Hello there!

As the year begins to wind down, today we have a few stories about local initiatives to help out the region's habitat and its inhabitants.

Thank you for all your contest submissions last week, and congratulations to the winners. We'll have a full roundup of some of the best seasonal photos in an upcoming newsletter. We’re also hoping to run another photo contest this month—and if you’re an organization or business that would like to provide a prize for future contests, please send us an email.

— Cam

NEWS

New study tracks orphaned Westshore raccoons after release

A Royal Roads student is collaborating with Metchosin's SPCA-run Wild ARC animal centre to see what happens to 9 orphaned raccoons once released. In a 6-month project overseen by wildlife veterinarian Dr. Adam Hering, the juvenile raccoons received GPS/radio collars and were released in areas around Greater Victoria. After the half-year, the collars will automatically fall off of the growing young raccoons.

The master's student's study aims to find out where the released juveniles go, whether they live, and how they die. So far, Wild ARC says that one raccoon escaped its collar, one was killed by a predator, and another was caught and released by a pest-control company.

This century there have only been 3 similar studies in North America on the release of raccoons raised in rehabilitation centres, according to Wallis Moore Reid, the senior wildlife rehabilitator with Wild ARC. The organization raises some 80 orphaned raccoons per year, and releases them in the fall (about the same time that juveniles would leave their mothers in the wild). The centre hopes to gain more insight into what it can do during raising and release to help improve their survival odds.

Although raccoons are familiar critters in the urban environment, juveniles are still learning the roles of navigating it—especially when they have been raised mainly in a controlled environment. Wild ARC says that locals can also play a major role in making things safer for the raccoons and other wildlife, by securing any potential food sources such as compost and garbage.

Accessible food in residential areas has been partly blamed for the death of a mother bear in Sooke this fall. There have been no recent updates on her trio of cubs, which conservation officers hope to bring to an animal recovery centre—so that they can safely recuperate just as the young raccoons have.

Watch a video here of the raccoons climbing and playing as they get used to the tracking collars.

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NEWS

194 bathtubs of brush: Green Team wraps year with Colwood cleanup

In its final group activity of the year, the local initiative says that it removed nearly 200 bathtubs’ worth of invasive vegetation from Colwood Creek Park. The volunteer event on Saturday was mainly targeting Himalayan Blackberry; locals of all ages together cleared some 31 cubic metres of tangled brush that often undermines local species.

The Greater Victoria Green Team has marked a decade in operation this year. It was created in 2014 as a branch of the charity Green Teams of Canada, with a goal of creating education, volunteer, and connection opportunities for residents across Greater Victoria.

Part of the group's purpose is to show to people that they can have a tangible local effect on environmental issues, which can seem like an overwhelming problem to many people. It mainly targets invasive species, running group events in which people get together to remove non-native overgrowth in local parks and can admire their handiwork after a day of brush-clearing.

“By connecting people with nature, fostering social bonds, and empowering them to make tangible changes in their environment, we’re creating ripple effects that extend far beyond the day's activity,” said Kaitlin Warren, the team's program manager.

Warren also told The Westshore this summer that not only is the removal of invasive species a good form of exercise and education, but it’s a great way to build teamwork skills and have friendly competitions to see who can “pull the biggest root.”

This event was funded through a model in which a municipality (or other organization) provides the Green Team with funding for restoration work and the Green Team finds and coordinates volunteers to carry out the physical task.

Locals can join the group or email [email protected] to get involved in events in the new year.

Around the 'Shore

🏉 Langford-based national women’s rugby team finished 5th in South Africa 
In the latest international Sevens tournament, the locals on Team Canada opened with a comfortable win over Brazil but lost to Australia—relegating them to Day 2’s competition for 5th place. On Sunday, the locals beat both Great Britain and Japan to claim that consolation prize as they wind down what has been their most successful year ever—thanks to an Olympic silver in the summer. [Rugby Canada]

🎒 Sooke School District seeks input on 2025-29 Strategic Plan: SD62 has consulted students, principals, parents, and partner groups—now it wants to hear from the public in general, until Dec. 17.

🔎 Missing teen: Chloe Hunt, 15, was last seen in Colwood Dec. 8. [RCMP]

⚽️ Pacific FC loses second-longest-tenured player: The Langford-based soccer club announced the departure of Thomas “TMG" Meilleur-Giguère, who played 120 matches for the team including the 2021 championship win. In other PFC news, goalie Emil Gazdov was named to the league's “Best XI" (i.e. all-stars) along with ex-PFC midfielder Alessandro Hojabrpour.

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Community Events

💐 Public memorial service for John Horgan will be this Sunday at the Q Centre. Tickets are now available, online only.

☕ Coffee with the Mayor of Metchosin today 2-4pm in Municipal Hall council chambers.

🧱 A Lego exhibit inspired by Langford during the holidays is now on display at Westshore Town Centre until Dec. 22. Hours: Mon.-Wed. 1-6 pm. Thurs.-Fri. 3-8pm. Sunday 12-5pm.

🎁 Yuletide Market at Bilston Creek Farm on Fri. / Sat. / Sun. 90+ local businesses showcasing their products, food vendors, live music, and more.

🛍 Find more Greater Victoria winter markets in this roundup from Tasting Victoria.

🌲 More free holiday events put on throughout this month by Westshore municipalities. [Our roundup]

🥫 10,000 Tonight food bank donation drive continues as Sooke’s Ed Milne students collect food and money for the food bank at some local stores (all this week), and door-to-door (Friday).

🧊 Live professional ice carving at Langford Station on Dec. 14 & 21, and at the Light Up.

🎅 Highlands Volunteer Fire’s charitable Santa Run. Firefighters will drive Santa around and collect food bank donations. This Sat. See the route and more info here.

🤶 Family Jolly Jingle Story Mingle in Esquimalt is on Dec. 14, 7-8pm.

🥫 View Royal annual Santa Drive on Saturday 9:30am-2pm. Fire trucks will tour View Royal neighbourhoods, collecting non-perishable food and cash donations for Goldstream Food Bank.

🍽 Santa’s Breakfast is back at My-Chosen Cafe Dec. 21-22, with proceeds to the BC SPCA Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre.

What’s Offshore?

HMCS Vancouver has returned to CFB Esquimalt after being away since June. The ship and its 200+ crew members participated in operations including RIMPAC, a massive multi-country marine exercise near Hawaii, and Operation Horizon. The latter involved restocking missiles in Australia rather than the US or Canada—a first for the Canadian Navy.

This version of the Vancouver is the third of its name, and launched in 1993. The first two were short-lived vessels that operated from 1919 to 1936 and 1942-1946 respectively.

🚢 Anchored just off the coast of Colwood: The HL Taean (built 2016, Panama flag, departed from Taean-gun in Korea) was all alone yesterday morning after a busy few weeks in the harbour.

🚢 Moving on: KSL Sakura (built 2015, Hong Kong flag, departed Yeosu in Korea for Roberts Bank near Tsawwassen terminal).

As always, you can send us your photos of ships you see anchored off the Westshore and we will try to identify them and include them here.  

Westshore Snaps

Last weekend's holiday-season Truck Light Parade wound its way through Victoria, Oak Bay, and the Westshore. Photo by aptly named Capital Daily reader Rosemary Sleigh.

Watch the parade broadcast here.

That’s it!

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