Broom Bust at Bald Mountain
Grab your loppers and join the battle against broom on Bald Mountain on Saturday, May 7 at 9:15 am. For this rain-or-shine event, wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes, long pants, long sleeves, and a hat. Safety glasses, gloves and tools will be provided, but you can also bring your own (no power tools, please). Bring water and snacks; extra drinks, treats, and hand sanitizer will be available. It’s best to sign up in advance: Log in to sign up now. You can also sign up at the event.If you have any questions, contact Elizabeth Aitken at 250.746.2649 or cell: 250.709.1739 or email: elizabeth.aitken@cvrd.bc.ca. If you have cold or flu-like symptoms, please stay home and take care of yourself.
Youbou Garage Sale
As you’re spring cleaning, set aside your no-longer-loved items and plan for Youbou’s progressive community garage sale on Saturday, May 14 from 9:30 to 1 pm. Host your own or group up with neighbours to really beef up your curb appeal. We’ll publish a list of all the participating addresses in advance, so pickers can plan their route. Contact Julia@raedwulf.org by May 12 to add your address to the list of participating houses. We’ll also deliver balloons ahead of time to mark each garage sale venue.
The Youbou Church will be participating in the garage sale, as well as having homemade goodies for sale. Stay for a cup of coffee and tour the newly renovated lower floor. The church is accepting gently used items for their garage sale. Drop off your items between May 9th and 13th at 10672 Cedar Drive.
Youbou Clean-Up
If you still need to get rid of unwanted items after the garage sale, dust up for the Youbou Clean-Up. On Saturday, May 28, haul your trash to Meade Creek recycling and get $30 off your first load from 9 am to noon. Just show proof you live in Area I to get your free dumping allowance. Make sure that you separate your recyclables and yard waste from your trash and discard those items appropriately. Due to Covid precautions, volunteers will not be available to pick up trash from homes as has been done in the past. The Youbou Community Association is managing the event, with generous support from Area I Director Klaus Kuhn. And while we’re talking trash, note that weekly garbage pick-up resumes on June 17 for the summer months (recycling will still be every other week).
Planning our Future
Youbou is closing the loop on Community Circles, a CVRD initiative for developing an Official Community Plan for each electoral area. Interested community members met at Youbou Hall on April 12 for a discussion about priorities for Area I. Joelle Bellanger led the discussion, then distributed workbooks for each person to complete at home. If you’re interested in getting involved in the planning, the CVRD will be leading a discussion about Areas G/H/I on Sunday, May 15 at 2 pm. To find more information or register for sessions, go to PlanYourCowichan.ca.
Crabfest
The Youbou Community Association is hosting a Crabfest dinner at the Youbou Community Hall on Saturday, July 16, starting at 5 pm. YCA Board members will be selling tickets in advance for $25 a person, which covers a complete crab dinner with baked potato, salad and rolls (beer and wine is available for $5 that evening). Tickets are also available at the Youbou General Store and Daly’s Auto Service Centre.
Church Society AGM
The Youbou Community Church Society Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday, May 21 at 10:00 at the church in the lower hall.
Boat Decibel Update
Transport Canada has laid out five proposed options for addressing the issue of excessive boat motor noise or “small vessel noise emissions” on lakes such as Cowichan Lake. The agency is gathering input until May 13 through its Let’s Talk web site portal. The Decibel Coalition is recommending “Option 5” to introduce performance standards, i.e. decibel limits, for manufacturers, importers and vessel operators to follow. This would update the Small Vessel Regulations to require manufacturers, importers and operators to ensure vessels don’t exceed defined, objective noise-emission levels. For more information on this issue or to register your own opinion, go to https://letstalktransportation.ca/svne.
Christopher Rock Re-Do
Thanks to everyone who joined forces with the Cowichan Lake Trail Blazers Society to update the Christopher Rock trail. We added some switchbacks to ease the grade and avoid some slippery slopes, built a better approach, and sawed through logs across the trail. We originally allotted three Saturdays for the work but had so many hard-working volunteers, we finished in two, so cancelled the April 30 work day. The next step will be adding signage, probably in the fall. Next year, we hope to add an upper loop and work on the path to Eric’s Bluff.
Peak performance awards go to:
Youbou volunteers: Eva, Susanne, Patricia, Klaus, Cindy, Allison, Julie, Allan, Julia, and Randall.
Cowichan Lake Trail Blazers: Werner, Rick, Scott, Brennan, Alex, Dylan, Donna, Robb, Chelsea, Steve, Fred, and Mike.
If you missed the trail work but want to contribute to the effort, you can support the Cowichan Lake Trail Blazers Society by joining at https://cowichanlaketrailblazers.com/membership/
Save Our Holmes AGM
By Karen Deck, President, Save Our Holmes Society
Forestry scientists like Suzanne Simard are finding out more and more about how trees in the forest are connected; nurturing and protecting each other. The same is true for people. We realize that we need each other to make good things happen. That’s why our recent efforts have focused on outreach in the community and further afield. This year, that work seems to be paying off.
We met with Mosaic staff and toured of one of their blocks. Each of the 4 blocks that are going ahead will be the size of four football fields. On March 17, we had another meeting with Mosaic and as a result, have decided to acquire parcels of land. This is an enormous undertaking because the costs don’t end when the parcel has been bought. But we feel we must protect the forest above our community. It is our greatest ally in the climate emergency.
You may have read that Mosaic has deferred 40,000 hectares from logging for 25 years and possibly more. We’re hoping the forests on Mt. Holmes and Mt. Good are on the list, but we know that there are many communities like us that have their fingers crossed too!
Newsletter Gone Fishin’
Please note this is the Early Summer issue of the Youbou newsletter. The next issue will come out in late July for the Late Summer edition.
Are You a YCA Member?
The Youbou Community Association is involved in helping community activities happen, such as the monthly newsletter, holiday decorating, 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, by the 20th of the month, please. You can also check our web site at youbouyca.com and our Youbou Community Association facebook page for the latest information.
Dates
Saturday, May 7, 9:30 am: Broom Bust at Bald Mountain
Saturday, May 14, 9:30 am: Youbou Progressive Garage Sale
Sunday, May 15, 2 pm: Community Circle for Areas G/H/I
Saturday, May 21, 10 am: Church Society AGM
Saturday: May 28, 9 am: Youbou Clean-Up
Friday, June 17: Weekly garbage pick-up starts
Saturday, July 16, 5 pm: Crabfest at Youbou Hall
Your YCA Board
Chair: Julia Martinusen
Secretary: Randall Wilson
Treasurer: Steve Watt
Social: Eva Fearon
Garry Fearon
Publicity: Allan Gott
Membership: Cheryl Morgan
At large: Debbie Smith