Family Day Event, Monday, February 17th, 2025
We are planning a Family Day event in the Sequoia Centre of McCall Gardens from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on February 17th. There will be entertainment for the kids as well as treats and drinks.
Calendar for 2025
This calendar gives a summary of the monthly activities that will be addressed by the FCA Board of Directors.
Family Day Event, Monday, February 19th, 2024
We are planning a Family Day event in the Sequoia Centre of McCall Gardens from 2 to 4 p.m. on February 19th. There will be entertainment for the kids as well as treats and drinks.
Calendar and Focus Points for 2024
This calendar gives a summary of the monthly activities that will be addressed by the FCA Board of Directors.
This document is a list of the main challenges that the FCA Board plans to address in 2024.
Annual AGM, Thursday, November 30th, 2023
The annual FCA AGM will be held in the Cedar Room at Commonwealth Place at 7 p.m. on November 30th, 2023. This flyer gives more details.
Annual Garage Sale, Saturday, May 13th, 2023
The annual garage sale will be held on Saturday, May 13th, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This flyer gives more details. The following map shows the houses that are participating (blue pins).
Family Day Event, Monday, February 20th, 2023
We are planning a Family Day event in the Sequoia Centre of McCall Gardens from 2 to 4 p.m. on February 20th. Additional details are in the flyer.
Annual Fall Picnic in the Park, September 11th, 2022
COVID led to the cancellation of the annual fall picnic for the last two years. We hope to get back on track this year and the picnic is scheduled for September 11th, 2022, starting at 2 p.m. This flyer gives additional details. There will be food, entertainment for the kids and visits by some local dignitaries. Because of space requirements, the picnic will be held near the west entrance, not by the playground.
Painting the Falaise Cr. Road Mural, August 13th, 2022
The first road mural in Saanich will be painted on Falaise Cr. on August 13th, 2022. Falaise Cr. will be closed opposite the playground entrance from approximately 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Road closure signs and barriers will be placed in front of the playground access area. We will have traffic controllers in safety vests monitoring the closure all day. We anticipate minimal inconvenience to residents as access to driveways either side of the closed road section will be available from Falaise Dr. or Royal Oak Dr.
At 2:00 p.m. the community is invited to gather at the playground to view the mural from over the fence. Light refreshments will be served.
Both the Honorable Lana Popham and Mayor Haynes have been invited to attend and mingle with residents and view the freshly painted mural.
We invite any children who are interested in participating in the painting to attend. The artist has created acorn stencils that the children can paint with adult supervision. Please wear appropriate painting clothing. If your children or grandchildren are interested in this activity, please contact Stuart Macpherson at 250-415-1739 so that arrangements can be made.
Mural design:
Garage Sale and Spring Celebration, 2022
The annual garage sale will be held on Saturday, May 14th, for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Later in the day, at 4 p.m., we will have a BBQ in the Park. See the flyer for additional details.
FCA Calendar for 2022
The FCA Board has prepared a calendar that summarizes the events or tasks that we expect to complete during 2022.
AGM for 2021
The annual general meeting for 2021 will be held at 7 p.m. on November 17th. It can be attended in person or by Zoom. Additional details are available in the following two documents:
Instructions for connecting by Zoom
BARA is organizing an all-candidates meeting for the up-coming federal election and they have asked the FCA to join by submitting questions for the candidates. The meeting will be held on September 16th and the video of the meeting will be available on the 17th. We will post a link on the FCA website.
The rules for submitting questions are given in this document.
Normally, the FCA garage sale is in May. Because of COVID-19 we postponed it until the fall. The garage sale this year will be on Saturday, September 11th, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The FCA will advertize the event and put up road signs but each homeowner is responsible for their own sale. Fourteen residents have registered for the sale and the locations of their properties are shown on this map:
Because of COVID-19, we have decided that it may not be safe to meet in person for the AGM. Instead, we are planning to have a virtual AGM using the video conferencing tool, Zoom.
Because of the pandemic, the B.C. government has provided guidance for societies to hold virtual meetings, even though their bylaws may state otherwise.
We have put together some instructions for using Zoom. In most cases, connecting is easy. However, if you would like to test your connection before the meeting, send an email to Bob Lucy.
Natural Saanich is a program to replace the Environmental Development Permit Area (EDPA) bylaw. For some background, see this article:
https://www.saanichnews.com/news/saanich-councillor-continues-to-oppose-edpa-replacement/
The FCA President has received the following email regarding a special Council meeting on the subject:
This email is confirmation that the following items will be considered by Saanich Council at a Special Council meeting to be held on Tuesday, October 29, 2019, in Council Chambers, Saanich Municipal Hall, 770 Vernon Avenue, commencing at 7:00 p.m.
- Draft terms of reference – “Natural Saanich” technical committee
- “Natural Saanich” Proposed interim measures – Implications, administrative costs, and likely effectiveness
- “Natural Saanich” Environmental policy framework – expedited work plan
You are invited to attend the meeting and make representation to Council on the matter if you so choose. Written correspondence received up to 12:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting will be copied to Council for their consideration. Correspondence should be sent to council@saanich.ca. All correspondence submitted to the District of Saanich in response to our notification of meeting, will form part of the public record.
