Sustainability continued....

Back to the issue of ecological sustainability....In my last blog, I expressed that although there are some issues with littering, grass trampling, graffiti etc. they are small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. A meadow is made of tougher stuff than that. The other day I was out for my morning walk, and I noticed two new things in the park. The first was signs all over the park saying "Wildflowers in bloom...Please step carefully!". "So what" you may think to yourself, "another sign". But these signs are symbolic of another closely tied aspect of sustainability...that being community. Those signs were put up by people on a volunteer basis - people who care enough about the health of the meadow to take the time to make and post these signs. How much behaviours will the signage actually influence is impossible to know, however, this act of local stewardship creates closer links within the community. It lets the users of the park know that the community cares about protecting its assets; it sets a precedence of conservation, and also lets people know that they are being watched by local who care (a kind of grassroots self-policing).



The other thing I noticed yesterday is that a bunch of the graffiti has been removed. If you look at the pictures that I posted, you can see a horific amount of graffiti on the Telus tower, which has been recently re-painted by the company. That may not necessarily reflect community sustainability, as the company is just taking care of its assets. However, the history/Garry Oak ecosystem kiosk at the park entrance had also been tagged (spray painted), and that has also been cleaned up. I can pretty much gaurantee that Telus didn't pay for that, so who cleaned up the kiosk? I would lay bets that it was one of the local neighbours, probably someone from the "Friends of Summit Park" group. I believe that these little acts of cleaning up pay big dividends. Think about it...if you are in a place that looks neglected i.e. covered in litter and run-down, how compelled do you feel to closely monitor your behaviour. Well, I'm assuming that we are all somewhat functional adults here and wouldn't think to throw our garbage around, even if you were in a dumpy area, but if you are in an area that obviously is being taken care of...you would likely go out of your way to not make a mess. Imagine how you feel when you are walking in a beautiful, clean, pristine forest. Now shift this visual to walking around a landfill. Those may be extreme examples, but to a lesser extent, I believe that the sub-conscious effect on people is the same. The community around Summity Park cleans up their messes. They make effort to protect the wild things, because they are valuable, and you can sense that when you are using the area. As long as the community continues to act and care, it will have a ripple effect on other locals, encouraging more participation and behaviours that will further protection of the park for generations to come...and that is sustainable.



Just a little thought that I had the other day, regarding the graffiti. Having worked with youth at risk in Vancouver, I know that graffiti is a means for youth to claim something for their own. It is a form of rebellion, it has shock value, it's what they are NOT supposed to do, which is why they do it. All of these things are part of being a teen and testing the boundaries. Graffiti, however, is also a claim of territory. Tagging (you know when you see those spray painted symbols that kind of look like letters) is a unique brand , particular to the artist...a sort of territorial pissing if you will. To most adults, it is just ugly vandalism, but to those in the know, it represents something completely different.. So, my thought was that the community of Summit Park needs to hit up Telus for some funding and create a mural with youth artists. This has worked in many cities (such as Vancouver) as a strategy for working with youth. Instead of combatting what they do (because they'll just keep at it anyway), a mural is a way of valuing their talents, and giving them voice in the community, through their art work. This creates social capital within the community, not only for the teens but also for the park. It brings in a new diversity to the neighbourhood, increases communication, channels energy into a constuctive medium. It also creates a positive experience for the teens, perhaps catalyzing the sparks of inspiration for who knows what. Often those early experiences plant the seeds for great things later in life. Anyway, just a thought.

Just another random thought...I consulted with my ecology teacher about human impacts to the Garry Oak meadow. He feels that there are definitely impacts from human/dog use, however the payback to social sustainability is probably worth it. When I asked "what do you think about kids mountain biking on the rocks?" Johnathon's response was "hey, at least they are not in front of the TV". This is just another way that our park can contribute to interactions between members of the community - people exercising together, laughing, connecting.

Oh, one last thing before I forget....I took a survey online, that was recommended by my Community Relations teacher. It's collecting data on various communities, to assess their social capital. I recommend partaking - the website is

http://www.crcresearch.org/survey.htm