Good morning, 

Exciting news for bird-watchers, as both Sooke and Langford have joined other Vancouver Island communities that are part of the BC Bird Trail. Read about that and more in today’s edition of the Westshore. 

— Emma

NEWS

Langford and Sooke have gone to the birds

In late September of 2020, partners from across the province launched the BC Bird Trail with support from the Co-operative Marketing Partnership Program and Destination BC. The initiative was created to raise awareness about the diversity and quality of BC’s birding experiences and to generate bird-watching travel to British Columbia. Destination BC is an industry-led Crown corporation that is provincially funded that supports tourism in BC.

There is a Central and North Vancouver Island Trail that includes Cowichan, Nanaimo and Parksville, Qualicum Beach, Tofino, Port McNeill, Port Hardy, Port Alice, Sointula and Alert Bay. Sooke and Langford have both joined the initiative as outpost communities, in partnership with Destination BC, with bird watching trails launching this season.

The BC Bird Trail enables people to explore birding areas on Vancouver Island by sharing free self-guided travel itineraries for visitors and locals alike. Birding hot spots and identification keys are also provided on the site along with some travel and tourism information.

In Langford, small private lakes like Langford Lake, Glen Lake, and Florence Lakes are the perfect places to catch waterfowl like mergansers, grebes, goldeneyes. Seaside Sooke has the advantage of being home to forest, shoreline and ocean birds like Black Turnstones and Sanderlings Pacific Loons, Northern Pintails and Sora (if you’re lucky). Both places are great spots to also catch raptors like Peregrine Falcons and Northern Harriers as they are passing through.

Head to the Westshore to read more about the new spots on the BC Bird Trail. 

NEWS

Hartland landfill is almost full but an expansion is coming

The landfill could be full as soon as next October, and nearly $11M has been approved for a contractor to prepare the site’s next phase (“Cell 4”). The Capital Regional District (CRD) told Victoria News that the currently used “Cell 3” which debuted in 2016, has filled up faster than expected due to increased waste from pandemic-era home repairs. 

CRD also seeking new home for biosolids

The landfill also recently reached its capacity for biosolids when the CRD temporarily directed those to Hartland when they couldn’t go to a Richmond kiln as planned. The CRD is looking to send its biosolids to Nanaimo, whose own regional district is reluctant to accept a neighbour’s waste.

New policies aim to cut construction waste

This year the CRD has pursued salvaging incentives that it says can cut waste by a third and extend the landfill’s lifespan to 2100. Those include higher overall tipping fees ($150/tonne) and a Jan. 1, 2024 ban on clean wood followed by a later ban on other wood and homebuilding materials. 

The CRD says almost 50% of 2022’s Hartland waste could’ve been diverted or recycled, and that wood products—mainly from local construction—were the largest category of material.

The landfill serves a large portion of the Greater Victoria area including Colwood, but Victoria alone sends 8,000 tonnes of construction and demolition materials per year. The city’s new “unbuilding” bylaw charges builders $19,500 for certain demolitions, but remits money back to them if they salvage enough wood.

Higher fees for some cruise ship waste

The CRD also decided to triple fees to $500/tonne for the 30% or so of solid cruise ship waste that is deemed “high risk,” which must be buried more deeply at Hartland and takes up about 3x as much space.

Around the 'Shore

Fundraiser to support family of East Sooke missing man who was found dead: Anthony Balzer, 56, was reported missing on Nov. 15, after he was last seen leaving the area of Mount Matheson Road; in an update on Saturday, RCMP reported Balzer was located deceased. After news broke, a GoFundMe campaign was launched for Balzer’s family, and over half of the goal has already been. [CHEK]

🚔 Langford man faces charges after cops seize illegal firearms: A 41-year-old Langford man is facing charges after West Shore RCMP executed a search and found three fully loaded homemade 3D-printed ghost guns, body armour, ammunition and more. Police have been searching for the man since Feb. 20, and successfully conducted a search warrant on Nov. 7—the suspect has been charged with multiple charges that RCMP say will probably increase with investigations, and was released on an undertaking to appear in court on Feb. 8. 

🎥 Westshore Speedway film showcases crash culture: After the the end of Western Motorsports Park, fans across the Westshore were saddened by the loss of the speedway’s events and more specifically, the sub-section of demolition-based races. In response, Todd Harris directed a documentary film on the culture and the community surrounding it. DEMO DUMMIES, Hit-to-Pass-Racing is now on YouTube for fans and curious-viewers alike. [Vancouver Island Free Daily]

Community Events

🧶 Dunsmuir Middle School Craft Fair: Join the Dunsmuir Middle School this Nov. 23 for a craft fair night market. Hosting over 60 student vendors and community members, there will be a bake sale, a scholastic book fair fundraiser for the library, concession to raise funds for our breakfast program, and so much more to check out from 4-8pm.

🎭 Robin Hood and Babes in the Wood: Grab your tickets for the Sooke Harbour Player’s showing of Robin Hood and Babes in the Wood at the Sooke Community Theatre at EMCS in Sooke. The show runs from Nov. 24-26 in the evenings and a number of dates in December, this ‘pantomime’ rendition of the classic tale of Robin Hood is a fun way to spend the evening. 

🎄 SEAPARC Festival of Trees: The District of Sooke is inviting the community to join them for a special event this coming holiday season, kicking off a fundraiser to support the BC Children’s Hospital. Going from Nov. 21 to Dec.27, the Festival of Trees hosts a variety of community and business decorated trees for public viewing pleasure. You can even vote for your favourite tree throughout the event.

What’s Offshore?

🚢 The Christine Oldendorff is a bulk carrier built in 2010 and is sailing under the flag of Liberia. It is sailing from Jintang, China 🇨🇳 ➡ Vancouver 🇨🇦 and was scheduled to arrive Nov. 7.

⛴ The Ototachibana is a bulk carrier built in 2012 and is sailing under the flag of Japan. It is sailing from Himeji, Japan 🇯🇵 ➡ Vancouver 🇨🇦 and was scheduled to arrive Nov. 7.

🛳 The Guo Yuan 88 is a bulk carrier built in 2020 and is sailing under the flag of China. It is sailing from Wakayama, Japan 🇯🇵 ➡ Vancouver 🇨🇦 and was scheduled to arrive Nov. 15.

Westshore Snaps

Fall on the Galloping Goose Trail in Langford. —Richard Steward, View Royal

That’s it!

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