The Rokkit youth group of Drayton Valley successfully held their Wake-A-thon on April 17th at the H.W. Pickup Jr. High School located in the centre of the town. With the help of ACE’s Youth Engagement Coordinator Cameron Sault, Rokkit developed, planned, and implemented the entire Wake-A-thon, with meetings reaching as far back as early February.
Rokkit’s mission was to provide youth with positive, fulfilling activities and in doing so, raise funds to benefit themselves and their community. Rokkit definitely stuck to their mission statement by hosting such activities as crafts, movies, Nintendo wii and Rock Band tournaments, cosmetology, sports, cooking, and team building games, just to name a few. Cameron also held a session to educate the youth about the Drayton Valley ACE Youth Support Group that had recently formed with the help of ACE’s coach Toni Lashbrook. Without the support of the adults within the community none of this could have happened.
Congratulations to Rokkit and Drayton Valley!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
COMMUNITY GARDEN SOCIETY AWARDED $10,000
The local Alberta Active Creative Engaged Communities (ACE) evaluation committee has decided to award the $10,000 seed money to the newly formed Hinton Community Garden Society.
The Hinton Community Garden will be a productive, self-supporting, community greenhouse and outdoor garden. The goal is to plant the outside garden in spring of 2010, and to plant inside a greenhouse by the spring of 2011. The project will be promoted as a unique and innovative solution to high food prices, greenhouse gas emissions, and social fragmentation, eventually run as a non-profit company operating under the direction of the Society.
Mayor Glenn Taylor states that, “This community driven project will not only showcase Hinton as a progressive community, it will also showcase the desire for a greener way of doing things. The seed money for this project will go a long way in the planning for this project. I expect that the volunteers of Hinton will once again make Hinton proud by dedicating their time and energy to a distinctive project.”
The community garden has 3 objectives:
1. To provide food security to Hinton, by ensuring a perennial supply of fresh, organic produce.
2. To reduce Hinton’s greenhouse gas emissions, by reducing the fossil fuels consumed in the production, processing, and transportation of imported produce.
3. To foster social cohesion and inclusiveness by providing a “Third Place” where people of all ages can participate in gardening.
At a public meeting on January 12, 2009, a proposal for an all-season, organic, community-operated garden was presented to an audience of 36 to determine the level of community interest. In the three months since this meeting was held;
* nine more public meetings have been held,
* an email list of 75 interested people has been maintained,
* a non-profit Society has been formed,
* preliminary research has been conducted,
* letters of support have been received from numerous individuals and organizations.
For more information please contact Jerome Cranston at 780-865-3809 or email hintoncommunitygarden@gmail.com.
The Hinton Community Garden will be a productive, self-supporting, community greenhouse and outdoor garden. The goal is to plant the outside garden in spring of 2010, and to plant inside a greenhouse by the spring of 2011. The project will be promoted as a unique and innovative solution to high food prices, greenhouse gas emissions, and social fragmentation, eventually run as a non-profit company operating under the direction of the Society.
Mayor Glenn Taylor states that, “This community driven project will not only showcase Hinton as a progressive community, it will also showcase the desire for a greener way of doing things. The seed money for this project will go a long way in the planning for this project. I expect that the volunteers of Hinton will once again make Hinton proud by dedicating their time and energy to a distinctive project.”
The community garden has 3 objectives:
1. To provide food security to Hinton, by ensuring a perennial supply of fresh, organic produce.
2. To reduce Hinton’s greenhouse gas emissions, by reducing the fossil fuels consumed in the production, processing, and transportation of imported produce.
3. To foster social cohesion and inclusiveness by providing a “Third Place” where people of all ages can participate in gardening.
At a public meeting on January 12, 2009, a proposal for an all-season, organic, community-operated garden was presented to an audience of 36 to determine the level of community interest. In the three months since this meeting was held;
* nine more public meetings have been held,
* an email list of 75 interested people has been maintained,
* a non-profit Society has been formed,
* preliminary research has been conducted,
* letters of support have been received from numerous individuals and organizations.
For more information please contact Jerome Cranston at 780-865-3809 or email hintoncommunitygarden@gmail.com.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
High Level Snapshot
High Level is a community in Northwest Alberta that has been focusing on community development. A community meeting that used the Active, Creative, Engaged Communities scanning or self assessment tool helped identify several aspects of community life they wanted to address. Four areas of focus that were identified included 1) engaging citizens, 2) inter-agency collaboration, 3) beautification, and 4) celebrating assets.
Those strands were woven into a community development plan, along with an overarching goal of increasing collaboration among community events and resources. Envisioning "a multicultural community working together and taking pride in our vibrant quality of life," this evolving group had identified core values such as clean, green, safe and developed- terms of reference that function as a guide, not a presciption.
What does all this mean for the community? It means that the community is becoming more involved while celebrating successes and accomplishments, an important aspect of a community. Some initiatives that High Level residents have benefited through the plan is a Community Events Calendar depicting local pictures that were submissions for a contest. A comprehensive directory was also created and it outlined the roles, volunteer opportunities and contact information of all agencies and organizations serving High Level. Besides fostering awareness of the services offered in High Level, the directory highlights opportunities for partnerships.
Above all, the process that High Level has been engaging in positively reflects how a community can pull together community members. The results have been both immediate and will be long lasting to create an active, creative, and engaged community.
Those strands were woven into a community development plan, along with an overarching goal of increasing collaboration among community events and resources. Envisioning "a multicultural community working together and taking pride in our vibrant quality of life," this evolving group had identified core values such as clean, green, safe and developed- terms of reference that function as a guide, not a presciption.
What does all this mean for the community? It means that the community is becoming more involved while celebrating successes and accomplishments, an important aspect of a community. Some initiatives that High Level residents have benefited through the plan is a Community Events Calendar depicting local pictures that were submissions for a contest. A comprehensive directory was also created and it outlined the roles, volunteer opportunities and contact information of all agencies and organizations serving High Level. Besides fostering awareness of the services offered in High Level, the directory highlights opportunities for partnerships.
Above all, the process that High Level has been engaging in positively reflects how a community can pull together community members. The results have been both immediate and will be long lasting to create an active, creative, and engaged community.
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