Cut Broom in Bloom
While gathering for a community-wide broom-busting effort is also not possible this year, we do hope energetic Area I residents will tackle this highly invasive species as the opportunity allows. The key is to literally nip the pesky shrub in the bud, when the yellow flowers are blooming. It’s best to pull it out by the root, but barring that, just snip it back as far as you can. Last year, community volunteers tackled the broom and blackberries at Mile 77 park and to date, the effort seems to have paid off. You can haul broom and other yard debris to the Meade Creek Recycling Centre for free on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Hope to see you in the blooming broom with your clippers! For more information on broom busting, check out: www.broombusters.org
Youbou Spruce-Up
Unfortunately, the Covid circuit breaker was extended, so our community clean-up planned for April 24 had to be postponed. Rather than set another date this spring, when Covid rates are running high, we hope this coming fall will be a better time for a clean-up. We’ll let you know the plans in a future newsletter. In the meantime, we do encourage our neighbours and friends to take along a bag on your hikes or walks and pick up a little at a time. Many hands will make a big difference in keeping our village tidy.
Welcome to our New Treasurer
After three years of keeping our books in tip-top shape, Spencer Day has decided it’s time to transition to a new treasurer. Thankfully, Steve Watt, newly elected to the board at our Annual General Meeting, is stepping up. The board elected Steve as treasurer at our April board meeting and he is taking over the monetary reins. Thanks to Spencer for contributing his accounting talents and for continuing on with the board. And thanks to Steve for assuming the role of treasurer.
Our other board positions will remain the same: Julia Martinusen, Chair; Lori LaFave, Co-Chair; Randall Wilson, Secretary; Eva and Garry Fearon, Social; and Cheryl Morgan, Membership. Board members serving in at-large positions are: Spencer Day, Allan Gott, and Debbie Smith.
Weekly Trash Pick-Up
For your planning purposes, our trash pick-up schedule for Youbou and Area I will switch to weekly collection starting on Friday, June 18. Recycling in the blue bins will remain on a bi-weekly pick-up schedule every other Friday.
Yount School Proposal
The Youbou Innovation and Development Association (YIDA) is sharing plans to purchase and repurpose Yount school into a facility for community and visitor use. YIDA is a separate volunteer group from the Youbou Community Association and is solely focused on the school project at the moment.
The school was purchased by School District 79 several decades ago from its original owners, BCFP, at a cost of around $5000. It has been vacant since 2006, when it closed, but has been well maintained at a considerable annual cost. The school district has been planning to sell the school and the YIDA has submitted a proposal to purchase the facility based on certain conditions.
The YIDA proposal recognizes Youbou’s emergence as a gateway to local and west-coast trails, world-class kite surfing at Nitnat, boating at Bamfield, and other coastal opportunities.
The group has retained Darryl Jonas, a Shawnigan Lake architect, to draw up plans for the site. His schematics include space for hostel-style overnight stays, along with a cafe, and other support services. The building could also house a pre-school facility on the lower level, as well as a gymnasium and climbing wall.
The balance of the approximately six-acre site could offer affordable housing on the existing school field, with a view to making accommodation available to Youbou residents seeking to “age in place” rather than leave the community. A trail along the west side of the property could share interpretative plaques to provide insight into Youbou’s historic past and pivotal role in the development of the forest industry. The Forest Discovery Centre in Duncan has agreed, in principle, to donate certain forest equipment, some originating from Youbou, for display.
While the project will be self-supporting with tenancies enabling financing to be secured, CVRD Area I Director Klaus Kuhn has agreed to go to the CVRD Board for support in principle for the project. If you’re interested in learning more or sharing your thoughts on the project, you can go to the facebook page (Youbou Innovation and Development Association) and join as a member. Should the project be approved, YIDA will be kicking off a fund-raising campaign and focusing on securing some major donors.
Are You a YCA Member?
The Youbou Community Association is involved in helping community activities happen, such as the monthly newsletter, holiday decorating, hall dances and other events throughout the year. While we love our facebook friends, an official family lifetime membership in the organization is just $10 and involves filling out a form. It is a key to knowing what’s going on around Youbou as well as giving you a vote at our annual meetings. We’ll email you our colourful community newsletter every month. To join, reach out to cherylmtutor@gmail.com
Got News?
If you’d like to contribute news for the newsletter about a public event happening (or not happening) in or around Youbou and Area I, please send particulars about date, time and place to julia@raedwulf.org. You can also check our web site at youbouyca.comand our facebook page for the latest information.
Your YCA Board
Chair: Julia Martinusen
Co-Chair: Lori LaFave
Secretary: Randall Wilson
Treasurer: Steve Watt
Social: Eva Fearon
Garry Fearon
Publicity: Allan Gott
Membership: Cheryl Morgan
At large: Spencer Day
At large: Debbie Smith