We’re so proud!

“The Kerplunks” are a fantastic 4 piece band that have been recognized for their amazing talent and ability to engage kids getting them singing along and joining in on all the action…

This Gabriola based band has been nominated for children’s album of the year, the Juno awards will take place this weekend (March 29) in Vancouver. Gabriola will be on pins and needles awaiting the results.

Clearly the Kerplunks are already winners in our hearts and we hope they win the hearts & ears of the rest of Canada as well.

Coast Realty (Gabriola Village) Ltd. is delighted to have the Kerplunks playing at our annual Free Community Easter Egg Hunt at noon on Sat, April 11th, where there set to get the kids moving before the great hunt!

“March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb”

This is what my daughter has been telling me this month as she decides if it’s a lamb or lion day, it seems like most days this month have been a mixture and would be closer to resembling a zoo.

Today is my daughters sharing day in her kindergarten class at the Gabriola Elementary School and this month’s theme is seeds, the perfect topic for her, and the girl who asked for a garden for Christmas when she was three.

It’s a great time to begin planting seeds; we’ve just put our peas in her garden and are starting our onions indoors. It’s great to see that a number of the beds at the school have also started to be planted. We feel very fortunate to live in a community that embraces gardening in the kids’ curriculum… Submitted by Tina LYNCH

This Community has "Roots"

The Gabriola Arts Council has come up with another theme for this years Community Art Show. This year they have chosen "Roots" and I can see that the community is gearing up for the fun filled event. Those wanting to participate this year will need to fill out a registration form (available by email from gabriolaartscoucil@shaw.ca) and have their art piece ready for Monday, April 21 by 4pm.

You'll see a range of artistic interpretations of the theme, mediums, sizes, and ages of the artists. It's pretty fulfilling for anyone to have an art piece hanging up in a Gallery and this is your chance. In the past, I have participated in the heart, star & off-the-beach shows. I've always come away from the shows amazed by the diverse art pieces that are created on the Island.

The"Roots" community art show opens with a reception at Artworks on 23 April 2009 at 7:00 - 9:00 pm, and the show runs through until 3 May.

Visiting Gabriola this Summer…

Descanso Bay Regional Park - Campground
Gabriola offers a diverse opportunity of accommodations for visitors to the island, a summer time favorite is Gabriola’s Descanso Bay Regional Park campground.

This scenic sea-side campground is just a short distance, approximately 1 km, from the ferry terminal at Descanso Bay and is located at 595 Taylor Bay Road, Gabriola Island. The stunning 40 acre waterfront property has three bays with natural sandy pockets & sculpted sandstone beaches, offers 32 camp sites and is open year round. Islanders as well as tourists frequent the campground because of all its appeal to kayakers, picnickers, campers, hikers, beachcombers, swimmers to participate in outdoor recreation while balancing the camping experience offered by its tranquil surroundings.

This Regional Park is adjacent to Cox Community Park which offers over 100 acres of trails for pedestrians & cyclists, through a well established forest setting.

Gabriola Island attracts visitors from Vancouver Island, the rest of BC, elsewhere in Canada and other parts of the world, so you may want to make a reservation at #250-247-8255, if you’re planning a summer time getaway, as its prime season.

The Work Party

No, I’m not talking about gathering with co-workers for a glass of wine, but that’s also a lot of fun too! When you live in a rural setting, there are always projects that you can work on or come up with on a moments notice, I have a long list of them hanging on my fridge.
A few years ago, we decided that it would be fun to spend a day off working together with friends to start and sometimes finish projects together. Our group, was made up of five Gabriola families and our goal was to go on a rotation once a month to one of the homes and work on whatever project they had chosen.

The day started at 10, with lunch provided by the hosts at noon, and a potluck dinner served around 5. Officially beer & wine we’re opened at 4, but I seem to recall seeing a beer a little earlier than that once or twice. A few of the projects that we worked on: fencing, chopping firewood, moving, laying floors, painting, prepping garden beds & harvesting some crops, pruning trees, a lot of raking and lots of burning which allowed for some marshmallow roasts.

This was a great way to get things done and to have some fun at the same time, it’s nice to visit friends and look around their house and feel like you’re a part of it. We were sad to see one of the families leave the Island in October and haven’t been on track since, but I’m sure we’ll be back into working with our friends again when Spring hits. Submitted by: Tina LYNCH

Time is running

In January, one of my girlfriends signed me up for a facebook running group, a group of 6 of us that have been through the good times and the bad during our 20 year friendship (and I’m young). How could I resist joining these friends when I looked and saw the picture of the girls running a race in heels, I knew this was going to be fun and another one of our group adventures.

