After picking up my name tag and volunteer t-shirt during the orientation on Wednesday evening, I went to see the EP!C Expo as a civilian on Saturday to sit in on a handful of discussion panels about all things sustainable.
EP!C is Vancouver’s largest Sustainable Living Expo which runs annually over the course of three days. What I enjoyed most aside from wine tasting at the Banrock Station booth was panelists in key areas discussing about how to keep Vancouver on track to becoming the greenest city in the world by 2020. One such panel was titled EPIC on Wheels: The Future of Sustainable Transportation where a representative from the City of Vancouver, the Co-operative Auto Network, and TransLink came together to discuss, among other things, alternative modes to get around the city and using incentives/disincentives to influence people’s attitudes and behaviours about ditching their private vehicles.
I personally wish to see the downtown core free of private motor vehicles; open only to transit, emergency response, and commercial vehicles such as delivery trucks and taxis. My ideal Vancouver will adopt a system similar to Singapore city where private motor vehicles will have to pay for a permit granting privilege to drive into city centre. In turn, the city should invest in maintaining and improving infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, employing more pedestrian only streets like Granville street, and expanding the bike lanes to other key corridors.
Personally, I’m delighted to have Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson and city counsel take the initial steps in transforming Vancouver into a more livable city. News about the resounding success of the Burrard street bridge bike lane trial (now on its way to becoming a permanent fixture), the newly opened Dunsmuir street separated bike lane, and city counsel unanimously committing to spend $25 million over the next two years to building 55 kilometres of new bike lanes makes me proud to live here and call this city my own. We still have some catching up to do compared to cities like Portland where they have over a hundred miles of bike lanes and Montréal where they’ve installed a hop-on hop-off bike network called BIXI, but I’m confident that Vancouver Green Capital will hold up to its motto in time.
I begun my shift on Sunday afternoon as a Main Stage Assistant, working alongside with Paul, Randall, and a handful of other volunteers who were all a pleasure to work with. It was so nice to speak about sustainability with like-minded individuals all around me and exchange some meaningful dialogue. Did you know that Vancouver was given the status of Fair Trade Town earlier this month? It’s the first Canadian city to be given this designation!
I’m gushing with Vancouver achievements and have plenty more ammunition to brag about my great city, but as a Canadian, I must remain humble and let you Google that for yourself.
May 30, 2010
May 24, 2010
Long Weekend on Long Beach.
We Vancouverites really have have it all to enjoy the quality of life we’re so well known for in this part of the world. Over the long weekend from the 21st to the 24th, a large group of friends drove over to Tofino to see the edge of the world and beyond. We camped out at the Pacific Rim - Green Point campsite, pitched out tents, and cooked food over the fire while playing ‘2 truths and a lie’.
Access to the sandy beaches of Long Island was just down the trail from our campground and the weather was just terrific, albeit a little windy at times. This wind danced with the fine grain sand on the beach creating a spectacular silky and wavy pattern as it went by. It was like watching the aurora borealis on the ground.
Surfers were out taking advantage of the high waves while I continued exploring my surrounding environment with my camera. There’s so much here to take in and appreciate that I struggle to find words to describe mother nature. Against the reflection of the pale blue sky was a clear aqua-green oasis with algae on the rocks around it. A collection of sun bleached logs lay scattered along the boulders and tiny yellow flowers blossomed on the rocky crevasse, defiantly living life.
Walking back, I found a collection of rubber and plastic toys some children must have left behind on the beach. There were boats, a shark, a seahorse, and an octopus with a permanent look of sock on its face. Helena, Rebeca, Kimmi and I had quite a laugh playing with these sea creatures and giving dialogue to them. “I’m sharked!” said the Mr. Octopus while being sniffed at from the underside by Mr. Shark while Ms. Seahorse just couldn’t stop kissing everyone. With those lips, how could she not?!
There’s something to be said about adults playing with children’s toys.
The next day, we went to take a stroll along the boardwalk through the Shorepine Bog Trail. Again, words in the English language can’t do justice to how stunningly magnificent this place is. I did my very best to capture the feel with my wide angle 10mm lens. The gigantic broccoli forest of stunted trees is the result of inadequate nutrients and minerals in the acidic waterlogged soil. In an environment like this, I could do some really heavy thinking here and find my inner Qi, more than what any Buddist monastery can do.
Helena and I took a walk along the beach from the north end of Long Beach back to our campsite. The tide was so far out that we were able to make a b-line instead of following the crescent, making our distance that much shorter. With the tide so far out, it left a shallow sheen of water over the sandy surface which gave us the illusion that we were walking on water. The mirrored reflection that it bounced back was more beautiful than one could fully absorb.
We Vancouverites aren’t just close to paradise. We live in one. This was my long weekend.
Access to the sandy beaches of Long Island was just down the trail from our campground and the weather was just terrific, albeit a little windy at times. This wind danced with the fine grain sand on the beach creating a spectacular silky and wavy pattern as it went by. It was like watching the aurora borealis on the ground.
