Grounds Committee Notice: Ground Cover Trials at the Co-Op

Submitted by Debbie Willis

The Grounds Committee will be trialing four types of ground cover this year, to discover if there are alternatives to grass that will better serve our co-op. We currently water the grass and pay for mowing; we are hoping that, after our retrofit and new building are complete, we can replace the grass with ground-cover that will be less expensive to maintain, less water-intensive, and that will support pollinators and biodiversity.

After doing research into various lawn covers, we are planning to trial four varieties:

• A type of short-growing and drought-resistant grass called Eco-Lawn; we will be over-seeding existing grass near the circle garden with this variety.

• The Alternative Lawn Mix Wildflower Seeds, which form a low-growing, dense ground cover composed of fine fescues, flowers, and clover species, from West Coast Seeds. Suitable for Zone 3 climates like our own, we will over-seed some of the grass in the space behind the units on 3rd Street.

• The Easy Care Envirolawn Cover Crop Seeds, a mix of low maintenance grasses and drought-tolerant flowers, from West Coast Seeds. As above, this mix is suitable for Zone 3 climates; we will over-seed some of the grass in the space behind the units on 3rd Street.

• Wildflower seeds from Wildflower Farm. We will remove the existing grass from a small portion of the grassy areas behind the units on 3rd street, and plant wildflower seeds in that area to trial a true wildflower meadow. There will be several months of no growth, as we prepare the ground for planting in the fall.

Please contact Debbie at debmwillis@gmail.com if you have questions or concerns about these plans.

Grounds Clean-up Postponed

Submitted by Yvonne Sabraw on behalf of the Grounds Committee

Hello Sunnyhill Members!

How can we have a Fall Clean-up this Saturday when it still feels like summer?

Continue to enjoy your gardens and yards, and we will reschedule the Fall Clean up. The tentative date is now Saturday, October 16th.

We have gotten some very helpful feedback about the timing for trimming hedges and this lovely time of year is NOT the time for that trimming, so there will be more details on that for the October Clean up.

Until then, please continue to store your brown compostable yard waste bags with leaves, grass clippings and branches at your unit, protected from the weather, until we have the big Post-cleanup pick-up for the City Landfill composting program.

See you in the sunshine this weekend!

Yvonne on behalf of Sunnyhill Grounds

Sunnyhill Housing Co-op 787 3 Street NW 403-270-8405

Sunnyhill Grounds Clean-up Day September 25

Submitted by Jaée on behalf of the Grounds Committee

Mark your calendars!

Sunnyhill Grounds Clean-up Day

Saturday, September 25th, 10:00-3:00

Time to do a final weeding, water our trees, sweep the pathways, get tree suckers snipped, and generally prepare for the changing seasons. Birds have finished nesting so this is the ideal time to trim hedges so they will be healthy next year.

There are common space tasks to work on together, and we encourage members to also take care of their yards at this time. Remember, members are responsible for trimming hedges on both sides of their yard fence.

We will have a pick-up of trees, branches, and leaves after the clean-up event to take yard waste to the City Compost, so now is the time to get all compostable waste into brown bags. Please store your bags in a weather-protected area by your unit until we identify and announce the pick-up location

Note: SOD IS NOT COMPOSTABLE, and COMPOST BAGS MUST BE FREE OF WEEDS AND GARBAGE. Weeds, garbage and sod go to the City landfill.

And - if you haven't checked out the shed for a while - there are new clippers and an electric hedge trimmer available to help you tackle unruly hedges. We also have a small wood chipper that can take branches up to 2" in diameter. It is only to be used once you have training, so bring branches out to the Clean up day on the 25th to be chipped.

See you on Saturday the 25th! In the case of really bad weather, we will postpone by a week.

Gardening Time and Updates from Grounds

Submitted by Cristian Badea-Hasa on behalf of the Grounds Committee

Start Gardening Time

Every time I say “spring” after mid-March, snow is there shortly. I put in place a protocol to avoid saying it. First step is replacing the capricious word with “gardening time”.

But, better, let’s start digging! Or, NO DIG, as it is the buzz in the last few years.

