Snow might not be in Burnaby’s immediate forecast, but that hasn’t stopped BCIT from preparing for when it hits. BCIT Safety, Security, and Emergency Management Glen Magel says they’ve been ready since September.
“We do review our snow plan and our snow alert plan every early September, to the beginning of October and that then connects the communications team on how we’re going to alert the BCIT community.”
Magel also says that plans are in place for whatever amount of snow may find its way to any of the 6 campus’ scattered throughout the Metro Vancouver area.
“So the each of this six campuses are reporting to me twice a day on what their conditions are at campuses. And then I checked several my sources to be at the Environment Canada at UMBC or even the weather stations to determine what the accumulation of snow will look like”
Magel adds that in the event of a school closure, students and faculty will receive notifications through the BCIT Alert System. Everyone is automatically registered for it and will be contacted directly via their phones.
Lastly, Magel says the salts are stockpiled, the snow plow contracts are in place, and that you can never control the snow – you can only predict it.
A new exhibition opening up at the Burnaby Art Gallery looks to highlight dreaming as an act of resistance. Dream Marrow focuses on the multi medium works of Hana Amani and Audie Murray. Emily Dundas Oke curates the show and says she wants us to question the ways we dream.
“I guess I wanted to kind of challenge those ideas around dreaming and to think of dreaming, not just as something we do as individuals, but something that actually can happen, maybe, collectively. So what does it mean to dream with another person alongside another person, or as Nick Wilson’s essay, what does it mean to dream for another person.”
The exhibit runs until January 22nd and the suggested donation for entry is 5 dollars
Dundas Oke also says she was influenced by this nocturnal elements of this season and challenges us to embrace the darkened winters of Metro Vancouver.
“I think, you know, many folks experience this time of year with a sense of dread knowing that we won’t see the daytime as much and we might not see the sun so much. So I wanted to kind of invite us to think, you know, a little bit differently, or maybe with a bit more positivity around what we can learn from the night sky.”
That being said, you don’t have to wait for the sun to go down to visit the gallery — located in Deer Lake Park.
Earlier this month at BCIT, a security scare on campus set off safety concerns.
On November 2nd, reports of a suspicious person on the Burnaby campus were sent to BCIT Safety, Security, and Emergency Management. A safety bulletin from the school says it will increase its security presence. Senior director Glen Magel says the increase can take many forms but for security purposes won’t go into details.
“We don’t want our patterns in which we make the environment at BCIT more secure out in the public, because, you know, that can certainly work against us as well.”
Magel says for additional safety, students can use the BCIT Safety Wise app. It includes multiple ways to contact BCIT security for various reasons including reporting suspicious activity. Magel says the added security is here to primarily help the students.
“If you see something that’s unusual or suspicious, report it to security and security can then come and check it out to make sure that we’re providing the most safe environment for everybody.”
In addition to on-demand security, Magel says that students can use the safer walk program to be escorted around BCIT, or can study and move around the campus in pairs.
BCIT is holding its own market this winter. The Alumni Holiday Market is in its third year and is exclusively made up of BCIT alumni. Director of Alumni Relations Lisa Yung says that the market was created during the pandemic to help struggling alumni businesses.
“We felt what a great way to kind of give exposure and highlight some of the really interesting offerings, and just kind of accomplishments that our alumni have done.”
It's your one-stop online shop featuring goods from BCIT alumni-owned businesses. You’ll find exclusive offers on great gifts, including premium cocktails, artisan desserts, candles, and beyond!
Yung also says the market is completely free to all vendors and BCIT gets no kickback unlike other markets happening in Metro Vancouver.
“It’s just literally free marketing, by our team through all of our channels, and we have over 200,000 alumni. So I just feel like it’s a win win for them, honestly, to take advantage of this opportunity.”
Yung goes on to say the event highlights the entrepreneurial spirit that a lot of BCIT students have and all she asks is that some of the businesses consider giving a discount to other alumni. The fair is online only and runs until December 31st.
Christmas Market madness is upon us in Metro Vancouver. Currently there are upwards of 17 holiday themed events happening across the region. That might seem like tough competition for some folks, but Vancouver Christmas Market marketer Sam Bukhari says he’s not too worried.
“We’re not scared. But we’re we know that we we will do better and people will come out and hopefully it will be a huge turnout.”
