ECo-mmunity Bulletin #19 --- NutShell Niblets- - Sept 27th 2010

Ann's very personal, highly biased and incomplete guide to the ecovillage ... in a nutshell.





House Colours

Chuck Durrett has asked us to consider two different methods to pick house colours for the new village. Either we strike a committee and choose our own, or find architect-designers to do it for us.

Not surprisingly, his strong recommendation was the latter. At the last workshop, he showed us some villages where the home-owners picked the colours and it wasn't pretty. To be sure, Windsong Cohousing has recently re-painted their housefronts and it looks great, but our Coco (coordination) Team is thinking it takes an experienced group to pull that off successfully, and is recommending to the Community Meeting that we ask Chuck to include colour in his final plan. ( And no doubt it would be a culminating pleasure for him in the designing of our village, don't you think?).

Also, Coco has noted that it works very well at Windsong that each household is distinguished by its own colour. Would we want Chuck to do that for us, too? Bring yourcolourful comments to the Community Meeting on October 3rd.



There's been a

Groundswell of support for Blackberry CommonsAlan Carpenter has given us a spirited defense of Blackberry Commons as our new name -

"I have been trying out 'Blackberry' and have come to really like it. Blackberries are relentless, and fight back no matter what. To get this far, we have had to be relentless and always there, no matter what, just like the blackberries.
Also, often we may have been a thorn in someone's side, but we are still here."Alan's comments have inspired a number of other fiesty supporters forBlackberry. There are yet others who are keen on Groundswell (for good reason, I might add) . Our minds are open for more ideas until Sept 30 at midnight. Britta has set her alarm.



Red Card -



Our Facilitation Team members have pointed out a mistake in my previous Niblets explanation of the coloured card system use in the Naming process. A Red Card is a much more serious indication of feeling than I had said, and as such, should be a rare occurence.

Tree Bressen, facilitation trainer, says " In a well-functioning group, blocks (our red card) shouldn't happen very often. Consensus guru Caroline Estes is known for saying that a person should only block up to half a dozen times in their lifetime, total, for all the groups they participate in."

Read more abut blocking at http://treegroup.info/topics/A9-blocking.html

So, if you're not at all keen on one of the name suggestions, it's a

yellow card. A red card would indicate you think our community is contradicting its own values, and in a way that's kept you wake in the night.Say! Here's another name idea-- "Green Card Commons". I'm going to stop thinking of new names as of right now. But just because I have, doesn't mean you committed ecovillagers shouldn't. Send any last name ideas to Britta and then be prepared to cast your email vote between October 1st and 10th.



Stream cleanup- Blackberries (or Weeds) Rule!

I've been looking at the bank of blackberries (and canary grass) along the creek with a certain amount of apprehension. When the time comes for stream rehabilitation, how will we ever remove those dastardly canes !?! A healthy creek is good permaculture and besides, I just plain want to see and enjoy the stream more! But, oooouuuch, those thorns!

I'm hearing a Matthew-generated (true) rumour that Dept of Fisheries will help in the removal the blackberries , when we can present a plan for how we'll then keep them cleared away.

There's help available! Isn't that a fantastic concept?

Knowing how we'll remove that massive bank has me sleeping better at night, reassured that if we name ourselves Blackberry Commons, and say "Blackberries Rule!" then that's us, and not them!



A fantastic gift idea



.... give your loved one a gift certificate for a pampering or healing massage from our in-village Massage Therapist.

Genevieve, RMT in Quebec, has a portable table and gifted hands! Leave her a message on 823-0088's massage (that's French for message) machine.



A wee gift idea for the Ecovillage, while you're still thinking early Christmas.



Does anyone have a few hours to spare in the next week, to fill out some forms and take a few pictures, to submit to the Ministry of Environment for stream crossing for waste water pipes? Thereby saving us from hiring the (expensive) engineer from doing it? It's easy, peasy for anyone who's good at filling out forms. Call Yonas (and I'll throw you an apple pie ... sorry, I won't throw, I'll hand over gently!)



Rail for the Valley

http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/groundbreaking-report-on-interurban-light-rail-released-today/

Rail For The Valley is extremely excited to announce the release of a

comprehensive independent analysis of the potential for light rail service on the existing and publicly owned Interurban Rail Corridor, connecting communities from Chilliwack to Vancouver with an affordable, sustainable public transportation system. The study, now complete, was performed by Leewood Projects.Leewood Projects is a British-based company that has professional expertise in light rail solutions, providing comprehensive project management and planning services to the international railway industry. Leewood Projects has in the past had involvement in prestigious rail projects such as the Channel Tunnel.

Beverly says

I read the report, and I think I've figured out where the Yarrow/Cultus Lake stop would be -- 1 km from the ecovillage on Yarrow Central Road!

The report suggests that trains would run every 20 to 30 minutes and that it would take about 70 minutes from here to Surrey skytrain.

This is the most comprehensive light rail study ever undertaken in this province, performed by a company with professional expertise in light rail solutions. This report at long last provides us with an honest accounting of the potential for light rail service on the Interurban corridor.

-John Buker, Founder, Rail For The Valley


Poem of the Week

Moon on the water

broken and broken again.

Still it is there

Basho