More than ten years ago, after many attempts to repair the lawn, I was inspired by a landscaping guy from Oregon. Covered everything with flyers and then mulch. After a while (few years, but gardening takes some patience) mycelium was there and, underneath the wet paper, wonderful, alive soil. Ready for gardening it was.

Yes-yes! But, poor grass ☹… What grass? It is no grass around! Is a mix of stupid genetically modified cereals with very short roots, which do not sequester the carbon dioxide back in the soil. It is a realtor’s marketing scam from about a hundred years ago.

Simply saying: weeds (let them grow and you’ll see).

Slowly gardeners realized that mulching around important plants will help with water retention in the area, obviously preventing some pests coming to the feast (slugs, bugs don’t like “stepping in mulch). Cooling the friendly plant in the summer and a good blanket during the winter. And, yes, fewer weeds.

BIG EVENT: Mulching At Sunnyhill 2021

A garden-size woodchipper was acquired by Grounds. Works fine for up to 1 ½-inch branches, sticks, dried stems. It will be available to book for use in the garage. Because it grinds things it will be locked and some brief training will be provided for safer use.

It’s not only that you get rid of branches but save some bucks for the coop garbage bill. Make some mulch for your use or simply compact the wooden materials for easier disposal.

Coop has large common areas and has lots of trees and bushes. We need lots of mulch and mulching and “mulchers” every gardening season.

TIME: Weekend of June 5th and 6th . Starting time 10 am.

WHO: Everybody is invited to give a hand (or two). Will be a lot of work, but plants will be happy, tidy, hydrated, and grateful.

If you are not into No Dig thing, please notice that any digging happens after calling 811 to locate the possible lines below ground level.

But if you care to see the promoter and teacher of NO DIG way (youtube channel) Charles Dowding, I am positive you will be hooked.

Other news worth mentioning:

Pest Control products are located in the - newly remodeled – shed. Hope you will do not need it, but, wasp spray is in there. If you are afraid or not sure how to use it please email Grounds.

One wheelbarrow is broken. Will purchase a replacement, most likely a lighter model using fiberglass.

Please join the Garden Club.

Next Grounds Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 15 in the Playground area. Please join us and maybe share an idea or two. Or just listen first hand.

Plants are our babies from Mother Nature. Family, eh?

From Grounds, Cristian

Grounds Committee Notice: Opportunity to Green Your Garden!

Submitted by Debbie Willis on behalf of the Grounds Committee

Grounds Committee Notice: Opportunity to green your garden!

The Grounds Committee has secured a Greener Co-op Micro-grant to increase food self-sufficiency and reduce water use at Sunnyhill Housing Co-op. This micro-grant will be used for installing rain barrels and creating pallet vertical gardens for our members. We received funds to cover the partial cost of 10 rain barrels and material to build 15 pallet vertical gardens; the remaining costs will be covered by the Grounds Committee budget. This is a proof-of-concept endeavor: we will distribute these resources to selected households (chosen on a first-requested-first-served basis), to encourage other members to adopt these greener practices in future years.

Water barrels:

We will purchase the water barrels from Green Calgary and help co-op members to install them, if required. A water barrel for your garden will allow you to use natural, chlorine-free rain water on your plants and will save the co-op gallons of water each year. It also helps keep our watersheds clean by diverting water that usually collects fertilizers and other contaminants from storm drains. Your water barrel will come with the necessary hose attachment.

Pallet gardens:

We are also excited to offer the possibility of inexpensive, simple, and beautiful vertical gardens to interested members. We chose pallet gardens because of their affordability and accessibility. We also feel that vertical gardens are an excellent choice for our inner-city community, where yards are small and many gardeners hope to produce more food on their balconies. We are also excited by the idea of building our own, Instagram-worthy vertical gardens! The Grounds Committee will host an outdoor day of teaching and learning how to construct these simple, DIY, upcycled pallet gardens. The construction would occur outside, following Covid-safe protocols, in early June (date TBD). See below for an example of a pallet garden: 

If you are interested in a water barrel, a pallet garden, or both, please email the Grounds Committee at SHCGrounds@shaw.ca and please CC Debbie Willis at debmwillis@gmail.com

Grounds Committee Update

Submitted by Yvonne Sabraw on behalf of the Grounds Committee

The Grounds Committee has met monthly by Zoom over the winter, but we will be back to physically-distanced meetings in the playground over the summer. The next meeting is Monday, May 17th, 6:00 -7:30 pm. Anyone is welcome to attend. And don’t forget we can be reached at shcgrounds@shaw.ca anytime!

