the final event of Edmonton’s 2010 Reuse Fair schedule. Nearly 1,100 residents attended the six Reuse Fairs held this year, helping to divert unwanted but reusable household items from landfill.
The five-hour event at the Strathcona Centre Community League hall attracted numerous residents, Edmonton Strathcona MP Linda Duncan, City Councillor Ben Henderson, and visitors from across the city. The environmental exhibits and demonstrations were very inspiring. Our community league collected items for the City of Edmonton Reuse Centre, Canadian Red Cross and the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters. The CommuniTEA van added to the festive atmosphere at the league hall.
The Strathcona Centre Community Leagues extends thanks to:
Many thanks to community member, Dilshad Unwala, for the awesome job of coordinating the event, Arinna Grittani for organizing the great hospitality, and the volunteers and exhibitors for their hard work! We look forward to hosting another Reuse Fair in 2011.
If you are looking for reusable items or wish to donate reusable items, please visit the Reuse Centre, 10004 -103A Avenue (in front of the CN Tower). It is open year-round and takes many of the items accepted at the Reuse Fairs. For more information, call 780-442-4380.
Protecting Edmonton’s Urban Forest
By Ben Henderson, Councillor Ward 4
During these splendid days of summer, we all come to appreciate once again the natural beauty of the trees lining Edmonton’s streets and parks. Whether you are a neighbourhood stroller, shade-seeker or River Valley explorer, these leafy canopies are a source of contentment and pride. And it’s easy to see that Edmontonians do, in fact, place great value in our trees. Recently, when a proposal to remove a large number of the elm trees from the boulevard on Whyte Avenue was made known, many citizens raised their voices in protest, arguing that the boulevard elms are essential to the landscape and identity of our city. I very much agreed with their sentiments and I worked with the City’s Department of Forestry so that as many of the elms as possible could be saved. The results were good: 20 trees will be removed instead of an original proposal of 70.
The problems faced by the Department of Forestry—and by urban forests themselves—are many. Elm trees face a particular problem in the form of Dutch elm disease. But overall, there are many critical issues to deal with such as poor soil quality, water management, pollution, heat, and scarcity of land. Nevertheless, I know I am not alone in seeing our trees as central to our urban ecology. Trees are a vital resource, a life blood, in fact, for all sorts of flora and fauna, and they provide both wind protection in winter (the conifers) and act as heat shields in the summer and their effects on greenhouse gases. The City must invest more in protecting them.
The other issue I sense may be appearing on our civic horizon is the protection of urban trees on private property from being harmed or cut down. Concerning the trees on City land, the Forestry Department is guided by its Tree Management Policy, which requires that Forestry set up guidelines to ensure that City trees are not unnecessarily harmed or destroyed. But what about trees that live on citizens’ own property? Are there regulations to which concerned citizens can turn to protect these trees? Over the past couple of decades, many other municipalities in Canada—including Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto—have developed policies and bylaws that restrict the actions property owners can take towards trees on their own property. If a tree is of a certain age and value (judged by tree diameter) owners cannot harm them without first obtaining a permit from the city, usually requiring the visit of an arborist.
I am interested to know what citizens feel about this issue. Clearly mature trees are a critically important part of our mature neighbourhoods. I am interested in your thoughts on the possibility of a bylaw to protect them. Do you see this as a beneficial and reasonable use of City resources? You can contact me at ben.henderson@edmonton.ca or phone (780) 496-8146.
Neighbourhood Crime Mapping
The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is committed to innovative and responsive community policing. EPS has developed the Neighborhood Crime Mapping Website for the public to view crime in neighbourhoods across the city. http://crimemapping.edmontonpolice.ca/
By accessing this timely information on reported crime, you will be able to know what is happening in your neighbourhood. By knowing what is going on, we can work together to reduce and prevent crime.
People are encouraged to continue to report suspicious activity, including door-to-door scams, as police may see a need to dedicate more resources. A community member in The Strathcona Community League and EPS encourage you to call the EPS Complaints Line at 780-423-4567 to report any incidents.
For more information about community policing, visit www.edmontonpolice.ca/communitypolicing.aspx
Community League Wellness Program
The Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues and the City of Edmonton are pleased to offer the Community Wellness Program exclusively for community league members.
The Community League Wellness Program offers community league members opportunity to purchase an annual pass or multiple admission pass packages to City of Edmonton sports and recreation facilities at a substantial savings.
Annual Pass – Community League Members receive a 20% discount on Adult and Family Annual Passes (applies to new purchases only)
Multi Admission Pass – Community League Members receive a 15% on the City’s already discounted multi-admission pass (10+ visits)
Facilities and amenities include swimming pools, wave pool, dive tanks, whirlpools, fitness studios, cardio areas, weight rooms, racquetball, squash, badminton, tennis and basketball courts, indoor running tracks, gymnasiums and pro shops. Hours of operation are from 5:30 a.m. to midnight (hours vary according to facility).
Community league members who purchase the above passes will be issued a photo access card which is to be swiped at each admission. For more information, please call 311 or visit www.edmonton.ca/wellness