Renfrew-Collingwood Community News

News stories from the Renfrew-Collingwood community in East Vancouver

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July 2019 issue of RCC News is here

 

This issue of the RCC News full of the many wonderful people, events and programs happening in our neighbourhood.

Get your latest issue of the RCC News at your local coffee shop, grocery store, library and community centre.

Or click on the cover image to view the new issue.

In this issue:

  • CW Music celebrates 5 years in Collingwood
  • Celebrating Sharon Gregson
  • Remembering a local hero: Richard Berwick
  • New podcasts by Windermere students
  • Still Moon Arts events for summer
  • Celebration of World Refugee Day
  • Three Links community open house recognizes World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
  • CNH Community Choir premiere concert

Do you have a local story to tell or an event to share? We’d love to hear about it! Email rccnews-editorial@cnh.bc.ca.

The deadline for the August 2019 issue is July 10. We welcome story submissions from 300 to 400 words long. Accompanying photos must be high resolution in a jpg file at least 1 MB large and include a photo caption and the name of the photographer.


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Support your native bee pollinators

Julie-Cheng-beehouses

Checking out my mason bees at the end of the work day. The top bee house is homemade and the bottom was purchased at Figaro’s garden store. Photo by J. B. Fergusson

BY JULIE CHENG

Native bees are endangered due to pesticide use and loss of habitat. They are often better pollinators than the honeybee, helping pollinate our fruit trees and vegetables and preserve the native ecosystem. We need to whatever we can to help these efficient pollinators.

With the expert guidance of staff and volunteers by the organization Hives 4 Humanity, I was inspired to build bee homes from reclaimed wood for my backyard to give the little native pollinators a place to nest.

This summer, my apple trees and blueberry and raspberry bushes are bursting with fruit.

Mason bees working

Bees are cold blooded and here they are waiting for the morning sun to warm them before getting down to work. Photo by Julie Cheng

It’s a great way to start and end the work day, watching the bees. The bees are fascinating and super-cute.

What you can do to help native bees

  • Plant native wildflowers that are bee-friendly
  • Plant some bee turf instead of grass for your lawn
  • Do not use pesticides or herbicides in your garden
  • Build a bee home in your garden
  • Purchase bee cocoons and set them out in spring/summer by your bee home
  • For bee supplies, check your local garden store (like Figaro’s, West Coast Seeds) or online store (beediverse.com)
Butterflies-pollinators

Butterflies are also pollinators. Photo by J. B. Fergusson

Julie Cheng has lived in the neighbourhood for more than 20 years and is the editor of the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News.

Copyright 2019 Renfrew-Collingwood Community News


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Collingwood Corner: The Birds’ Paradise

Albert Jones playing violin at 5207 Hoy Street. Photo from the Vancouver Archives CVA371-1215

BY LORETTA HOUBEN

Thanks to Allen Doolan, a subscriber and moderator on one of the Nostalgic Vancouver Facebook groups I’m in, I recently discovered that a bird aviary was once in the Collingwood area at 5207 Hoy Street.

The bird aviary was quite well known and was even mentioned in a letter to the editors in the February 24, 1941 edition of Life magazine. The owner was Charles E. Jones, who was also briefly the 26th mayor of Vancouver until passing away September 1, 1948.*

Charles E. Jones. From the Vancouver Archives CVA371-1191

I can’t find out much about Charles Jones, but he certainly loved birds. If you visit the Vancouver Archives online, you will be able to see many postcards of the birds. Some of them will make you smile! I’ve included my favourites here.

Dog resting at the aviary with feathered friends. Photo from the Vancouver Archives CVA371-1193

The old house on Hoy Street that once contained these delightful creatures is still standing. It was built in 1910, and still has its original charm with a lovely garden. I’ve often been drawn to this house while walking in the neighbourhood, and now I know why. What a fascinating history it has.

According to the B.C. Directories online, “Birds Paradise” was listed along with Charles Jones’s name in the 1939 edition. I think it may have been a lucrative or at least a most interesting pastime for him. He was listed as retired in 1932, but in later editions of the B.C. Directories, he is listed as alderman, and then he is mayor in 1947.*

Postcard. From the Vancouver Archives CVA371-1199

The letter to the editor of the Life magazine in 1941 from Clyde Ragsdale states that Charles Jones “revived a childhood dream when he created this sanctuary, where thousands of birds, wild and domestic, representing some 35 species, from Chinese nightingales and Indian bulbuls to South American finches, have found haven.”

Copyright 2019 Renfrew-Collingwood Community News

*This article was corrected September 29, 2020. The Charles E. Jones who owned the aviary did not become mayor of Vancouver. That was another Charles E. Jones.