The big items this month:

1. PLAYGROUND inspections will be happening monthly. Regular inspections are a legal requirement, and we paid for a professional inspection in the fall, but we will do this ourselves on a regular basis now. If you have any concerns about the state of the playground, please let us know. T

2. VERTICAL GARDENING: We applied for a CHF Greener Co-ops Micro-grant to do a pallet vertical gardening project and rain barrel installation. At the moment we are waiting to hear if we got the grant, however we would still like to do the vertical gardening project on a small scale even if we don’t get the grant. We plan to do a few pallets one weekend in May. If you would like to be part of this, please email us and we will be in touch.

3. MULCHING! Mark your calendars for the weekend of June 5th/6th. A few members of our committee attended City of Calgary education sessions on pruning, pest management, and general care of trees and they reinforced how important mulch is for the health of our trees. Spreading mulch is a big job, so we will need involvement of many co-op members. Community work projects may look different this summer depending on physically distancing rules, possibly having members sign up for a specific time/area to work during the weekend.

4. COTONEASTER replacement: We did not ask the membership for a budget for wholesale removal and replacement of diseased cotoneasters for this year. But we have budgeted for 10 individual units to replace their hedges if they would like to. This will involve member digging out the existing shrubs themselves (we have a resident expert in Sarah Reimer who took on this project in her yard last year and can share her experience!). You can then choose from a list of approved shrubs that we have created as replacement options. At this time, we are favouring berry-producing bushes and some hardy flowering species. We also want to ensure that members are aware that infected branches must not be put in the compost, they must be disposed of sealed in a plastic bag, in the black garbage bin.

5. WASPS: Fake wasps nests (see you tube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjNRZGB_vfQ ) Though it is controversial whether this works or not, some people swear by it and the cost is minimal compared to the potential benefit. The idea is that wasps will not build their nest in an area where they believe other nests already exist. They apparently can be fooled by brown paper bags that are scrunched into the shape of a wasps nest and hung in an area where wasps would typically build. Under our decks, under balconies, and under the balcony roofs are areas to put these fake nests. Perhaps we can do a mini-experiment this summer and see if wasps do avoid the places where there are fake nests!

6. MUSHROOMS: SHC Member Mia Rushton has taken a course on growing edible mushrooms, and we are excited about piloting a mushroom growing project this year. We will let members know what areas of our common space will be dedicated to this project.

7. SPRING DUMPSTER: We plan to have the large dumpster on site the week of May 17-24th. An announcement will go out once the exact date is confirmed. The large dumpster is meant for items that are too big to fit in our normal garbage bins: broken household items in particular.

Lastly, if you have a concern with any trees that need attention or pruning, please send an email letting us know so we can add it to the schedule this year.

Permaculture Potential: Natural Solutions for Spring/Summer

Submitted by Debbie Willis on behalf of the Grounds Committee

This week, as we all start to look forward to more time in our gardens, I wanted to include some easy ways to support urban biodiversity. Though these tips aren't considered 'permaculture' per se, they do help build strong soil, bird and insect health, and so are part of a regenerative practice. We won't be able to do big permaculture projects at our co-op until our retrofit is well under way, but in the meantime, we can all prioritize environmental health in our own spaces.

How to Support Urban Biodiversity: (Most of these tips are thanks to Sandra from Calgary's Climate Hub. Thank you, Climate Hub!)

Birds:

• Lights out: Residences and low profile buildings pose a threat to migrating birds who travel at night (like songbirds), so turn off all non-essential lights (especially between 11 pm and 6 am) to help birds migrating north from colliding with buildings.

• Mark it: Daytime window strikes are also a problem. If your windows reflect vegetation, birds may try to fly through them. You can mark your windows with soap or tempera paint, and there are many commercial products on the market. Ensure decals or markings are vertical in nature as horizontal markings may be perceived as branches.

