Good morning!
Easter weekend is upon us and there’s no shortage of activities in the Westshore. We’ve rounded them up in our community events section for you.
And thank you to all our readers who sent in their thoughts on the proposed 12% property tax increase in Langford. We received quite a few responses and it was difficult to narrow them down to a small sample. You can find those comments at the bottom of today’s newsletter.
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METCHOSIN'S BAT COLONY
Arrival of deadly fungus in BC increases risk to Metchosin’s bat haven
Janet Gray has been working to count and protect bats in the Metchosin Community Hall. Photo: Submitted
The Metchosin Community Hall isn’t just a place for local humans to hold events. It’s also the summer home of 1,500 bats who roost in its attic. The colony came to public attention in 2015 after Janet Gray spotted hordes of bats flying in the area and told a friend from Victoria’s Habitat Acquisition Trust.
“The two of us went up there to investigate and discovered that it was a huge maternal colony,” she told The Westshore reporter Aaron Guillen two years ago. “It’s such a special place, ‘cause that’s where the babies are born.”
But that special place for Island bats has been at serious risk since 2016, when white nose syndrome (WNS) was first discovered across the water in Washington state. The WNS fungus, pseudogymnoascus destructans, wakes bats up from hibernation as it grows on them, and forces them to burn so much of their stored winter energy on cleaning it off that they don’t make it to the spring. It’s killed millions of bats in eastern Canada and the US, wiping out 90% of some populations and driving three species to endangered status in Canada.
Thankfully it’s remained on the other side of the border for years—until now. The BC government announced this week that the fungus was present in bat guano samples in Grand Forks. While that’s further from here than the cases found in Everett, WA, the advance of WNS from the east puts local bats at new risk. Different bats from around BC fly out to the Metchosin colony in April, then fly back away to hibernate in the winter. If the fungus is present on bats in multiple parts of BC, it could potentially be brought here this month.
Read more on the Metchosin colony, the risk it faces, and the people trying to help it in Guillen’s original feature story.
KICKING OFF EARTH MONTH
Restoring habitats in a View Royal park
The volunteers at Knockan Hill Park. Photo: Green Teams of Canada / Flickr
Last weekend, a group of 36 community members descended on Knockan Hill Park in View Royal with the Greater Victoria Green Team. The volunteers were there on Saturday morning as part of an environmental stewardship activity to restore habitats in the park by removing invasive plants.
Before they got down to work, they were taught how to recognize the invasive plants and the importance of removing them to help improve the park’s biodiversity. The group of 36 volunteers then got to work and contributed 115 volunteer hours removing English ivy, bur chervil, daphne, and Himalayan blackberry from the park. For 19 of the volunteers, it was the first time they had ever even visited Knockan Hill Park, and for 12 of the volunteers it was their first time removing invasive plants.
Bur chervil in particular had been causing trouble at the park as it grows and spreads quickly through its sticky burrs. Another fast-growing spreader is English ivy which tends to grow on top of trees and shrubs, blocking light and competing for water with those plants.
Knockan Hill Park is an important refuge for urban wildlife and pollinators, and the work put in by these volunteers will help maintain a healthy habitat in the park for them.
The Greater Victoria Green Team is a program run by the Green Teams of Canada charity. This was one of two activities it had planned. The next day, Sunday, April 2, another 33 community members removed invasive daphne, Scotch broom, periwinkle, English ivy, and Himalayan blackberry from UVic’s Queenswood campus.
Over the course of the full weekend, 40 cubic metres of invasive plants were removed, and more than 1,000 square metres of park land was revitalized in this kick off to Earth Month. These habitat restoration activities have kicked off a month full of events for the team.
On April 14 and 15, team members will be removing invasive species on the Gulf Islands, on April 19 they will be at Highrock Cairn Park in Esquimalt, and on April 23 they will be planting native shrubs at Ocean View Park in Colwood.
Around the 'Shore
🗳️ Green Party to announce Langford-Juan de Fuca candidate: Party leader Sonia Furstenau will make the announcement today in a press conference at 11:30am.
