Partnering and opportunities have created a buzz for Irricana. The Town of Irricana got a tip o’ the hat from the province, April 30, for its initiatives to promote healthy eating, physical activity and social interaction. “We are honoured by this recognition,” said Cathy O’Donoghue, the Town’s community services officer.
The Alberta Recreation and Parks Association awarded communities from across the province as part of the Communities Choose Well 2008-2009 initiative at a ceremony held in Okotoks. “Communities Choose Well continues to be a popular way for communities to involve their residents in a wide range of fun and healthy activities,” said Dr. Raj Sherman, parliamentary
assistant for Health and Wellness. “For the second year in a row we are encouraged to see an increase in the number of communities that took up the challenge to eat healthy, be active and engage in positive social pursuits.” A total of 26 communities were recognized in Alberta, out of a record 162 participating communities.
It takes a few determined people to zero in on a good initiative and bring it out to the community where it can spread like wildfire, O’Donoghue said. “In whatever we do, partnering with everyone is key,” she said. O’Donoghue added Irricana is well equipped with a whole network of community organizations and a volunteering tradition such as the local firefighters. “The organizations in our community are great,” she said.
Irricana’s initiatives include a Pitchin annual event, which collected 100 bags of garbage from roadways and park areas last year. The local youth centre The Crib provides nutritious food and creates events such as healthy Halloween, while providing entertainment options that include physical activity. To that end, the local council has promoted a ‘stay fit while having fun’ approach, by approving the purchase of equipment such as table tennis, air hockey, a bubble hockey game, and a Nintendo Wii video game system.
Irricana has also been developing an electronic information board, a flooring system for the curling rink and a trailhead park under the Active, Creative, Engaged (ACE) community initiative. Recognition was also given to the Town of Chestermere, for its Youth Encouraging Lasting Leadership (YELL). The Town council assumed the role of planning, developing and building a bike park. YELL has been successful in communicating with the public, the local government and community groups. Peer communication also played a critical part in gathering youth of all ages to the park.
Serving Albertans since 1952, the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association is a non-for-profit, charitable organization made up of volunteer committees to building healthy citizens and communities through recreation and parks. Active, Creative, Engaged (ACE) Communities is an initiative under the umbrella of Alberta Recreation and Parks Association.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Rokkit Wake-A-thon a Success
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!
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!
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.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Thriving Camrose
A Coalition of local leaders and community members have been working together with a focus of healthy living and active living. An important piece of this Coalition's approach is collaborative action which mirror's ACE Communities' focus as well. This group further reflects collaboration by incorporating research, strategic planning, relationship and partnership building. These aspects have made several successes for the Coalition and the community as a whole.
How did the Coalition make collaboration work in the community and amongst the groups? At one point, a World Cafe was held. Participants provided input on next steps by rotating in groups from table to table, discussing themed questions at each table and coming to consensus on their answers. Because the groups read and responded to each others' ideas, the session resulted in a rich bank of material for planning. And, of course, with any cafe good food was involved!
Linking, advocating, facilitating, and educating are four key intended areas that were indicated through a community meeting in Camrose. Some important actions from these areas were a healthy vending maching policy within all City of Camrose facilities, a Go To Book that centralizes many informaiton/promotion pieces on healthy lifestyle options in Camrose, a new logo and an amazing professional development seminar with Ian Hill for health care and business professionals.
What does this all mean in the end? It indicates that a group of dedicated, motivated, and action orientated community members are working together to make Camrose more active, creative, and engaged in several ways.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Highlights from Leduc County
Passion, vision, and connections definitely stand out in Leduc County. Leduc County is one of the 20 partner communities of ACE. Within the County, the support from ACE is directed to Warburg, New Sarepta, and Thorsby. During some recent community meetings, called Conversation Cafe, the residents focused on the community's strengths, assets, needs, priorities, and how to get there.
When residents began to list strengths and assets it was amazing that there is so much available in the County and the smaller rural communities. The passion for volunteerism and making the communities stronger and vibrant shone through. During the Conversation Cafe's residents were making meaningful connections with one another. People were exchanging phone numbers and recognizing others in the community in order to share resources and ideas. What was equally important was that the priorities were driven by the community. This means that whatever may unfold will have great community pride and ownership.
When residents began to list strengths and assets it was amazing that there is so much available in the County and the smaller rural communities. The passion for volunteerism and making the communities stronger and vibrant shone through. During the Conversation Cafe's residents were making meaningful connections with one another. People were exchanging phone numbers and recognizing others in the community in order to share resources and ideas. What was equally important was that the priorities were driven by the community. This means that whatever may unfold will have great community pride and ownership.
Busy Kitscoty
If people think small rural communities are slow and sleepy, they have not been to Kitscoty!
Kitscoty is a village where several organizations are active and involved in the community. Residents have many options available to be active, creative, or engaged. Lately, the community is working towards pulling together and bridging the gap between youth and seniors. At the community meetings youth, seniors, and the "in-betweens" discuss ways to bridge this gap and identify community needs. The discussions are always rich and meaningful and it is amazing to see how much people care about what happens inKitscoty.
The resources that are in place in Kitscoty help create a sense of community; a place where residents can stay, play, and be active. An arena, seniors' centre, community hall, two schools, and several more amenities all make-up an excellent infrastructure for the community. The numerous volunteers, passion, and vision that residents have for their community are what is building the foundation for great success in Kitscoty.
Kitscoty is a village where several organizations are active and involved in the community. Residents have many options available to be active, creative, or engaged. Lately, the community is working towards pulling together and bridging the gap between youth and seniors. At the community meetings youth, seniors, and the "in-betweens" discuss ways to bridge this gap and identify community needs. The discussions are always rich and meaningful and it is amazing to see how much people care about what happens inKitscoty.
The resources that are in place in Kitscoty help create a sense of community; a place where residents can stay, play, and be active. An arena, seniors' centre, community hall, two schools, and several more amenities all make-up an excellent infrastructure for the community. The numerous volunteers, passion, and vision that residents have for their community are what is building the foundation for great success in Kitscoty.
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