April 2014 - Parkallen Newsletter

April 2014

Parkallen

News In this issue…

• Meet your Community League • Garden Update • Hall Happenings • Classified

Important notice of Community consultation Community Consultation Sunday, April 27, 2014 1p.m. – 3p.m.

Parkallen League Hall 6510 111 Street Your 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 recommendations 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 access and a diverse ecosystem. If you have not signed up for email notification and newsletters, please contact newsletter@parkallen.ca. We do not share our email list, and use it only for community related notifications 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

Parkallen News • Replacement of basketball court and rink lighting • New hall sign

Garden additions and changes Addition 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

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April 2014

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

What is Age Friendly Edmonton?

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.

These raised beds in Callingwood are a good example of an agefriendly garden.

65th Ave

65th Ave

Community Garden

111th St

111th St

Community Garden

Hockey Rink Hall

Hockey Rink

Hall

Family Rink

Family Rink Light post Regular Boards

Light post

Boards with Fence

Regular Boards Hinged Door Bench Boards with Fence

Hinged Door Bench

Rink improvement project To 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.

April 2014

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Parkallen News

What is a Bee Hotel?

by Marlene Wurfel Most people know what honeybees and bumblebees look like and how they pollinate our food. Honeybees, a non-native bee, are used agriculturally. Hives of thousands of honeybees are transported from crop to crop by professional bee keepers 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 threatened, 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 hollow plant stalks or small holes bored in wood to raise their young. There are over 4000 types of wild bee species in North America. In Parkallen’s

Ellingson park, bejeweled orchard bees, busy sweat bees and tiny adrenids pollinate our flowers. They are solitary, native, wild bees.

Wildlife gardeners can help wild pollinators by building artificial nests for them. You can build a “bee hotel” or “bee condo” by collecting natural 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 condo” to see designs ranging from birdhouse-shaped structures full of bamboo lengths to the grandiose Kabeilles 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

Marlene Wurfel’s bee hotel

asked Dr. Matthias Buck, the Assistant 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 DO YOU THINK? Please weigh-in at our Community Consultation Sunday, April 27, 2014 1p.m. – 3p.m.

Parkallen Community League Hall

Summer Day Camps at Parkallen Hall 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

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

Multi-Mania – ages 8 to 12 Monday July 28 to Friday August 1, 2014 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Course code: 518606

Registration opens April 29, 2014. Register early to avoid disappointment! Browse all camps at edmonton.ca/daycamps

Mmmonsters! – ages 3 to 5 Monday August 11 to Friday August 15, 2014 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Course code: 517666

To Register: • Call 311 • Online at eReg.edmonton.ca • I n person at any City of Edmonton Recreation & Leisure Centre

Parkallen News

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April 2014

Dr. Mary Ann Kuharchuk, Dr. Jason Nijjer b.sc., d.d.s

b.msc., d.d.s

(780)434-7616 5534-111 Street, Edmonton info@makdental.com

We provide a full range of comprehensive general services including:  Complimentary happy visit for children under 3.  State of the art in office professional whitening.  Digital radiography.

www.makdental.com See what your neighbours are saying about Mak Dental: www.demandforce.com/b/makdental

April 2014

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Parkallen News

Meet your Community League 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?

Alex Clifford

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!

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.

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April 2014

Message from Councillor Michael Walters: 150 Days Update 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 commitments 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 particular 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 possible 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 committee meetings - my role as Vice Chair of Transportation Committee keeps me particularly busy. I also sit on the Capital Region Board’s Regional Transit Taskforce and the board of the River Valley Alliance.

All that aside, my favourite part of this job is meeting with engaged citizens. So many of you have great ideas about how we can build our city differently, 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

Hall Happenings for April 2014 Parkallen Playgroup Mondays 1 pm - 3 pm Girl Guides Tuesdays 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Parkallen Knitters Wednesdays 12:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Graphics & layout for Parkallen News courtesy of:

lindsayerickson 780.707.0522

|

www.lericksongraphics.com

Want to get the Parkallen News faster?

Sign up to get the newsletter by email: Email newsletter@parkallen.ca with “Sign me up” in the subject line!

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Parkallen News

Casino cash crucial for Community League 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 approximately $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 memberships (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 money Casino funds are restricted to a certain set of predefined 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 volunteers The casino is run over two nights. The next casino runs Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29. We need volunteers 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 newsletter@parkallen.ca today.

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Parkallen News

Classified Parkallen 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

Co President: Leanne Kohn

Treasurer: Julie Beschell Casino: VACANT Membership: Sandra Stessun & Janet Mayhew

president@parkallen.ca vicepresident@parkallen.ca treasurer@parkallen.ca casino@parkallen.ca membership@parkallen.ca

Secretary: Allison Chevrette

Past President: Nora Begoray pastpresident@parkallen.ca

Parks & Recreation Director: Meghan Dunnigan Rink: Sal Blair Soccer Coordinator: Meghan Dunnigan Hall Coordinator: Jennifer Fedor Hall Maintenance: David Begoray Social Coordinator: Todd Beschell Programs: Laurel Miyashita Garden Coordinator: Marlene Wurfel

Communications Director: Anne Pratt Newsletter Editor: Anne Pratt Website: Marc Pearce Social Media Coordinator: VACANT Graphics and Layout: Lindsay Erickson

secretary@parkallen.ca park@parkallen.ca rink@parkallen.ca soccer@parkallen.ca hall@parkallen.ca hall@parkallen.ca social@parkallen.ca programs@parkallen.ca sustainability@parkallen.ca communications@parkallen.ca newsletter@parkallen.ca webmaster@parkallen.ca newsletter@parkallen.ca graphics@parkallen.ca

Neighborhood Development Director: Jesse Lafrance development@parkallen.ca SCNC Representatives: Donna White & Jarret Orchard uofa@parkallen.ca Civics Representative: Donna White civics@parkallen.ca UACC Representative: Oliver Rossier Transportation: Andrea Anielski transportation@parkallen.ca Housing and Development: Jesse Lafrance housing@parkallen.ca Community Recreations Coordinator: Anna Vesala

anna.vesala@edmonton.ca