• Leave it alone: Got an active nest in your yard? Leave it alone. Under the International Migratory Bird Act, it’s prohibited to interfere with the nest or eggs of most migratory species. Apart from the legal issue, birds such as robins would likely abandon a nest that was moved. Incubation periods are pretty short though, so it won’t be long before the babies leave the nest.

Bees:

• When it’s 10 degrees, you can wake the bees: If possible, avoid yard cleanup until it is consistently 10 degrees above zero. Mulch, dead leaves, etc provide wintering opportunities for bees and other beneficial insects so waiting until it’s warm enough for them to emerge naturally will keep them safe.

• Dandelions - a bee’s best friend: these “weeds” represent one of the earliest and most significant sources of pollen for bees, as they bloom at a time when queens are feeding in order to begin laying eggs. So if possible, leave some dandelions for the bees.

• Clover is another plant that bees love so if you have some in your yard, leave it alone. It's also a stabilizing plant, like dandelion, so if you see it in your grass it's because a monoculture (like grass) is an inherently unstable/unhealthy environmental situation, so clover has been sent in to save the day!

• Native plants for native bees. Southern Alberta is home to a variety of bees and one of the best ways to support them is with native plants such as willow, milkvetch, cane raspberries and clover.

Water:

• Water is a precious resource. In your garden, consider plants that have lower water requirements and that are conditioned to our dry, high altitude climate. There are many online resources that will help you determine what is geographically appropriate - just remember that Calgary is considered Zone 4a.

• Avoid watering in the heat of the day. The water just evaporates and burns your lawn/plants. Best times to water are before 10 am and after 4 pm. If slugs are an issue for you, only water in the morning. Watering in the cool evening traps moisture and creates a perfect habitat for slugs.

• Leave water out for birds and bees. Remember to clean any dishes or trays to reduce the chances of parasites and disease. If cats are an issue in your neighborhood, keep the water 3 to 4 feet off the ground. Bees can’t swim so if your intention is to provide them with water, be sure to include rocks, marbles or sticks that they may reach to avoid falling in.

Soil:

• We don't normally think of soil as alive in the way that bees or birds are alive, but healthy soil is full of billions of microorganisms. The biggest tip, for a garden that maintains its soil biodiversity and therefore produces healthy food, is to turn your soil as little as possible. When you plant your garden, try not to disturb the soil structure too much.

Member Feedback for Proposed Shed Widening Needed by April 24

Submitted by Yvonne Sabraw on behalf of the Grounds Committee

We would like member feedback on the following proposal, and if there are no major concerns we will organize a day for the project at the end of April/early May. Please provide feedback to the Grounds Committee at shcgrounds@shaw.ca as soon as possible. The deadline for input is Saturday April 24th.

Proposal to widen the shed space

The shed is used more often by members than the garage is, and for years the shed has been unsafe to access because of the clutter. Attempts have been made to organize the tools, some of them heavy and sharp, but there simply isn’t enough floor space for them all.

We propose to move the chain link partition separating the shed and the garage back toward the garage space by one ceiling beam, which would add 20 inches more depth to the shed.

This would decrease the garage space, however, so we need input from those who use the garage:

Social Committee storage: shelves on the north wall would be cut by 5 inches to accommodate the new partition position. There would still be more than adequate shelving space for storage bins, chairs and tables.

Office/Finance Committee: three filing cabinets and the bankers boxes on top of them would be moved forward (toward the garage door) but would otherwise not be affected. Of note - the files labelled “financial,” appear to date back to 2006, and at least one of the cabinets is presently not locked. Is a cull and shredding required?

Buildings Committee: the garage is used primarily as storage for items for our units and the common space.

Wood/baseboards stored on the rafters can stay where they are, but with an extra support to be built for the wood.

The extra stove and fridge, would stay where they are.

Gates stored in the rafters: to be left in rafters but moved toward the garage space.

Handyman space: the work table with vice could be moved toward the garage door side without affecting its utility

The heavy wooden storage unit on the south wall does not need to be moved

The white shelves on the southwest corner against the partition will be moved in but still be against the partition.

Other: access to electrical sockets would be maintained by making a small hole in the partition if they end up on the shed side because of the partition, or the outlets can be moved toward the garage side.

