Past Accomplishments

 

Issues for 2021

This is a list of the issues we planned to address during 2021.

Issues for 2021

Accomplishments, 2010-2020

We have put together a brief list of the main accomplishments of the FCA during the past ten years.

List of accomplishments

Tannis Warburton Memorial Plaque, March, 2020

Family, friends and Falaise residents gathered at Falaise Park on the sunny afternoon of March 8th to unveil a plaque in memory of Tannis Warburton.
A long time resident of Falaise Cr., Tannis was a gifted artist and enthusiastic advocate for protecting the Park. She was well known in the arts community for her lovely watercolour paintings of B.C. native flowers and plants. She discovered the very rare Yellow Montane Violet growing in the park and was responsible for alerting the Environment Ministry.
At the unveiling, her daughter, Betty, gave a eulogy and recounted the fun times she and her siblings enjoyed playing in the Park in the 1960s. A display of some of the wildflower watercolors was set up.
The plaque is installed on a new bench at the top of the Park near where Tannis used to sit and paint. For Tannis, Falaise Park was a special place and she would be pleased to see how the Park is being taken care of today by our dedicated group of volunteers.
Park Steward, Stuart Macpherson, shepherded the application for the plaque through Saanich Parks on behalf of the Warburton family. The cost of the plaque was borne by the family.


Falaise Park Planting Day, Spring 2020

Another step forward in reintroducing native plants into Falaise Park was made on Saturday March 7. A hard working group of eight dedicated volunteers (see below) eagerly put some 45 native plants in the ground. These included Garry oak seedlings, Indian plum, Ocean spray, Red flowering currant, Red elderberry, Tall Oregon grape and sword ferns. They were placed in various locations around the park.
Many of them are flowering plants that will be attractive to the bees as well as nectar feeders such as hummingbirds. Protective cages are to be placed to protect them from deer browsing. Saanich Parks will place them in its watering schedule for the coming summer months.
Providing the plants survive the attention of the itinerant inquisitive deer, they will help in restoring the natural Garry oak ecosystem of the Park.

Stuart Macpherson
Falaise Park steward


Family Day Event, February 17, 2020

The second annual Family Day event was held at the Women’s Institute Hall on West Saanich Road from 2 to 4 p.m. on Monday, February 17th. This year, Gary Weeks decorated the hall and arranged for the Country Cousins square dance caller, Kirk Rockerbie, to attend. In addition to square dancers from within the Falaise community, several other members of the Country Cousins made a surprise appearance. Kirk called several dances with the trained dancers and then invited everyone else to join in. Several of the young girls were excited by the chance to participate.

Just like last year, there was coffee, drinks, snacks, games and kids activities, including a paint station and play area. Here are a few pictures from the event:


The Summer Picnic of 2019

The annual summer picnic was held on the afternoon of September 15th in Falaise Park. Because rain was predicted, several volunteers erected tents and tarpaulins to help keep the food and guests dry. In fact, the sun came out for most of the event and the rain protection was only tested for one shower. Despite the weather, between 50 and 60 residents and a number of children attended the picnic. There was a wide selection of food, including vegetarian choices.

We were pleased that Councillors Taylor and Mersereau were able to attend and meet with some of their constituents. Thrifty Food at Broadmead Mall provided us with a generous gift card that was used to purchase food while Thrifty Food at Saanichton provided us with two tents. Their support for the local community is greatly appreciated.

Garage Sale of 2019

The annual garage sale was held on Saturday, May 11th. The weather was good and approximately fifteen homes participated. The notice was posted on our website, on Facebook, on UsedVictoria and Kijiji. For those who registered, their location was posted on a map of the community to make it easier for visitors to get around to all the homes.


Family Day Event, February 18, 2019

A Family Day event was held at the Women’s Institute Hall on West Saanich Road. There was coffee, drinks, snacks, games and kids activities, including a paint station and play area. Our local Starbucks at Broadmead Mall provided free coffee. There were several draws for door prizes. Here are a few pictures from the event:

New logo

In the spring of 2018 we put out a call for designs for a new logo for the Falaise Community Association. This is what it said:



The Falaise Community Association has had two different logos over the years. Some of our members have suggested that it is time to update our logo again; our current logo is “clip art” and so not truly ours.

We have asked for your ideas for a new logo in the past but not had any response. Maybe that means nobody really cares – or maybe it means we need to offer an incentive? So here is the incentive: Design us a new logo. We’ll post all submissions on our website and display them at our neighbourhood picnic in September. Members will then be asked to vote for the one(s) they like best. If there is a clear winner we will adopt that logo and the designer will receive a cheque for $200.

We know that designing a logo can be a lot of work, so don’t worry about making it perfect to begin with. If you win, then we will ask that you fine tune it.

Please submit your logo designs by September 1st, 2018 to Carl Ross at webmaster@falaise.ca.



Three new designs were submitted and those attending the annual picnic were asked to vote on the submissions. Altogether, there were four choices because one option was to keep the existing logo. The voting was overwhelming in favour of one particular design and this is it:

As promised, the winning entry will receive a cheque for $200. The designer has asked that her winnings be donated to the Maasai Conservation Fund.


September 16, 2018: Falaise Park restoration work party

Six volunteers spent a couple of hours on Sunday morning to continue the effort of removing invasive species from the park. These photos give a sense of their accomplishments.

Invasive vegetation at the roadside, ready for pickup by Saanich Parks

Bob Lucy, President of the FCA, and Stuart Macpherson, Park Steward, weeding ivy and periwinkle shoots from the mulched area opposite the playground.

