Thousands of people from all over Vancouver Island and the Mainland braved the cold to show their support for protecting and preserving British Columbia’s at this week’s Old Growth Forest Rally. Douglas and Government Streets in Victoria were closed down for more than 45 minutes as people streamed in filling the streets from the length of City Hall to the Parliament Buildings.
C-IRG emulates and supports a structure of quasi-fascism within Canadian government and policing, however many citizens are unaware of this government funded group. This post hopes to raise awareness and gain community support.
On Wednesday, February 22, 2023, the Voices in Motion Choral Society and Greater Victoria Placemaking Network launched region-wide distribution of I Remember, a book by student author Priscila Kumar that focuses on the power of singing and what it can do for those... Read more
This event, featuring Anjali Appadurai, Seth Klein, Naomi Klein, Juan Vargas Alba (& others to be announced), will be a place to learn more about this campaign and plans to win a Climate Corps (nationally and in BC and Alberta). Plus, we will be debuting an... Read more
Welcome to Home on Native Land, a self-guided course about Indigenous justice in Canada. Through a series of 10 videos, cartoons & lessons, take a walk down the back alley of history — and the frontlines of legal action — with Anishinaabe comedian Ryan McMahon.... Read more
Saltspring Island author, naturalist and artist Briony Penn, has kindly allowed the Yellow Point Ecological Society to convert some of her beautiful illustrations into greetings cards, which we are selling as a fundraiser for YES. Details here:... Read more
United For Old-Growth March & Rally February 25 Walk: begins at Noon, Centennial Square (lək̓ʷəŋən territories, Victoria) Rally: 1:30-3:30 pm, BC Legislature Dear Friends of the Forests, We’re now moving into the final phase of coming together for the United We... Read more
February is #blackhistorymonth : What I’m learning to do as a non-Black mixed POC. This post was inspired by Mikhaela Connell’s article for Greenpeace. Ella here (CU’s social media coordinator) As a non-Black mixed Euro-Canadian and Korean POC, I definitely want to... Read more
Applications Are Now Open Looking to share your love of poetry with Victoria? The City of Victoria is seeking nominations for the next Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate. These two-year positions will run from April 2023 to April 2025. Nominees must reside within... Read more
My recent columns on the need to reduce inequality and social injustice by, among other things, increasing taxes on the rich and introducing or expanding wealth taxes, have elicited responses from some people along the lines of “you advocate stealing from the rich.”
Hello Bateman Foundation Friends, We have exciting news we want to share with you. The Bateman Gallery is moving! We are investing in a new space to fully integrate art, nature, and education, creating a new cultural centre accessible to all. This means we will end... Read more
The Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies is pleased to welcome applications for our 2023 MEd program in Leadership Studies! Applications are open now until 11:59 p.m. on February 15, 2023. Please see below for more information on the program, or... Read more
Happy Lunar New Year 恭喜發財 새해 복 많이 받으세요 Ella here If you don’t know me, I’m the social media coordinator for CU Lunar new year is close to my heart as I celebrate Seollal with my Korean family, and Chinese New Year with my step family This lunar new year is this... Read more
An ancient forest is a home to more life than we can imagine. The project of colonization has left less than 3% of what once stood. On February 25 a united movement of thousands of people will be sending a clear message to the provincial government: Keep your promises... Read more
In recognition of International Women’s Day, the Victoria Arts Council is seeking proposals from local and regional artists who are interested in participating in a thematic group exhibition throughout March 2023 in our main gallery. The 2023 theme for... Read more
Together with the Goethe-Institut, we are excited to announce the 2022 Mentorship Award for Cultural & Artistic Responses to Environmental Change! Floods and forest fires, storms and disappearing species: the climate crisis is being felt everywhere around the... Read more
New Year’s resolutions have always seemed intimidating and many people seem to set themselves up for failure. Why is this? Well, from what I have seen and experienced in my own life, oftentimes it seems like people set New Year’s resolutions as a way to punish... Read more
2022 Creatively United Wrapped is here! In 2022 you helped us… Reach 670 Instagram followers Reach 1.46K YouTube subscribers Put on four Climate and Artists series webinars Launch our ‘Trees Matter’ film Put out 16 newsletters In 2022 our website… Had 26,971 unique... Read more
“Reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians, from an Aboriginal perspective,” wrote the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015, “also requires reconciliation with the natural world. If human beings resolve problems between themselves but continue to…
This year we’re bringing you the ULTIMATE Sustainable Holiday Gift Guide (Victoria + Vancouver/BC) 🎁 This is in no way an exhaustive list but we just wanted to highlight some of our absolute favourite local organizations, markets and businesses to check out... Read more
The birth of “Green Earth Art Studio” Art has been a favorite subject of mine since high school, but it was not my only passion. The lure of other knowledge and other activities, the desire to see what was over the next horizon, was irresistible and captured my... Read more
Deadline to Submit: 15 January 2023 New Traditions Traditions ground us. They are markers of time and place, giving meaning to key moments in our lives and connecting us to our ‘people’, whether that be as intimate as family, as far reaching in diasporic... Read more
WHAT IS BLACK FRIDAY / CYBER MONDAY? The term “Black Friday” had been used in the mid 1800s to indicate a decline in gold prices that caused a market crash The term became associated with this time of year, right around American Thanksgiving, in the 1950s when... Read more
As hope to substantially delay a 6th extinction fades it is, for me, being replaced by deep curiosity as to how it will all spiral down. How much, if at all, that impacts lifespans is in itself another matter for curiosity. And for what as well as how intensely the... Read more
How best to speak of our society’s ongoing self destructiveness in a way that our eyeballs, ear holes and heart might get it? How to “fool” us into a little unlearning of our learned disconnect from the watery animally earth? How to tease out a thread, a rope, an... Read more
More than 40 years ago, in my major paper for my master’s degree, I sought to identify the fundamental principles underlying public health. I concluded there are two: ecological sanity and social justice. The pursuit of these principles has defined much of my work to create a healthier society ever since.