🚧 Traffic advisory on Highland Road: From April 3 to 14, expect delays on Monday to Friday between 8am and 3:30pm on Highland Road between Watkiss Way and Barker Road. Workers will be on site for pruning and falling of trees identified as hazardous. [View Royal]
🏦 Megson FitzPatrick is a local, employee-owned, independent insurance brokerage: They offer customized insurance and risk-management solutions to protect businesses and personal assets across the island.*
🚍 Accessibility concerns with new RapidBus: A Langford resident is flagging accessibility concerns with the new 95 Blink RapidBus that will be replacing the 50 Langford/Downtown route and will make fewer stops but run more frequently. [Saanich News]
🏡 Coastal Shores Window Cleaning has you covered! From pressure washing, moss removal, gutter cleaning, and window cleaning, Victoria’s best exterior cleaning company is the “clear” choice!*
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TOGETHER WITH ELIZA AT ROYAL BAY
The next phase is here
Following the great success of the first phase of ELIZA Condos in the Master-Planned community of Royal Bay—introducing ELIZA South. This second phase offers a full selection of 1-bedroom, 1-bedroom + den, and 2-bedroom suites.
ELIZA South is conveniently located steps from The Commons retail village, which is packed with amenities, including Quality Foods, Cascadia Liquor, and more! Surrounded by beautiful greenways entwined with biking and walking trails, It’s the perfect setting for the life you’ve always dreamed of.
Find out for yourself why so many others are calling ELIZA home and register today for more information.
Community Events
🎽 Westcoast Sooke 10K: The race will take place from 9-11:30am on Sunday, April 9. Register online.
🌼 Spring fair and artisans market: Shop for art, crafts, home goods, and more at this market running from April 8-9 from 10am to 4pm at Sooke Community Hall.
🥚 Colwood’s Easter egg hunt: The annual hunt will take place at Meadow Park from 11am to 2pm on Saturday, April 8. After the hunt, families can travel the trails of Royal Bay to Meadow Park Green to find more activities.
🐰 Sooke Easter egg hunt: Sooke will also be holding an egg hunt on Saturday, April 8 from 10am to 1pm at Ed Macgregor Park. There will also be face painting, colouring, balloons, and popcorn.
🍳 Easter brunch in Langford: Callisto at the Bear Mountain Resort will be holding an Easter brunch and egg painting contest on Sunday, April 9 from 10am to 2pm. RSVP online.
What’s Offshore?
No ships today!
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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CHERISH AT CENTRAL PARK
Are you ready to upgrade retirement life?
Consider Victoria’s premier independent living seniors residence, Cherish at Central Park, with an A++ location in the heart of Langford.
Stop by for a tour to see why Cherish sets the standard for excellent food with chef-prepared homemade meals. True community, carefree living is a phone call away.
Call today at 250-478-4431.
Westshore in your Words
As a senior and home owner in Langford, a double digit tax increase is unconscionable. Families cannot afford this kind of increase along with double digit increases in food along with all the other increases. With the amount of new buildings in Langford there should be enough in the fund to decrease that tax amount. — Judy C.
I am retired, fixed income. I support the new property tax increase. I have lived in Langford since 1988 and I still do not have a sidewalk. In spite of the rhetoric, the main beneficiaries of the previous council were the developers. I believe there will be a balance between development and quality of life in Langford. I voted for change and I am prepared to give this new council an opportunity to make that happen. — J.R.
I regret voting for Scott Goodmanson. He sounded hip, “with it”, by which I mean clad with common sense, and minimalistic. Instead fear drives him to hike property taxes. As in household finance planning, when the pot is depleted, you spend less, you do not scrape for more, only to have developers over bill you (us). You budget differently and you stretch your blanket to cover your toes. He is burning the blanket to buy a bigger one, at our expense, to keep his toes from freezing. — Anny R.
I support this necessary tax increase as it is way past time to stop the clearcutting of trees. Mayor Young has made deals with developers that will carry on for years. What will be left for future generations? I feel so sad for little children who will be struggling to survive on a planet without forests and clean drinking water due to our generations of greed and denial. They will live in a world with more extreme temperatures and wars over water and other resources. — BA Macdonald
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