Buhkari also says that this year they are expecting even more people to show up now that Covid restrictions are eased . He went on to say that at the end of the day people are just excited to have things to do.
Vendors I spoke with seemed eager for the crowds but also anxious.
Some vendor say that the pressure to make sales and be organized for all the markets can be stressful. One honey vendor told me that the experience was great financially but mentally draining.
“It did work out. The only thing is that what cost, you know, like, at the cost of my sanity, so this year, I thought, if they don’t ask us, then I’m not going to ask them. But if they ask us, we’ll do it.”
That vendor also says doing the markets just takes practice. The more years you do it, the less stressful it will become…hopefully.
The Deer Lake Craft Festival is back for its 51st year. The event is at Shadbolt Center this weekend. Festival executive director Jody Phillips says after two smaller outings during the pandemic the festival is ready to return to the Burnaby spotlight.
“And so we really pulled it back, apparently, the last couple years to you know, 20 some odd vendors, and we’re slowly growing it back. And it’s a great opportunity for it to sort of modernize and change and incorporate some, you know, new vendors and entertainment”
Upwards of 40 vendors are at Shadbolt this weekend. They all are part of the Burnaby Arts Council, a nonprofit that focuses on artistic collaboration within the city.
Phillips also says attendees who are unfamiliar with the area of Deer Lake Park are in for a treat.
“As an East Vancouver resident, I knew a little about this area. I had been here for concerts before and had a really great time. But I didn’t know just how sort of rich it was with community and culture and events that are happening here.”
Admission is free and the last day of the festival is today.
The Royal Canadian Legion South Burnaby Branch 83 is preparing to host its largest Remembrance day ceremony in three years. The South Burnaby Legion estimates upwards of 200 people will be in attendance at the cenotaph in Bonsor Park on Friday at 10:45am.
“It’s quite exciting because it’s our first since COVID and we can all get together and remember our veterans, ” said Legion Branch 83 president Steve Jeske.
Originally, the day we currently know as Remembrance Day was called Armistice Day, which marks the end of hostilities during the First World War. In 1931, the day was officially named Remembrance Day, to be observed on November 11 each year.https://t.co/rp2XFqQ1r0
The Remembrance Day event starts at 10:30am with a parade from the Burnaby Fire Station #3. The parade then marches to the cenotaph on the corner of Imperial and Nelson. It features hundreds of uniformed participants including a pipe band and a cadet orchestra. A two minute moment of silence will be held at the cenotaph to remember and honour the veterans of the past, as well as those currently serving.
“[I]t’s a thank you for those that sacrificed so much to help us be a free country and to give us the lifestyle that we have,” said Jeske.
The ceremony at the cenotaph is expected to wrap up around 11:45. The South Burnaby Legion invites the public for an afternoon of snacks and beverages with live rockin’ music from Alex Whittaker and Ray O’Toole.
Two meat draws are also planned for the afternoon with all proceeds going to local non-profits who Jeske says don’t receive the mainstream funding that larger organizations benefit from.
“[T]here’s a lot of small organizations that do a great job helping our community, helping our seniors, helping our [sports leagues], and helping our students that just can’t get that mainstream funding. That’s where we step in.”
The funds from the meat draws go back into the community to help fund groups like the 76th Scouts and other non-profit organizations.
He also notes that every penny from the poppy trays scattered throughout South Burnaby goes straight back to help veterans and veteran projects such as the soon-to-be-opened rehab center for brain injury and PTSD research.
“We’re here to help our veterans and the community. Your donation changes people’s lives,”
At the end of the day Jeske wants you to know that The Legion isn’t just here on Remembrance Day – it’s here year round and is ready to help out in any way it can.
Janja is stressed. She’s has a big test coming up, one that decides what she’ll be doing this Summer. No, it’s not for school – it’s for firefighting. Specifically, for wildfire fighting.
If everything goes according to plan this will be Janja’s second year fighting wildfires for the BC government’s Wildfire Service. A sector of the government that is dedicated to suppressing wildfires as they try to spread across the province. Last year was the third worst year on record in terms of area burnt with 1600 fires burning nearly 8700 square kilometres of land, and it’s hard to tell if this year will be any worse. It can be a very tough job and it takes the right person to be able to do it. Janja’s been through the hiring process before but she still finds it a little nerve wracking. She made time to talk with me before heading to what she calls “boot camp”, a six day refresher course to make sure everyone is up to the challenge of what waits for them this summer.
