East Shore Alliance for Early Years – EASEY

Posted by & filed under Children, Youth & Families, projects, Projects & Programs.

Our young families are included in community events that are fun and build friendships. Informal networks need to be strong in local communities as we have few programs or services. Grandparents and other care-givers are recognized and appreciated. Local businesses try to be more family friendly and we have an annual business award. Skill-sharing sessions encourage local people and parents to share skills with other parents in a fun, relaxed way. We advertise on local media and the community appreciates the activities available for young families.

Ellie Reynolds

East Shore Community Learning Hub

Posted by & filed under Education & Skills Development, projects, Projects & Programs.

The East Shore Community Learning Hub has taken the lead in creating a regional learning partnership including Selkirk College, College of the Rockies, Crawford Bay School, Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy, Kootenay Career Development Services, Community Futures, Regional District of Central Kootenay Area A and the Columbia Basin Trust, East Shore Community Connections, and other local groups and societies. Since inception, the Learning Hub has promoted lifelong learning from the cradle to the grave in collaboration with the colleges, non-profits, and agencies that deliver programs to the area. The objectives of the program continue to be providing area residents with lifelong learning opportunities, building the capacity of area residents, and engaging with residents around learning needs.
Contact: Laverne Booth

Medley & Arts Summer Camp

Posted by & filed under Arts & Culture, projects, Projects & Programs.

The program provided a week of workshops for adults and children in music, art, dance, and performance, giving community members opportunities for learning and sharing that they may not otherwise be able to access. Qualified instructors were hired from the Basin area, which also provided qualified local artists and musicians an opportunity to expand their experience and exposure. The program also added to the economic viability of the area promoting the camp as part of a family vacation package. There were 50 participants, 22 adults and 28 children, and visitors came from Nelson, Castlegar, California, Medicine Hat AB, Canmore AB, Langdon AB, and Vancouver. Approximately 50% of attendees were from the East Shore.
Contact: Lorna Robin

Business & Community Directory

Posted by & filed under Marketing & Communication, projects, Projects & Programs.

The current business and community directory was three years out of date. The objective of the project was to update and extend the current directory to create a new directory which can be reproduced, as well as a web-friendly version which will be put up on the Mainstreet Newspaper, Community Connections, Kootenay Lake Chamber of Commerce websites, and others where requested. Nearly two hundred businesses and one hundred and fifty community service organizations were contacted and asked to verify their contact information.
Contact: Greg Blackwell

Alternative Heat & Power Speaker Events

Posted by & filed under Education & Skills Development, projects, Projects & Programs.

The opening SIBAC event was about residential scale energy solutions and held at the Yasodhara Ashram with close to 50 attending. Most attendees were from east shore communities, as well as Sandon and Johnsons Landing. The second event was held at Gray Creek Hall with approximately 40 attending and featured Eva Snyder who had been commissioned by the Ashram to conduct a study. Eva reported findings collected through research, evaluation and assessment of how to work with energy conservation and renewable energy technologies on the east shore. A third event featured Greg Utzig who is a Nelson resident and is a conservation ecologist and land use planning consultant. Greg spoke on “climate change in the Kootenays”.

Community Connections

Spring Forum 2013

Posted by & filed under Marketing & Communication, projects, Projects & Programs.

This project organized and conducted a community event which profiled a number of local area businesses and community based services and highlighted new, changing or emerging activities of those organizations for the interest and awareness of residents, visitors, businesses, and others on the East Shore.

Community Connections

Food Roots – Markets & Education

Posted by & filed under Projects & Programs.

The intention of this project was to increase local interest and capacity for individuals to engage with their food security, increase awareness, and encourage exchange. The scope included several smaller projects and events held at both a private/individual level as well as a larger community, regional or commercial level. For example, the Seed Swap encouraged people to save their own seed from the garden, trade it with others to expand diversity, and thereby increase local sustainability. Education and hard skills were presented to increase awareness around food production as well as nurture the conversation of local agricultural economic development. Community data was collected to begin to understand people’s behavioural patterns around food production, exchange, and consumption. This data helps build a clearer picture of what a ‘self reliant’ community looks like in an area such as ours.
Contact: Paris Marshall-Smith

Student Exchange

Posted by & filed under Education & Skills Development, projects, Projects & Programs.

The objective of this project was  to defray costs of exchange student bus transportation and admission fees to a variety of educational venues in and around our area (e.g. Doukhobor Cultural Centre in Castlegar, Nikkei Internment Centre in New Denver, SS Moyie Historical Museum in Kaslo).

Community Connections