Lighting: we propose extending the present fixtures or adding one more to illuminate the back of the shed.

As we were assessing the feasibility of this change, we were struck by the mess the garage is in. Many things appear to have been put there and forgotten and are collecting layers of dust. There are inaccessible corners, and bins which one would assume should be on shelves that are on the ground.

Overall, it was our impression that the garage can still fulfill its function as a storage and workspace even if it loses 20 inches of depth. And because our proposal involves moving things this might be an opportunity for a much-needed spring cleaning and reorganization of the space. Items to be disposed of could be put aside to then be put in the big rented dumpster when it is brought on-site in the spring.

We suggest the following steps:

1. Get feedback from membership April 16-24th.

2. Buildings and Social Committees to cull/organize their stored items if they wish, April 16-30.

3. One-day work project the weekend of April 30 or May 7 to move items in the garage away from the partition and to move the partition. We welcome member volunteers to help out with the heavy lifting that day and will put out the call once we know if/when the project will move forward.

Covid precautions wise: we will keep the area well ventilated and provide new, medical-grade masks to anyone working in the shed; minimize the number of people in the space at any one time; and maintain physical distance except for brief periods when the work requires proximity to lift and move items.

Grounds Committee Updates

Submitted by Jennifer Peters on behalf of the Grounds Committee

Here are a few of the items that were discussed at the last grounds meeting.

We discussed the possibility of moving the partition about two feet to give more space in the shed which would make finding, putting away and keeping the shed organized much easier. It's in the early stages and still needs to be discussed further with other committees.

There is a broken swing at the playground that we have put on our list of items to fix as soon as possible. It is our goal to keep the playground safe and up to code for the kids in the co-op.

In Permaculture news we discussed a small project of using rain barrels and pallets for garden planters around the co-op, and finding out who would be interested and if this is something we could make into a bigger project depending on the interest from members.

We also discussed the ongoing issue of 3rd St with speeding cars and children's safety, especially with the weather hopefully getting warmer soon and summer around the corner and more kids out playing. We discussed some interim fixes of putting out more signs but the City could get involved if the need was there, so this is something that could take some more time and planning to get a proper solution, but the first steps have been made.

And lastly, the valve on 7 Ave in front of the sign has not been fixed as of yet and there have been no updates from the City.

Permaculture Potential: Permaculture and Air Pollution

Submitted by Debbie Willis, on behalf of the Grounds Committee

I have been reading a hugely informative book called Breath, by James Nestor, about the importance of correct breathing for our mental, emotional and physical health. This book inspired me to investigate how our environment affects our ability to breathe in a healthy way, and the possibility that permaculture at the co-op might improve our air at Sunnyhill Co-op. This feels particularly relevant as Alberta is now on the precipice of a third wave of Covid-19 and we are all concerned about the health of our respiratory systems.

The effects of air pollution:

According to the World Health Organization, a reduction in air pollution – in particular, four key pollutants: particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide – would help cut rates of stroke, lung cancer, asthma, heart disease, and respiratory disease. Small particles get absorbed straight through the lungs into the blood and are responsible for chronic effects including cardiovascular disease, according to respiratory physician Louis Irving. He goes on to say that large particles lodge in the lung and can cause effects such as cancer, asthma, and chronic respiratory disease. (Source: permaculturenews.org)

Air pollution is particularly damaging to children and young people. The negative impacts of air pollution on a young person can affect everything from environmental allergies to breathing issues such as asthma, to a child’s body mass index, according to researchers at the University of Calgary. At least one study showed that cognitive development was less in children that went to schools in areas with high traffic-related pollution, said Stefania Bertazzon and Rizwan Shahid of the Geography of Health and GIS Analysis research group at the O’Brien Institute for Public Health in the Cumming School of Medicine. (Source: Global News, 2016.)

Pollution solution:

But here's the good news! Though we live near downtown and Memorial Drive, putting us at risk for air pollution, we can mitigate this effect by increasing the tree cover and diversity of our green space.

