.................................

.................................

Past Events and Notices:

There will be a free Citizen's Conference in Parksville/Qualicum Beach at the QB Civic Centre on November 3, 4, 5, 2006. The Conference is entitled "Our Water - Our Future".   There will be two outstanding keynote speakers at the important event:

• Severn Cullis-Suzuki on Sustainability
• Tony Clarke of the Polaris Institute on Privatization

Water and Logging

What's Happening on Our Island?

We're losing our trees. We're losing our jobs. We're losing our water quality. Some communities have run out of water already. If you're concerned, or just want to learn more, join us on Thursday, September 21st, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. at the Community Centre on Jensen Street in Parksville. Our speaker for the evening will be Keith Wyton of the Save Our Valley Alliance. All welcome. [Please distribute this information to your friends and neighbours as we all need to be involved.]

.................................

Join Us as We Walk and Talk About Grandon Creek

As it is now springtime on Vancouver Island, the Arrowsmith Watersheds Coalition Society is ready to begin its educationally-based 'walk and talk' events. On Thursday, May 25th, 2006, at 7:00 p.m., we will meet together where the new Laburnum Road cuts off from the old Arbutus route. To view a map of the local area, please click here.

Grandon Creek is a five kilometer long, acknowledged first-order creek in our area running through natural forest land. The forested section is now protected as a conservation area. Learn more about the creek, the new road, the local habitat, as well as the creek restoration work that has been done.

For questions, please contact Michael at 752-4579.

.................................

Hello to All AWCS Members and Friends:

There will be an Educational Event this Thursday, February 23rd, 2006 at the French Creek Harbour Facility in French Creek. Trevor Wicks, of Trentec Innovations, community member, and long-time promotor of water protection will be our primary speaker for the evening. Our regular AWCS meeting will follow. All welcome!!

	Time:  		7:00 p.m.
	Date:  		Thursday, February 23rd, 2006
	Location:  	French Creek Harbour Facility
	 

.................................

The Arrowsmith Watersheds Coalition Society will be holding its first meeting of the year on Thursday, January 26th at 7:00 p.m. Our meeting will be held at the French Creek Harbour Office, a new meeting location for our group. (Take Lee Road down to the stop sign, then turn right. The harbour office is immediately on the right.) We will be discussing the significant events that have occurred in our community recently, and also be addressing our group's focus for the coming year. Michael Jessen will be leading a discussion on "Urban Sustainability - Lessons from Scandinavia".

On Thursday, April 21, at 7:00 p.m., 2005, in the QB Civic Centre (Lyons Room), Bob Weir, Director of Engineering for the Town of Qualicum Beach, will give a talk on QB Water - Source to Tap: A Discussion of Past Water Quality, and Future Treatment Options. This talk will be of particular interest to the residents of Qualicum Beach and Chartwell. All welcome. Doors will open at 6:45.

.................................

Our Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday, March 24th, at 7:00 p.m. Our guest speaker for the evening will be Tawney Lem of the Smartwood Program. She will be discussing how communities benefit from forest practices certification, especially on private forest lands. In light of all of the recent concerns about ongoing logging in the Oceanside area, this promises to be a very important informational evening.

We will also be holding our election for Directors and the Executive Committee. If you wish to nominate someone for a position, please contact us as soon as possible at the email address shown below.

.................................

On Thursday, February 24th, Michael Jessen, Director of the French Creek Residents Association and the Arrowsmith Watersheds Coalition Society gave a presentation entitled "Vancouver Island Water - Problems and Solutions". Everyone needs to learn what is happening with our water and what to do about it.

On Thursday, January 27th, Sandy Robinson gave a talk about his recent visit to Seattle, Washington, where he attended the second biannual "Restore America's Estuaries" conference.

A public meeting is scheduled for February 3rd, 2005, at 7:00 p.m. at the Civic Centre to discuss the Official Community Plan for Qualicum Beach. The Centre's doors will open at 6:30.

.................................

The Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Foundation, as part of its Spring Lecture Series, will be hosting a talk by Dr. Karen Bartlett on Cryptococcus gattii, a relatively exotic disease organism recently discovered on Vancouver Island. The talk will be held at the Parksville Community Centre on Wednesday, January 26th at 7:30 p.m. All Welcome.

The Biosphere will also be hosting their Annual General Meeting on Thursday, January 20th, at 7:30. Please contact Dr. Glen Jamieson for further details.

.................................

For those who have an interested in the direction that the RDN is taking with respect to parks and trails, please be advised that two public information session are scheduled as follows:

December 1st: Oceanside Place 6.30 - 8.30pm
December 2nd: Nanaimo Aquatic Centre(near Malaspina) 6.30 - 8.30pm

The Parks and Recreation Department may be able to provide us with further details in the near future.

Stay tuned.

.................................

CORRECTION: On November 24th, there will be a lecture by Dr. Hans Schrier, Professor, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, UBC, Vancouver, who will talk on aspects of community responses (infrastructure and lifestyle) to climate change in both our area and in developing countries. The talk will be held at the Parksville Community Center, commencing at 7:30 p.m.

.............................

We are making a change in the AWCS agenda for Thursday, November 18th. Bob Mills, the Official Opposition Environment Critic is speaking at 7:00 p.m. at the Parksville Community Centre and many of our members would like to attend his talk. He was originally planning to speak on Friday, November 19th but this has now been moved to the 18th.