Janja (Andrew Hynes)
The main cause of concern is a make-or-break test called the WFX-FIT. Janja described the test as “the hardest part of the job, you’re never gonna work as hard as you worked on this test”. Basically the test is you carrying heavy shit over and over again and it’s trying to simulate what it would feel like to be working in really difficult terrains. For example, the test has participants walking up and down steep ramps to replicate mountains and dragging weighted sleds to make it feel like you’re pulling a hose through mossy bogs. Bottomline, it’s a tough test and if you don’t pass it then you can’t be a wildfire fighter – you get sent home and all your training was for nothing. If you pass the WFX test you stay and complete boot camp where you learn how to work around helicopters, how to work pumps, lay hose, and all the fun safety training that comes with the job.
On top of the physically demanding test there’s also a personality side to the hiring process. Applicants are asked what is called a STAR question in which the interviewee must identify the Situation, the Task at hand, the Action taken and the Result. This is just to see if you’ll be a good team player and fit into the role you’re given.
If everything goes well you then get deployed to one of three fire bases that you picked. These bases respond to fires in their region, obviously some are more demanding than others. The people at these fire bases get to decide if they want you stationed there or not, so connections are key. It’s also based on availability because there is understandably a lot of turnover in this young workforce. Most people who are involved in the BC Wildfire Service range between 16-30 years old and a lot of people decide to walk away from the job because of anything from a boring season with very little fire activity or a really intense season with lots of fires.
Boot campers (Province of British Columbia / Flcikr)
Janja also says that your first year is kind of your worst. Wildfire fighting is very hierarchical in nature and because of that rookies are at the bottom of the barrel. It can also be tough for older people entering this workforce to have their higher ups be 18 year-olds.
The pay of the job is also super variable. You get an hourly wage but that wage goes up and down depending on what the fire situation is like. If you’re on standby, just waiting for something to happen you’re only making a third of your hourly wage, but if you’re working a fire you get overtime which as we all know is where the money of any job gets good. So what happens when there’s a wildfire? Well, according to Janja, there are different types of crews that are sent to respond to different sizes of fire. Basically, the bigger the fire, the more resources get used and that causes more overtime and higher spending. So what the Ministry usually does is send smaller crews of 3 or 4 to control smaller fires. These are called initial attack crews. The next size up is a unit crew, normally made up of about 20 or so people and these folks are sent in when the fire gets bigger. Their job is to contain and stop it from spreading as much as possible.
When you’re on standby it’s the complete opposite. You are basically doing busy work making sure that everything is ready for when a call comes in. Some of this work includes (but is not limited to): truck checks, equipment checks, working out, weather station upkeep, public outreach, and even running mock scenarios to make sure all the procedures are fresh in your mind.
BC Wildfire crew responding to a wildfire (Province of British Columbia / Flickr)
These positions are also always moving around. When disaster strikes in other parts of the province different members from various fire bases can be relocated to help with the bigger fires or even floods. Janja says that sandbagging for flood prevention can also be a big part of her job. There’s even times when wildfire fighters are called to different provinces or different countries. Many Canadian wildfire fighters were called to Australia during their intense wildfires a couple years ago.
At the end of the day wildfire fighting is a job. There are highs and lows and Janja is just excited to be able to get back to doing it after taking a year off to tree plant. So, the next time you’re complaining about the smoke ruining your view of Grouse or the coast, think of Janja carrying coils of hose up a mountain and through a bog.
I love a good mystery. It’s probably in my top 3 things I love. That list looks a little something like this:
A good mystery
A mediocre mystery
A bad mystery
I was the kid with the Scooby Doo bucket hat at camp. Because I like dogs? No. I like mysteries. And there’s so many of them in our day-to-day lives. You find a random grocery list on the SkyTrain? Mystery. Your teacher hasn’t replied to you in 3 days? Mystery. You discover a treasure map drawn into the book you borrowed from the library? Ooooou, that’s a good mystery. Only two of those mysteries happened to me this week, and I managed to solve one of them (thank you for getting back to me Kevin). Anywho, there has been one mystery in particular that has plagued me since I started the Radio Arts & Entertainment program. I honestly drive by it every time I come to campus. I see it and swerve a little bit because I can’t take my eyes off of it. It’s the mystery of the red camper van.