According to research into urban food forests developed in Peterboro Ontario, there are many advantages to permaculture and polyculture green spaces when it comes to air pollution. It is well documented that plants can take up gaseous pollutants, as well as reducing particulate matter suspended in the air, which sticks to plant surfaces (Currie and Bass, 2008). Some of the particulates are absorbed into the plant, although most of them just stick to the surface and are washed away by rainwater to the soil below (Currie and Bass, 2008). This prevents us from breathing them into our lungs.

Urban trees and other vegetation can also reduce contaminants making it to water bodies, such as rivers (Smith et al., 2013). Plants can prevent sediment, as well as other contaminant loading of rivers (such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and other pollutants) (Smith et al., 2013). As a community located close to the river that is also our drinking-water source, this could be a Calgary-wide advantage to permaculture development at our co-op.

One of the beautiful and most important aspects of permaculture is that, unlike typical agriculture, it embraces the planting and tending of trees—and trees are pollution-absorbing powerhouses! According to the USDA Forest Service, tree transpiration and tree canopies affect air temperature, radiation absorption, heat storage, wind speed and relative humidity, and these changes in local meteorology can alter pollution concentrations in urban areas. Reduced air temperature due to trees can also improve air quality because the emission of many pollutants and/or ozone-forming chemicals are temperature-dependent.

As a final note that I think is significant and exciting, here's an example of trees used on a large scale to decrease air pollution: in 1994, trees in New York City removed an estimated 1,821 metric tons of air pollution. This had an estimated value to society of $9.5 million, in reduced health care costs and other benefits. Perhaps, by decreasing our grass monoculture in favour of more plant diversity, we at the co-op could experience this type of well-being in our little community too!

Free Online Tree Workshops via The City of Calgary

Submitted by Mahlah Hansen on behalf of the Grounds Committee

Coming up this week! Free Online Tree Workshops via The City of Calgary:

Our annual tree workshops are moving from in-person events to free, online live events due to COVID restrictions.

The workshops will be approximately 1.5 hours in length and will feature a live Q&A session at the end with a City of Calgary Urban Forestry Technician to offer advice and answer any tree-related questions or concerns.

Pre-registration is required for all of the workshops, if you would like to attend, please register below. The link to the workshop will be emailed to participants two days prior to the program date.

All materials will be available for downloaded prior to the start of the workshop. The workshops will also be recorded and available to view on Calgary.ca at a later date.

Pruning Basics Workshop, March 2021

Not sure how to prune your trees? Afraid that you will do more harm than good?

In this workshop you will learn why you need to prune your trees, the best time of year to do your pruning and the best tools to use to keep your tree happy and healthy for many years to come.

Workshops available:

March 16, 7 - 8:30 p.m.: FULL

March 18, 7 - 8:30 p.m.: Register here

March 24, 7 - 8:30 p.m.: Register here

Pests & Disease Workshop, April 2021

Have you looked at your trees and noticed they aren’t as healthy as they use to be and wondered what could be happening to them? Do you think you could improve your knowledge about tree health? In this workshop we will cover the common tree diseases are in Calgary, what they look like, what treatments can be used and where to go for more information. This is a beginner course, with an opportunity to ask a Calgary Parks Urban Forest Technician questions about your trees.

Workshops available:

April 20, 7 - 8:30 p.m.: Register here

April 22, 7 - 8:30 p.m.: Register here

April 28, 7 - 8:30 p.m.: Register here

Grounds Committee Update

Submitted by Yvonne Sabraw on behalf of Grounds 

Grounds continues to meet virtually on Zoom one Monday evening per month over the winter,  the next meeting is Monday March 22nd 6:00. Everyone welcome. Email us at  shcgrounds@shaw.ca and we’ll send you the Zoom link 

Garbage enclosure murals, anyone?  

We have gotten such good feedback from the greater community on the artwork we  commissioned for the enclosure by the garage, we would like to pursue more artwork on other  enclosures. We know there are many talented artists in our own Co-op community and would  like to explore having one, or many, artists from Sunnyhill paint our enclosures. Perhaps we  could also consider having children’s artwork on an enclosure. If this piques your interest,  please let Grounds know so we can start making a plan to propose to the membership.  

Shears and lawn mower blade sharpening: Everything has been sharpened except the push mower blades which have to be taken to a specialty shop. Aiming to have them done for the  spring as well.  