Hello Elders, This is a very short callout, mainly to let you know about what’s coming up in November. As BC’s new Premier is being sworn in, we Old-Growth Supporters need to raise a bit of a ruckus to encourage David Eby to implement old-growth deferrals immediately.... Read more
Since CTMN began, in 2018, our various passionate members have been involved in a variety of projects: Educational Outreach to the Public via technology: We created a website filled with information about trees and ways citizens can protect them, at... Read more
The interview process for this part-time position will take place over 2 phases during December 2022: Phase 1: an invitation for application based on high-level aesthetic qualities required for an ED position: leadership; team player; innovative; creative; ability to... Read more
What is COP27? COP27 is the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference aka the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, the 27th COP conference since 1994 The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a treaty through which signing nations agreed to... Read more
This is a follow up to my post Calling out mainstream media for their coverage of Anjali’s disqualification. To some this may be considered old news, because of the fast-pace nature of the news cycle. However, I am still left confused, seeking answers and looking for... Read more
I remember early on in the pandemic, seeing online images of animals from all over the world, emerging into lockdown-abandoned public spaces. From New Delhi to Buenos Aires, deer and goats and jackals and lemurs and sheep emerged into spaces formerly occupied by us.... Read more
Way back in 1977, the World Health Organization declared the goal of achieving Health For All by the Year 2000. This should be understood in the way the U.S. Public Health Service defined a goal in 1980: “a timeless statement of aspiration.” learly, Health For All was not achieved, and is still not achieved today. But nonetheless…
The District of Saanich is seeking local people or organizations who source sustainable wood (reclaimed, FSC certified, or other) and can make high quality wood picture frames to hold certificates and awards. If this sounds like you, please contact us at... Read more
The past couple days I was disheartened to see the language being used by mainstream media to talk about the BC NDP’s disqualification of Anjali Appadurai from the leadership race. For example, the CBC (reposted by local news outlets like Capital Daily) said that the... Read more
In Saturday’s local elections, out of 256 confirmed results, 148 climate champions candidates were elected. 57.5% of the candidates who were either endorsed by a local climate action group, or who self-declared as a climate champion with WE-CAN, were elected to... Read more
There is an apocryphal story of a mother taking her young daughter out into the backyard. The child looks up from her iPad and says: “Where are we?” Her mother replies: “It’s called outside.” The point is obvious: We have become so screen-oriented that we…
Icel Dobell has just released The New Old Growth: Voice of Promise. Through beautiful images and storytelling, this fourth video in the Sovereignty of the Six Mountains series reveals the nature of the giving Six Mountain Forest, rare and endangered ecosystems— our... Read more
Our municipal election could determine the future of the North Cowichan forests. Or at least for the next few hundred years while evolution sets a new course. For four years, public consultation about the future of the Six Mountain Forest has unfolded as the North... Read more
With the municipal elections just around the corner – October 15th – those of you on Southern Vancouver Island that may not as yet have completed your selection of Mayoral or Council candidates (let alone those for school and park boards) may find the following... Read more
With so many candidates running and so many vacancies on Council, I’ve been asked many times over the last month for “my list” – who will I be supporting in the upcoming election. Having completed our final Council meeting last night, I now feel free to make my... Read more
Looking for resources on what questions to consider and who to vote for? This information was prepared by the West Coast Climate Action Network (WE-CAN) of which Creatively United is a member and climate partner. Read more
We are concerned citizens who urge Saanich Council to pause implementation of Phase Two of its Shelbourne Valley Action Plan until after October 15, 2022 election. We wish the new Council to review the plan before proceeding. Click here to sign the petition The... Read more
The science is conclusive, trees matter! Not only can trees help regulate weather, filter smoke and pollutants, absorb stormwater runoff and prevent floods, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide beauty, shade, and shelter for thousands of needed insects,... Read more
I wish there were simple answers to some of the big issues Victoria is facing re: affordable housing, density, as well as crises like drug overdoses and doctor shortages. Here are some deeper dives into housing affordability, as that’s my main focus this... Read more
The Victoria Climate Action Team has endorsed the following candidates for the City of Victoria election: Mayor: Marianne Alto Councillors in alphabetical order: Jeremy Caradonna Khadoni Pitt Chambers Matt Dell Ben Isitt Susan Kim Krista Loughton Dave Thompson The... Read more
Dear Friends of the Ancient Forests, Fall is upon us. Sweet. Beautiful. Crunching leaves and intense fall colours touch our senses. Too dry. The promise of moisture is in the air as we lean towards the rainy season. My gratitude is all wound up with grief. On this... Read more
This article, written by Community Trees Matter Network co-founder Grace Golightly, was recently published in Focus and speaks to what’s at stake with Victoria’s urban trees and livability.... Read more
September 30 is the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. Take time to: Follow Indigenous knowledge holders and groups, and uplift their voices🧡 Read (and watch) to learn about Canada’s colonial history and legacy🧡 Reflect on your relationship to... Read more
Municipal elections are fast approaching this October with advanced polls in early October and election day, Saturday, October 15th. Deciding who to vote for is a big decision that affects each individual and community. Creatively United has compiled this list of All... Read more