I first noticed this red camper van when I was leaving the campus for the day. I had parked in lot F so I turned onto Wayburne Drive and started heading towards Canada Way. I was following the slight bend in when all of a sudden I noticed there was a red camper van parked in the entrance to this abandoned parking lot. Alas, I tried to slow down to get a better looky-loo but there were people behind me. I told myself next time I would definitely stop and check it out. This happened about twenty more times. I would be driving home and then there it is, I would already have passed it. I stayed awake one night trying to think of why it was parked there. Maybe the owner worked nearby and it made commuting that much easier. Maybe the owner couldn’t afford the insane cost of rent in Vancouver and decided to slum it in a parking lot next to the BCIT campus. Were they a student? Were they some nomadic person who was really vibing with that parking lot? Had they ran out of gas on the way somewhere, pulled over into this parking lot and then spontaneously combusted? The possibilities seemed endless.
Sometimes mysteries can be confusing (geralt / Pixabay)
I told some of my classmates about it. There even was a school project where we had to solve a mystery for a podcast we were making.
“There’s a mysterious red camper van just up the street we could investigate!” I passionately suggested.
“That seems too hard.” They apathecially replied.
It seemed like this was going to be a solo case. The next day, a Saturday noless, I came to school for the sole purpose of checking out the mysterious camper van. I parked and then walked to the strangely abandoned parking lot where the van had set up shop. I brought with me my audio recorder, a microphone and a pair of headphones – just in case the person would let me interview them. I also brought cashews in an old tortilla bag because I left the house in a rush and I couldn’t find any normal Ziplock baggies. I walk up the sidewalk, cross the road and approach the red van. It looked to be in pretty good condition on the side that faced towards the Wayburne. I walked around it and that’s when I noticed a new clue — I love clues. I’m going to update my top three list right now before I forget.
A good mystery
A mediocre mystery
Clues
The first clue I noticed was that the licence plates were still on it. How long were they planning to leave the vehicle here? A year? Forever? 5ever? I made my way around to the other side of the van. This is when the mysterious lost a bit of its magic. Not because I realised it was a bad mystery, I will go to my grave believing that this is a good mystery. It was when I saw the passenger side that I realised this probably wasn’t a fun getaway for whoever was living here – if they were at all. I see that the rear passenger side window is broken and an attempt to cover it with a black garbage bag. The tape wasn’t working and now the garbage bag sadly sagged off the side. It was lightly raining when I visited the van and it was starting to dampen the off-white curtains that were inside. I couldn’t bring myself to look inside – it felt wrong. I even tried to put the garbage bag back up but the tape had lost all of its stickiness. I stood there for a minute trying to decide what to do next. Do I wait for a bit and see if anyone comes back? The rain picks up and an idea pops into my brain. I eat all my cashews (yes, this is part of the idea). I turn the bag inside out and I pull out my notebook and a pen. I write a note saying who I am asking who they are and leave my email and my phone number. I put the note into the old tortilla bag and put it under the windshield wiper. Then I leave.
The mysterious red camper van (Andrew Hynes)
The next day I left town to drive up to Prince George to visit my partner for spring break. I constantly check my phone to see if there are any missed calls or emails. Nothing. I get to Prince George and promptly fall asleep. When I wake up there is a missed call from a 1-800 number. I immediately think: does the mysterious red van owner work at a call centre and tried to contact me while on the job? I call back but it just rings and rings. The plot thickens. Or maybe this has nothing to do with the plot, maybe the plot has the same thickness. I never got another call from that number.
When I get back to school a week later I drive past the red camper van and see that the tortilla bag is still pinched against the windshield. Maybe the 1-800 number was just a 1-800 number and not a mysterious red van driving stranger trying to reveal their identity to me.
I still notice the red camper van when I’m leaving school and last week I noticed something new. The tortilla bag on the windshield was gone. Maybe it finally blew away or maybe someone not connected to the red van took it…or maybe the owner got my message and is trying to make out my phone number digits on a water stained page. I do not know, because it’s a mystery.