YardWorx contract for snow removal 

There have been a few hiccups, but most of the feedback on the snow removal contract this  year have been positive. We welcome your general comments to the Grounds email. The leak  next to the 7th avenue SHC sign is being dealt with by the City.  

Spring Dumpster  

Yes, we will be bringing back this very popular spring ritual. However, we were wondering if we  should have some kind of item exchange opportunity before the dumpster arrives (anyone  remember the wild and wonderful SHC yard sales of yore?!) This would help to avoid having  perfectly good items tossed and then damaged so no one else can claim them. Perhaps we  can come up with something that would also address the problem of people leaving items out  by the dumpsters in the hopes that they are claimed by others. If you have suggestions, let us  know.  

SHC Gardening Club 

You might receive a personal invitation to join the gardening club if your unit is located near a  common area that needs a little extra love and attention. But if you don’t, and you’d like to be  part of a regular crew looking after key communal areas this summer, please let us know.  Weeding, watering, keeping branches off of pedestrian ares will be some of the tasks.  

Plan and seed exchange 

This has been proposed by a member who we know is a gifted gardener. Look for a date in the  April Newsletter, and if you have seeds you want to share, or plants that are available for splitting and sharing, keep that in mind as we all look forward to a new growing season.  We would also like to make that an opportunity for members to share ideas on growing fruits  and vegetables in our backyards. Potatoes in compost bins? Vertical hangers for strawberries?  There is a move toward increased food sustainability with backyard gardens, and some  members have had great success which we hope they will share. 

New Member Welcome Letter from Grounds

Submitted by Yvonne Sabraw on behalf of the Grounds Committee

Sunnyhill Grounds Committee Welcomes You 

How exciting that you are the newest member of our Co-op! To help new members settle in with the fewest complications possible, the SHC Grounds Committee has put together this brief introduction to all things Grounds. This information is meant to supplement the Grounds policies that are part of Sunnyhill’s documents, which you should have received when you moved in, so please also take the time to read those and refer to them for more detail. 

Taking Care of Your Yard 

You are responsible for caring for your yard, driveway, and any garden attached to your unit, including areas just outside your fence. The standards for yard maintenance are in the Grounds policies in the Co-op binder. Please note, you must speak with Grounds before making any significant changes to your yard. 

Grounds provides members with information to identify problem weeds so members can clear out these species yearly. The City can fine us for allowing invasive weeds on our property, so please be diligent. If you need assistance, Grounds would be happy to help. 

Taking Care of our Common Spaces 

• SHC has a contract for snow clearance and lawn care, which take care of our common areas and sidewalks. In the summer, please try to pick up children’s toys and other items around the common areas to make the lawn care easier for our contractors. • We contract an arborist to prune and care for trees in the common areas. We may ask members to water trees that are near their unit. Some of the Co-op trees require “deep root watering,” which needs a slow run of water through the area under the tree for 1-2 hours every week. 

• The playground is open to all, as are the picnic tables and benches scattered around the co-op. Take a wander through, introduce yourself to other members, and if you see a firepit happening in the common space, you are welcome to join! 

• The Food Forest, located along the public pathway east of 7th avenue, was created in 2019. It is in its infancy, and we ask everyone to be careful around the trees and plants in that area as they establish themselves. 

• Several times through the summer, the Grounds Committee hosts working bees so members can come together to take care of our shared spaces. Coming out to these is a great way to meet your neighbours and be an active member of our co-op. Watch the newsletter for dates. 

Water 

Water for Sunnyhill is paid for collectively by the Co-op. Some units have outdoor taps, others do not. Members need to share access to these taps, so please be aware your neighbours may need to use yours if you have one. And if you don’t have outdoor water, check in with your neighbour about access to theirs.

Recycling, Composting, Garbage 

• Sunnyhill, as a housing complex, has to contract our waste management. BluPlanet picks up all of our waste. We have 6 garbage enclosures, any of which can be used by members, and it is also members’ responsibility to keep them tidy. 

• We rely on members to sort their trash correctly. The list of what goes in each container is on the garbage enclosures. The Co-op faces additional charges for items placed incorrectly, including large items left outside bins. Recycling and Compost are picked up every Wednesday. Garbage is picked up every second Thursday. 