Surfers were out taking advantage of the high waves while I continued exploring my surrounding environment with my camera. There’s so much here to take in and appreciate that I struggle to find words to describe mother nature. Against the reflection of the pale blue sky was a clear aqua-green oasis with algae on the rocks around it. A collection of sun bleached logs lay scattered along the boulders and tiny yellow flowers blossomed on the rocky crevasse, defiantly living life.
Walking back, I found a collection of rubber and plastic toys some children must have left behind on the beach. There were boats, a shark, a seahorse, and an octopus with a permanent look of sock on its face. Helena, Rebeca, Kimmi and I had quite a laugh playing with these sea creatures and giving dialogue to them. “I’m sharked!” said the Mr. Octopus while being sniffed at from the underside by Mr. Shark while Ms. Seahorse just couldn’t stop kissing everyone. With those lips, how could she not?!
There’s something to be said about adults playing with children’s toys.
The next day, we went to take a stroll along the boardwalk through the Shorepine Bog Trail. Again, words in the English language can’t do justice to how stunningly magnificent this place is. I did my very best to capture the feel with my wide angle 10mm lens. The gigantic broccoli forest of stunted trees is the result of inadequate nutrients and minerals in the acidic waterlogged soil. In an environment like this, I could do some really heavy thinking here and find my inner Qi, more than what any Buddist monastery can do.
Helena and I took a walk along the beach from the north end of Long Beach back to our campsite. The tide was so far out that we were able to make a b-line instead of following the crescent, making our distance that much shorter. With the tide so far out, it left a shallow sheen of water over the sandy surface which gave us the illusion that we were walking on water. The mirrored reflection that it bounced back was more beautiful than one could fully absorb.
We Vancouverites aren’t just close to paradise. We live in one. This was my long weekend.
May 9, 2010
Sun Run 2010!
I remember doing the Sun Run last year like it was yesterday. Here I am doing it again this year! Just where did the time go? Poof!
Since participating in the 25th annual Vancouver Sun Run for the first time last year, I vowed to continue running for years to come in the world’s second largest timed 10k run. This year, I had Clayton to run with me. With minimal training before the run, we both questioned ourselves on our ability to do well. I had only one goal which was to beat my previous personal best of 1:18:52.
This year’s run took place on Mother’s Day so a special acknowledgement was made to mothers all over when the gun went off at 900. Clayton and I were at the head of the line in the white bibs waiting for our wave to go after the large group of green bibs which had four or five waves alone! It wasn’t until about fifty minutes after the gun went off that we were able to go.
Set on a beautiful day, a skunk ran us from a distance while cutting through Stanley Park, probably thinking that it might be best to run the herd. A heard of 51,419 people all running in the same direction must be for good reason!
While running our course, we kept each other in check and paced ourselves, having to only break from our continual run about four times in all. And our good work paid off!
My new personal best is now 1:10:21.
My legs felt like jelly and I was nearly dying of thirst. Thankfully, there were people handing out Red Bull shots for runners just after crossing the finish line along with packs of weetabix, Oasis juices, bananas and oranges inside the outdoor pavilion.
It was strange to see the large air-supported dome which covered the BC Place Stadium for over twenty-five years gone. That marshmallow roof which the world saw during the Olympic games was an iconic part of Vancouver’s skyline. Half a billion dollars later, we’ll have a new retractable roof!
Since participating in the 25th annual Vancouver Sun Run for the first time last year, I vowed to continue running for years to come in the world’s second largest timed 10k run. This year, I had Clayton to run with me. With minimal training before the run, we both questioned ourselves on our ability to do well. I had only one goal which was to beat my previous personal best of 1:18:52.
This year’s run took place on Mother’s Day so a special acknowledgement was made to mothers all over when the gun went off at 900. Clayton and I were at the head of the line in the white bibs waiting for our wave to go after the large group of green bibs which had four or five waves alone! It wasn’t until about fifty minutes after the gun went off that we were able to go.
Set on a beautiful day, a skunk ran us from a distance while cutting through Stanley Park, probably thinking that it might be best to run the herd. A heard of 51,419 people all running in the same direction must be for good reason!
While running our course, we kept each other in check and paced ourselves, having to only break from our continual run about four times in all. And our good work paid off!
My new personal best is now 1:10:21.
My legs felt like jelly and I was nearly dying of thirst. Thankfully, there were people handing out Red Bull shots for runners just after crossing the finish line along with packs of weetabix, Oasis juices, bananas and oranges inside the outdoor pavilion.
It was strange to see the large air-supported dome which covered the BC Place Stadium for over twenty-five years gone. That marshmallow roof which the world saw during the Olympic games was an iconic part of Vancouver’s skyline. Half a billion dollars later, we’ll have a new retractable roof!
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