Growing up in Surrey the City’s slogan was “City of Parks”, and did my siblings, friends and I ever take advantage of that! We had a park in our neighbourhood and it was home to after-school play, our first bike rides, games we invented on the old wooden playground (complete with chain-link bridges under which sharks and dragons lived), and hills that were perfect for rolling in the summer, and skipping down on toboggans in the winter.
All of these explorations, expeditions, and tumbles in the dandelion-woven grass were made in my local city park — a City Centre park — which is why I’m thrilled to team up with the TD Common Ground Project this summer to showcase the newest City Centre park in Surrey that will be available for generations to come.
Surrey’s Forsyth Park and New TD Nature Play Area
“Forsyth Park is right on the edge of Surrey City Centre, which is an area that is visioned as the next metropolitan area for Metro Vancouver,” says Ted Uhrich, Parks Planning Manager City of Surrey. “It will be experiencing a lot of growth over the next twenty, thirty years including the land use plans for Forsyth Park in the north east side of the community.”
About Forsyth Park
Forsyth Park has not been open to the public before, but that’s about to change thanks to a $500,000 grant from the TD Common Ground Project.
“Having TD come forward has allowed us to expedite the delivery of the park to residents in the area, which is great. It’s a really generous grant.”
“There were some trails through it because it’s right near an elementary school and people in the neighbourhood would traverse through but we hadn’t had any funding to develop a playground and other things in the park so it’s great to have the grant from TD.”
It’s is located between 108 Ave and 104 Ave, 140th St and 139th St. Construction is happening now along the south end of the 7.5 acre park and it is expected to be completed at the end of the summer, at which time it will open to all — including four-legged friends in the new off leash area!
Environmental Focus
A big focus of the TD Common Ground Project, and TD Friends of the Environment Foundation (TD FEF), is to have an environmental focus for play spaces and to bring the community together. The City of Surrey has planned the park with that in mind.
”What’s happened in the past is that playgrounds have become quite sterile with metal and set structures,” says Uhrich. “For us, as an urbanizing area, it’s great to have a more natural playground because even while we see the new density, we want kids and other park users to have more of a natural experience while they’re within an urban area. For us that’s a really important part of the delivery on this project.”
The TD Nature Play Area of the park will have natural materials, wood, boulders, and feature a water run that channels through the playground area.
“There’s a lot of opportunities for kids to not only play on what look like typical play structures like swings and slides, but there’s a lot of opportunity for them to play with what we call ‘loose parts’. Lots of logs and rocks, and stuff like that they’ll build what comes into their own imagination.”
Uhrich adds that Forsyth Park will also have a lot of play structures, a tower, a big long slide and will be made out of natural materials in general, and lots of wood.
The City of Surrey has recently developed a biodiversity conservation strategy, and Forsyth Park will play a part in that plan.
Uhrich says projects like this help the residents understand the importance of biodiversity and the protection of the environment. “There’s nothing like having children immersed in natural space, to engage with for the protection of the environment.”
The Surrey Nature Centre at Green Timbers will also be running programs at Forsyth Park in the future.
The TD Common Ground Project
Surrey’s Forsyth Park is a flagship project of the TD Common Ground Project, where TD is supporting 150+ grassroots initiatives in recognition of Canada’s 150th birthday.
For more information, follow TD Canada on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and the tag #TDCommonGround to learn more about this initiative and to find out when Forsyth Park will be ready for play.
Being a city surrounded by waterways, bridges are an important part of our history. Did you know we’ve had three Cambie Bridges over the last 100+ years? We’ve also had two iterations of the Knight Street Bridge, two Port Manns, and just one Pattullo. There have also been three Granville Street Bridges, which are the focus of today’s photo feature (with references thanks to the History of Metropolitan Vancouver):
First Granville Street Bridge 1889
Mayor David Oppenheimer presided over the January 4th opening of the first Granville Street bridge. This first modest wooden span was 2,400 feet long and cost $16,000 to build. Before the year was out electric streetcars would be crossing the bridge.1
1890. House with Granville Street Bridge and old C.P.R. Bridge in background. Archives# CVA 256-01.23.
This weekend is the end of BC Youth Week, which culminates with dozens of activities for youth around the province including the free Surrey Youth Showcase on Saturday. It’s also the BMO Vancouver Marathon, with a festival, a free health expo, and more satellite events. View the full list of things to do in Vancouver this weekend below:
Brought you by the free Health & Sports Expo, May 4-6,
and BMO Vancouver Marathon, May 7, 2017
Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend
Events that run for longer than three days in a row are highlighted in green.
Never miss my TOP PICKS for events in Vancouver! Receive this event list right to your email inbox by signing up for the Miss604 Weekly Events Newsletter below:
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by Guest AuthorDisclosure: Sponsored Post — Posted in Partnership with Explore Coquitlam. Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
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If you were raised in Canada, chances are your childhood photo album includes a snapshot of your younger self holding up a trout to the camera. Fishing in the lakes is about as Canadian as wearing toques and watching hockey. And in Coquitlam, reeling in a trout has never been easier.