Three of us live close enough to join the Running Room in Nanaimo together, close means I’ll hop on the ferry once a week and that one of us drives 1 hour to get there. The training we get at the Running Room is definitely worth the effort, we listen to the informative speakers and learn effective and safe ways to run, apparently not in heels! We finished our last group hill run last night, there is nothing like the pressure of a whistle to get you moving up and down the hill 16 times and of course your running with about 30 others. Next week we start our speed training, and we will continue until we complete the Vancouver BMO half-marathon on May 3rd.

There are lots of trails and roads on Gabriola that offer great training potential, I prefer to stick to the trails when I can as I love the adventure of turning down a new path and find it easier on the body. Gabriola Lands and Trails Trust (GALTT) has a website that is an excellent resource for Island trails and has a trails map http://www.galtt.ca/ . Submitted by: Tina LYNCH

Golf Anyone???

Fortunate to have grown up on Gabriola, one of my recreational past times was Golf. The Gabriola golf course offers a very challenging nine hole course. If it is not enough to have to deal with the twist & turns of the fairways, rolling hills (or slightly steeper), the quiet country road that runs along side & has the occasional moving target of a vehicle, then the long fairways definitely add an element excitement!

The picturesque course is set overlooking & encompassing the views of Hogan Lake, which doubles as a water feature… The log constructed clubhouse offers the perfect vantage point to enjoy watching the golfers tee off their games, as well as putt in at the end, it’s also a nice place for a social setting whether it be just having come in from a game, or just enjoying this spectacular picturesque setting. The licensed lounge can accommodate seating up to 60 with room to dance, and the clubhouse has the ability to cater events. For more information on the Gabriola’s Golf Clubs Events check it out online at http://www.gabriolagolf.com .

Golf Anyone???

Home Inspectors to be licensed in BC

In January, the BC government announced that as of the 31 March 2009, home inspectors will need to be licensed. BC is the first province in Canada to license home inspectors to better protect buyers & ensure qualified inspections.

Currently, a home inspector training is voluntary thus leading to different levels of training and qualifications.

After consultation from consumers and the industry the province opted for licensing under the Business Practices & Consumer Protection Authority (BPCPA) – this will help home buyers on Gabriola and throughout BC, to ensure that the person doing the inspection has the qualifications to make a professional assessment. It will also offer home inspectors the backing of a professional organization to help ensure that the home inspector follows their standards of practices & codes of ethics.

The BPCPA will protect the buyer’s interest by:
· Assessing the qualifications of & requiring mandatory licenses for home inspectors.
· Receiving & responding to complaints from consumers.
· Monitoring compliance through inspection & enforcement, with penalties.

In order to find out if a home inspector is licensed ask a home inspector to show you a current license issued by the BPCPA. Or check the website at: www.bpcpa.ca to verify that your home inspector is licensed.

Additional information on the licensing of Home Inspectors is available online at the Business Practices & Consumers Protection Authority Website at: www.bpcpa.ca .

Raising Coho

It certainly is a lot of work to raise a puppy, but the little tail wags and the unconditional love are more than worth it.

We've recently added a puppy to our family, a much wished for gift for the kids that were missing their previous dog. He's more than filled our hearts, he's taken over the house with his toys and puppy fur. One of our neighbors watched Coho for us when we went away for a few days, a twenty four hour job for her that caused her to fall in love too. Now, we see Chalise two or three times a week when she comes to take him for long walks and playdates with other animals, last week he met with a few dogs, a horse and touched noses with a cat. He also loves to go to the beach, Spring Beach, Islands View, and Drumbeg are a few of our favorite Gabriola beaches.

It's great to have the support and have a neighborhood dog, honestly I think I would have fallen behind on the play dates for the puppy. Submitted by: Tina Lynch

Greening your Title

Kate Emmings of the Islands Trust Fund was on Gabriola this weekend, to provide information on, “The Natural Area Protection Tax Exemption Program,” which offers an incentive for island landowners to protect natural & geological features of your property while reducing taxes.

Through the program NAPTEP, an island landowner can receive up to 65% property tax exemption on the portion of land of their property which is protected through covenants.

Properties that are eligible may include; relatively undisturbed natural area that is a good example of an important ecosystem, important natural area that provides key habitat to rare native plant or animal species, or naturally occurring special geological features.

A conservation covenant is an agreement between the landowner and conservancy group, in this case the Islands Trust Fund, which sets out specific restrictions or requirements that the landowner will uphold to ensure conservation of the covenanted portion of the land forever. Because these covenants are registered on title, they will be passed along to future homeowners in perpetuity, so once you’re in the program, there is no turning back.

On the Islands Trust Fund website at: http://www.islandstrustfund.bc.ca/, one can obtain information on the program, along with an application guide to calculating some of the costs & benefits of the program. The application deadline is 1 April 2009, in order to see possible property tax relief in 2010.

***There may be legal & potential tax implications – so each applicant is advised to seek independent legal & accounting advice.