Easter has come and gone like a warm summer’s night. I believe that’s the expression, but I could be wrong. Summer nights are fairly short so I’m sticking with it, but I digress. The point is, chocolate was hidden, eggs were painted, and pet rabbits were bought…and ultimately released. Yes, this is a troubling development that many cities have dealt with or are currently in the process of dealing with. Vancouver is the latter. Everytime around Easter, the Invasive Species Council of B.C. (ISCBC) pleads with the public to not buy cute fluffy bunnies as Easter pets and then lose interest in them and release them into the wild, which is a fair request. These rabbits are not native to B.C. as the ISCBC name indicates, and can actually pose serious problems to the city’s parks and other green spaces such as:
Out-competing native species for food and space
Damage ecosystems
Introduce parasites and disease
Overload your feed with bunny photos
Make you cynical about Easter (if you aren’t already)
Cause you to question your roommates pet rabbit
Bottomline, it’s a problem for Vancouver. Jericho beach is currently teeming with these fluffy, cute parasites and the problem is just compounding every year as more and more people decide to release their novelty Easter pets. It’s true, many people sadly buy rabbits as pets and then realise that these animals have decently long lifespans. Most domestic rabbits live up to 10 years. That’s a big commitment and many people come to regret their purchase and end up releasing the rabbits in public spaces. This rabbit problem gets worse when the released pets are not spayed or neutered, because, you know, they do what rabbits do. The current population of domesticated fluff balls in Jericho Beach is approximately 250. That’s a lot of rabbits, and if it is not controlled there could be some serious issues in the city’s future. Issues that other places went through hell to deal with. Places like Victoria, BC.
Cute more potentially danger critter (PublicDomainPictures / Pixabay)
Victoria had its own rabbit infestation many years ago. It was 2010 and the University of Victoria (UVic) was up to its ears in bunny shit. The campus had an estimated 1,300 rabbits living on its campus and as you can imagine, it was starting to get out of hand. Not only were there sanitation issues (i.e the rabbit shit), the wascally wabbits were causing car and bicycle accidents from darting across the roads surrounding the university. The fluffers had also started burrowing underneath the school’s buildings and compromising their structural integrity. Disaster loomed around the corner. So, the university decided it was time to take action and it was announced that there would be a cull.
For those not familiar with the term “cull”, it simply means that the university was going to start killing the rabbits. They would be trapped and then humanely euthanized. Surely this would solve the problem! Alas, it only made things worse. The bunny fiasco at UVic can only be described as some form of Shakespearean tragedy. The second they announced the culling there was pushback from a specific group of people: Rabbit Activists of Vancouver.
They came over in droves and started picketing and handing out flyers, which led to Uvic receiving major push back from the community. So, the university backs off, says it will reconsider the cull and tries a more diplomatic approach, they agree to work with the rabbit activists and help relocate the rabbits. And this is where the story ends for most people. Once the rabbits started leaving, so too did the media…but there is a second part.
Animal activists doing their thing (bones64 / Pixabay)
The majority of the bunnies went up the island to the small town of Coombs, where they were stored in a (and this isn’t a joke) parrot refuge. Well, actually they were stored in an enclosure right next to the parrot refuge – apparently the rabbits and the parrots did not pair well. Neither did the residents of the town and the rabbits. You see, Coombs has a lot of farms in its surrounding area, and time after time the rabbits would escape the shabbily constructed enclosure and wreak havoc on these farms. And of course the farmers would take matters into their own hands and call exterminators. All hell broke loose and pretty quickly the town started demanding the rabbits be moved. Long story short the rabbits left and no one really knows where they are now…
Another batch of bunnies were driven down to TEXAS in a MINIVAN using CAT CARRIERS to move them. Yes, that is a factual sentence. An animal sanctuary located in Texas agreed to house them as long as the rabbit activists agreed to pay for food. But another complication came up once the rabbits got there. They started multiplying…again. It turns out that not all of the rabbits were spayed/neutered before being relocated. These rabbits would cause the same chaos as the ones in Coombs. After more local drama, rabbits were allowed to stay and now live a comfortable life on the ranch in Texas. They are still there to this day.
Minivan potentially transporting hundreds of rabbits (Michael Kappel / Flickr)
This story is a cautionary tale for Vancouver and any other town that is dealing with decades of these Easter pet drop-offs. Releasing your rabbits into picturesque parks does not mean they will have a better life. So please, the next time you take a picture with the rabbits at Jericho beach please think of the town of Coombs, and the parrot refuge, and the farmers, and the state of Texas, and the maze of rabbit tunnels underneath the University of Victoria, as well as the metres cubed of rabbit faeces in store for the parks department of Vancouver.
