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The Fernwood Community Association (FCA) plays an active role in Fernwood land use and development issues. We act as a liaison between the Fernwood community and the City of Victoria.

The Fernwood Community Association operates from a heritage building at 1923 Fernwood Road. We occupy a small front office on the main floor and the rest of the building including the Main Hall ("Little Fernwood") and a boardroom are available for rental and community activities. Groups using this hall include Theatre Inconnu, Pandora Arts Collective, Good Food Box program, Cafe Sympatico, Power of Hope along with several recovery support groups and one-off community rentals for events, art shows, independent theatre groups, meetings and celebrations.

Radio FCA has interviews and recordings of people and events relevant to the Fernwood community.

We also operate two Community Allotment Gardens in Fernwood, one of which we share with the Victoria Compost Education Centre, once a project of the FCA and now a successful independent organization in its own right. Just down the road is Spring Ridge Common, a "Heritage Vacant Lot," once the site of the Spring Ridge School from 1888 to 1968 another project that the FCA started, and then handed off to LifeCycles.

City of Victoria, Children's Museum, and FCA Celebrate Tree Appreciation Day at Stadacona Park

Above, David Speed of Parks Department talks to volunteers about the planting project on November 1. The City, with FCA support, secured a Trees for Tomorrow grant, which allowed the purchase of 140 trees and 200 shrubs for the Fernwood and Jubilee areas.

Lots of kids came out to help plant. In total, 40 of the trees will go into Stadacona Park. The kids got to learn planting from the pros at City Parks Department. The folks from the Children's Museum were also supporters of the project. That still-unhoused project needs a home itself.

FCA Member Bill Goers received a 2009 World Water Day Award at our the Greater Victoria Water Watch Coalition "Toast to Tapwater" event. The story below is copied from their site.

Statement in the House of Commons on World Water Day

Bill Goers and the Fernwood Community Well Project
by Denise Savoie, MP for Victoria. Tue 24 Mar 2009

Ms. Denise Savoie (Victoria, NDP):

"Mr. Speaker, today I congratulate Bill Goers, recipient of the fourth Annual World Water Day Award. Bill was recognized at Victoria's Toast to Tapwater event for bringing back to life Fernwood's Springridge Community Well, one of the first public springs to be protected in B.C. in the 1800s.

Through this toast to public water Bill and the Greater Victoria Water Watch Coalition want government to understand that public water is critical to our collective future.

They ask that the federal government show leadership on the global stage and recognize water as a human right, that Ottawa address the lack of clean water in First Nations communities, wanton waste of water in tar sands development, unsustainable escalation of the bottled water industry and the alarming pressure for privatization of our dwindling fresh water resources."

Since the dedication of the well, the Fernwood Community Association passed the following motion:

"The Fernwood Community Association supports and commends the United Nation for is assertion that useable water is a public right, and for its appointment of Canadian, Maude Barlow, an advocate for Public Water, as senior advisor for water issues."

We are proud of the UN and its initiative for non commodified public water, and for recognizing a Canadian as the best person to carry this agenda forward.

We invite and encourage all of our Neighborhood Associations to pass similar motions.

Our intention is that our city council will, with the encouragement of the Neighborhood Associations, pass this motion as well."

 

 

Strong neighbourhoods build strong cities.

 

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Renovation Under Way

The extensive safety upgrade to the FCA Building is in progress. The contractors indicate that if all goes as planned, the work should be complete by December 10.
(October 27)

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FCA Office Closed For Renovations

For the time being, due to the extensive renovation project going on at the FCA, the office is closed. As soon as the office becomes available after construction has moved on to other areas, the new hours will be:
Mon: Closed
Tue: Closed
Wed: 11:00am-3:00pm
Thu: 11:00am-3:00pm
Fri: 11:00am-3:00pm
Sat: Closed
Sun: Closed
(October 24)

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Fernwood eNews

To get the plain text edition sent to your mailbox, subscribe here.
(April 20)

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Flickr Fernwood Group

If you're a Fernwood photographer, think about making a photo contribution or two to the Flickr Fernwood Group. You can run a great slideshow of all the submissions, if you're more interested in just looking at the photos.
(November 3)

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Fernwood in the TC

Read the Times Colonist's take on Fernwood here. (from Joanne Hatherly's neighbourhoods series)

There's also an audio slide-show interviewing Chandler McMurray-Ives on her perspective of the hood.
(April 15)

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FCA Signs Poverty Reduction Plan Letter to All 3 Provincial Parties

Learn more about this critical issue at BCPovertyreduction.ca and please consider signing the petition yourself.

Radio FCA recorded Seth Klein, of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives on Feb. 28, 2009.
(March 12)

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#22 Bus Saved For Now

According to this quote from the BC Transit site, the Fernwood bus is safe for the time being.

"Initially, consideration was given to making changes to #22 Vic General/Hillside Mall. Due to community concerns, no changes will be made if the Bay Street route will be implemented."

More info on the proposed changes is on the BC Transit site.
(February 20)