Another swath of periwinkle and ivy removed beside the fence line.































The Summer Picnic of 2018

The annual summer picnic was held in Falaise Park in the afternoon of September 9th. Although the weather was not perfect, with showers on and off, a total of 57 adults and 17 children attended the event. Guests enjoyed a wide selection of food, including barbecued hot dogs with fried onions, samosas, various wraps, chips, squares and cookies. A clown, The Great Odini, entertained the children with juggling, twisting balloons and magic. Bob Lucy’s  beehive with glass windows was a hit with both kids and adults. Mayor Atwell, who lives in the Falaise community, welcomed everyone to the picnic.

Thrifty Foods (Broadmead) provided a generous gift certificate and loaned us a tent that helped keep everyone dry. Several volunteers were crucial to the success of the event. Stew Vinnels provided several tables; Chris Nelson transported Mac Nanton’s barbeque to and from the event; Kyla Shauer’s family helped with serving the food and taking photos.

Background material regarding the FCA constitution

Changes to the BC Societies Act required some changes to how community associations are organized and report on their affairs. Rather than modify the existing constitution to reflect these changes the Executive decided it would be easier and more transparent to draft a new version. A draft of the new constitution is included below:

Proposed new constitution and bylaws

Meetings were held in June, 2018 to vote on the new constitution. The membership approved the constitution, subject to one amendment and the correction of some typographical errors. The final version is now registered with the BC government.

We have prepared a document that gives an overview of why the constitution needed to be changed and the key differences between the old and new. We have also annotated the existing constitution to show in more detail how the two documents differ.

Annotated Constitution and Bylaws

June 2018 Meetings Regarding the New Constitution

The Start of Summer Party and Special General Meeting was held at 7:15 pm on June 13, 2018 in Kyla Shauer’s back yard. Twenty three Association members attended and enjoyed an extensive selection of treats, including vegetables, fruits, cookies, cheese, crackers, potato chips and lemonade.

The objective of the special meeting was to vote on the new constitution for the FCA. Unfortunately, the number attending did not constitute a quorum so no vote could be held. After the official meeting was adjourned, Stuart gave a presentation on the work being done to control invasive species in Falaise Park and Mac discussed the development of 855 Falaise Cres.

The FCA constitution stipulates that when a quorum isn’t present at a general meeting, the meeting can be convened one week later at which a quorum is defined as the number of members present.

The second meeting was held on June 20 at 7:15 pm in Kyla’s back yard. This time, eighteen members attended. The existing constitution required that at least 75% of those present, or 14 members, must vote in favour for the constitution to be adopted. Two versions of the constitution were drafted: one in which membership is restricted to residents only; and a second in which businesses could also be members. Mac introduced a motion that the new constitution, with membership restricted to residents only, be adopted. The floor was then opened to discussion and an amendment was proposed that required a clearer definition of the region represented by the FCA. Furthermore, it was agreed that various typographical issues be corrected. The amended motion passed, with sixteen members voting in favour and two abstentions.

June 14, 2018: Falaise Park restoration work party

Cleared area beside the fence, after spreading mulch

A group of four hard working volunteers continued clearing the invasive ground cover near the playground. Some very large blackberry root stubs were excavated. More invasive (and poisonous) Daphne plants were discovered and pulled from along the fence line. Such a small group accomplished a lot.










May 31, 2018: Falaise Park restoration work party

Brush removed

Blackberry roots

Another work party was completed at Falaise Park on May 31. Five enthusiastic volunteers showed up to continue pulling out invasive plants in the park. A mat of English ivy and periwinkle was removed along the side fence and a start was made in spreading compost mulch on the cleared area. The area is scheduled to be planted with native species this fall. Also a start was made in digging out blackberry by roots along the topside of the play ground.





May 27, 2018: Presentation by Fair Vote Canada

Several residents from the Falaise, Broadmead and Royal Oak communities attended a presentation by Fair Vote Canada on Sunday afternoon. McCall Gardens made their meeting room available for the event and assisted with the PowerPoint presentation. The objective of the meeting was to help residents decide on how to vote on the referendum that will be held this fall. The pros and cons of various voting systems were discussed and it was pointed out that most democracies now use some form of proportional representation.

May 26, 2018: Community Garage Sale

Approximately fifteen residents of the Falaise community participated in the annual garage sale on Saturday morning. Participants who contacted our director, Kyla Shauer, had the location of their house noted on a map that was part of the advertising literature. An unofficial survey about half way through the event indicated that most houses had several visitors stopping by. A lemonade stand was set up near Falaise Park to take advantage of the extra traffic on the crescent.

March 29, 2018: Falaise Park restoration work party

A work party was held on March 29th to begin the process of pulling out the invasive plants that have been slowly taking over and displacing the native vegetation of Falaise Park. A crew of seven keen volunteers showed up and a good start was made in clearing away the blackberry bushes and English ivy near the playground. The work is being carried out under the auspices of Saanich Parks volunteer Pulling Together Program. Parks has appointed local resident and FCA director, Stuart Macpherson, as the volunteer Park Steward. Stuart has prepared a Park Restoration Plan with the objective of stopping the spread of invasive plants and restoring the Park’s vegetation to its natural state as a Garry Oak meadow ecosystem. Planting of native trees and shrubs is to follow as the invasive species are removed.

Canada’s 150th birthday celebration

The summer picnic of 2017 included a celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday. The flyer lists the invited speakers for the event.