Coquitlam Fishing Guide
Did you know that you can step off the SkyTrain at Lafarge Lake-Douglas SkyTrain station, fishing rod in hand, and cast a line into the water?
Right now, the fish are biting. Both Lafarge and Como lakes were recently stocked with 1,000 rainbow trout each, and the months of May/June are among the best for trout fishing.
Como Lake can also be reached by transit and has easy shore access, with a loop trail for finding a quiet spot. Spin casting, bait fishing and fly fishing are all options at both lakes.
Free & Fun Fishing Events
Como Lake Fishing Derby (May 28): Free, family-oriented fun for kids under age 16 at Como Lake, with prizes awarded for a variety of catches.
Lafarge Lake Annual Free Fishing Day (June 18): Fishy fun and prizes during BC’s free fishing weekend, when anglers can fish BC’s waters without a licence. The lake is stocked in the morning.
Learn to Fish (May-June): The City of Coquitlam offers free Learn 2 Fish events for kids age 5-17 in partnership with the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC. For more info, see pages 17-18 in Coquitlam’s spring recreation guide.
What Do You Need to Start?
BC freshwater sport fishing licences are required for recreational lake fishing for age 16 and over. You can purchase them online through the government of BC website (just $10 for the day for British Columbians). Note: Coquitlam is also known for salmon fishing, which requires a different licence. For more information, read pages 24-25 in the 2017 Coquitlam Travel & Experience Guide, available online
Rod, reel, line, hook, weight, bait/flies
Tackle box
Appropriate clothing: boots, sun hat, etc.
More May Events You Don’t Want to Miss!
International Migratory Bird Day (May 13): Head to Colony Farm Regional Park between 1:00pm and 4:00pm for displays, children’s activities and an introductory bird walk at 2:30pm. Meet in front of the community gardens, end of Colony Farm Rd.
Victoria Day Long Weekend (May 20-22): Looking for ideas to entertain yourself, your kids or your guests? From the Lower Mainland’s largest indoor climbing wall to some of the region’s best playgrounds, you’ll find it in Coquitlam’s Travel Guide.
Fraser Valley Food Truck Festival (May 27): Hungry? Feast your eyes on this foodie frenzy on Burlington Drive next to Coquitlam City Hall from 11:00am to 5:00pm.
Family Fun Day at Place Maillardville
Family Fun Day (May 27): Free fun from 10:00am to 1:00pm at Place Maillardville, featuring Bobs and LoLo, crafts, Tumblebus, face painting and a fire truck!
MEC Vancouver Century Ride (May 28): Choose between a 50km or 100km ride that takes you through Coquitlam’s scenic countryside.
Explore and Share
Pick up your copy of the Coquitlam 2017 Travel & Adventure Guide at any City facility, or read it online, and share your photos online using #explorecoquitlam.
The Museum of Anthropology (“MOA”) at UBC presents Traces of Words: Art and Calligraphy from Asia on display May 11 – October 9, 2017. Honouring the special significance that written forms hold across many diverse cultures in Asia, the multimedia exhibition will examine how artists have reinterpreted written words as visual expressions.
Traces of Words: Art and Calligraphy from Asia
Where: Museum of Anthropology (UBC, 6393 NW Marine Drive) When: May 11 – October 9, 2017
From Sumerian cuneiform inscriptions and Qu’ranic manuscripts, to Afghan graffiti and digital creations from Japan, the texts in many styles represent physical traces of time and space, evoking the ephemeral and eternal.
Traces of Words will take place in the Audain Gallery at MOA where contemporary artworks and Islamic calligraphic works from the Aga Khan Museum will be shared. Other supplementary exhibitions include highlights from the museum’s Asian collection displayed in MOA’s Multiversity Galleries; and throughout the month of May, a satellite exhibition at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC will display Asian materials from the UBC Library Collections.
The combined exhibition represents an enormous diversity of calligraphy, painting, digital and mixed media works. Through paper, silk, clay, woodblock and digital projections, Traces of Words invites visitors to experience and sense the works, and gain an appreciation for the cultural significance of Asian writing beyond reading and writing.
The exhibition is expertly curated by socio-cultural anthropologist Dr. Fuyubi Nakamura, who joined MOA as its Curator for Asia in April 2014. She specializes in the anthropology of art, museum studies and the material and visual cultures, especially of Asia.
Sisyu + teamLab, What a Loving, and Beautiful World, 2011
Interactive digital installation calligraphy by Sisyu, sound by Hideaki Takahashi
Courtesy of the artists and Pace Gallery
[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win @Moa_ubc passes for Traces of Words: Art and Calligraphy from Asia http://owl.li/evI930brFGR” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, May 9, 2017. Follow MOA on Twitter and Facebook for more information about this exhibition and more.
All of these explorations, expeditions, and tumbles in the dandelion-woven grass were made in my local city park — a City Centre park — which is why I’m thrilled to team up with the TD Common Ground Project this summer to showcase the newest City Centre park in Surrey that will be available for generations to come.