Redevelopment of Fire Station 2
Council has approved the business case for the redevelopment of fire station 2 at 4595 Elk Lake Dr. This is a portion of an email sent to the FCA President:
As you may be aware, Council approved the Business Case for the project on May 27. Since that date, project design development has continued between staff, the design team as well as reviews with BC Transit and Ministry of Transportation. The proposed improvements on the site and in particular on the Royal Oak Dr. frontage has advanced along with the building design. Your community association’s membership should be aware of the following dates should they wish to view the materials and discuss with staff.
- Thursday, October 24, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, Saanich Commonwealth Place, 4636 Elk Lake Drive, Douglas Fir Room
- Monday, October 28, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, Fire Station #2, 4595 Elk Lake Drive
There will be a follow up consultation with the public late November prior to the project being submitted to Planning for Development and Re-zoning Permits in December.
Falaise Park work parties for fall, 2019
Stuart Macpherson, our park steward, is starting the fall work parties on September 26th from 10 am until noon. They will continue every Thursday for a month. Initial tasks include weeding, removing invasive species and preparing a planting bed.
If you want additional details, you can contact Stuart at 250-415-1739.
Tree Love Town Hall, Saturday, April 27th, 2019
Saanich Councillor, Nathalie Chambers, suggested the idea of a Town Hall where experts could discuss the urban forest. The following poster gives an overview of the event.
Poster for the Tree Love Town Hall
The event will be held at the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific at 505 Quayle Rd. In addition to several formal presentations, listed below, the facilitator will call for questions and comments from the audience.
Facilitator: BOB YATES, Yates, Thorn & Associates
SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
STUART MACPHERSON, Falaise Community Association
NATHALIE CHAMBERS, Saanich Councillor
Tiffany Joseph, SENĆOŦEN Language and Cultural Revitalist
“Ecosystems as our relatives”
FRANCES LITMAN, Community Trees Matter Network
“Trees Please – Why We Need Trees”
RON CARTER, Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society
“Infrastructure of a Different Colour: Green”
JAMES MISKELLY, Biologist, Saanich Native Plants
“Ecological values of Garry oak and other Native Trees”
Refreshments provided.
Donations gratefully accepted at the event.
Please RSVP treelove@falaise.ca if you plan to attend.
Falaise Park work party, Saturday, April 6th, 2019
When: Saturday, April 6, 2019, 10 am to12 noon
Where: Meet at the playground
We are continuing our work to remove ivy and blackberry from our park.
We will be weeding under the trees and digging out blackberry roots in the back corner.
New volunteers are always welcome. We hope you can join us.
Bring: gloves, pruners , hand rakes.
Other tools and refreshments are provided.
We also need mattocks for digging out those tenacious blackberry roots if you have one.
No previous experience required.
Questions: contact volunteer Lead Steward, Stuart at 250-415-1739
BC Heritage Week, February 18-24, 2019
Saanich is presenting two free talks as described in this flyer:
Heritage Week 2019 Saanich Talks
Falaise Park work party, Thursday, January 31, 2019
Our first work party for 2019 is slated for Thursday, January 31 from 10 am to noon.
As mentioned in the last newsletter our native trees and shrubs order has arrived and a Saanich Parks crew will be planting them during the Work Party.
If you can spare a little time that morning to lend a hand with your spade it will be appreciated!
If time permits, we also plan to remove scattered English ivy , small Daphne and blackberry under the trees by the roadside. This is light work – please bring your hand tools and gloves. Hope to see you there. ( weather permitting ! )
Questions : call Stuart at 250 415 1739.
Family Day social event, Monday February 18, 2019
We’re kicking off the year with a Family Day Social Event! This is a great opportunity for young families to come out and meet each other and for everyone in the community to connect.
It is a free event at the Women’s Institute Hall (4516 W Saanich Rd) from 2 to 4 pm on Family Day February 18th. We will have snacks and drinks and activities for both kids and adults. There will also be a play area for smaller kids. To help protect the floors please bring indoor shoes to wear. There is parking available for several cars, and we can arrange to drive those who may not be able to get to the hall. If you have any suggestions, or would like to help out, please contact us at info@falaise.ca.
This is the schedule of the Saanich Emergency Program for 2019:
Work on improving Falaise Park will continue on Saturday, November 17th from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Join us in the park to pull invasive weeds, spread mulch and bond with your neighbours. Tools will be provided and refreshments will be served.
For more details, contact Stuart Macpherson at 250- 415-1739.
Annual General Meeting, Saturday, November 3, 2018.
The AGM will be held on Saturday, November 3, 2018, from 7 to 9 pm, in the Fireside Room at the Gateway Baptist Church. The church is located at 898 Royal Oak Ave and anyone needing a ride to the meeting can contact the FCA President at president@falaise.ca. One of the objectives of the meeting is to elect the directors who will serve for 2019. Ideally, six directors will be elected, although the constitution allows for a minimum of three. At their first meeting, the directors will elect from among themselves a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and Registrar.
In addition to the normal business, the AGM will feature a guest speaker. Mike Meagher of the Garry Oak Preservation Society has agreed to speak about their efforts to preserve the Garry Oak ecosystems in Canada. He is also prepared to answer questions from the audience.