• If you have large items to dispose of, please hold onto them until for the Spring Cleanup. Every year we rent a giant dumpster where things such as furniture, mattresses, etc. can be disposed of. The exact date is announced in the Spring. 

The Shed 

You should have received a key for the shed when you got your unit key. You will find tools, mowers, whipper snippers, grass and clover seed, and other useful items in the shed. Please follow the rules posted just inside the door, especially about signing out items. All borrowed items should be returned by the end of the day. 

Pest Management 

As our buildings are aging, and we live near a naturalized area, we are prone to mice infestations. In the summer wasps build nests in eaves, under balcony roofs and decks, amongst other places. Please review the Pest Management Policy in your binder for advice. Pest management supplies are kept in the shed. 

Where To Get Help 

Trying to figure out what an invasive weed is? Concerned about managing the snow removal in your driveway? 

1. Talk to your neighbour about how you can share responsibilities 

2. Call or email the Grounds committee (see your phone list) 

3. Ask the SHC office coordinator to direct you to the best person for assistance. 

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Think you might like to join the Grounds Committee? Excellent Choice! No previous knowledge or skills are required. Call or email us and come check out a meeting to see what we do. 

shcgrounds @shaw.ca

Grounds Committee Update

Submitted by Yvonne Sabraw on behalf of the Grounds Committee

Grounds continues to meet monthly through the winter by Zoom. Our next one is Monday February 22nd, 6:00-7:30 and any member is welcome to check it out. Just contact us for the Zoom link. 

A few Highlights from what has been on our agenda:

Pest Management: We would still like to have a co-op member step forward as the official Pest Management coordinator, but in the meantime we are managing a few mouse infestation situations. Please be aware that there are mouse traps kept in the white cupboard in the co-op shed for members to use as needed. 

Garbage enclosures: We have had a member complaint about items being left inside and outside our garbage enclosures. There is also a lot of grumbling about garbage bins being filled with items like furniture that are not supposed to be disposed of in that way and non-recyclables being put into the recycling bins.  These are perennial concerns, and have been brought to members' attention in the past without our co-op coming to any enduring solution.The Spring dumpster foe large items appears to only be partially effective in dealing with the problem.  We have done some brainstorming about how to manage the issues, but we would like this to be a discussion for the Co-op generally, and then determine if there are practices, policies or procedures that we should put in place.   Once we have prepared a bit more we will bring this to a general meeting. In the meantime, please refrain from leaving things at things at the garbage enclosures!

New Member Welcome from Grounds: We have put together a Welcome letter to be given to new members at move-in, highlighting some of the grounds-related information that is not necessarily in policies and procedures, or that is but which we felt should be underlined.  Our Board liaison suggested that it might be good for all members to see this letter as there may be things of which even longer-term members are not aware. You can read it here, in the SHC Newsletter, and we will distribute a hard copy to members in the Spring.

Gardening Club: The mandate of the Grounds committee is quite extensive, from vetting and managing snow removal and grass cutting contracts to organizing the Spring dumpster to overseeing pest management, to looking at permaculture projects and on and on. The basic care of our Grounds, however, is something that is shared by all members, and frequently when people move into a co-op they see the maintenance of the common areas as an obvious area that the community would be working on together. Co-op Clean-up days are an example of individual members helping to care for our common spaces, but they are limited to specific days. There are many ongoing smaller projects through the summer that need to be undertaken, such as weeding flower beds, watering our Spruce trees, keeping playground gravel within the playground. We are looking at having a repository for the list of these projects and matching them with members who have said they don't necessarily want to be on the Grounds committee (and dealing with contracts and policy, etc.) but would like to be involved in the co-op in this practical way. Please send us an email if this speaks to you, and you would like us to keep you in the loop as we plan what this might look like.

Permaculture Potential #3: Permaculture and Climate Change

Submitted by Debbie Willis and the Grounds Committee

Welcome to Permaculture Potential! The Grounds Committee is excited to help educate co-op members (and ourselves!) about permacultures principles and techniques, with the eventual aim of proposing more permaculture projects to membership. This month, in honour of President Joe Biden rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, we will be discussing permaculture and its relationship to the climate crisis.

It's probably intuitive how permaculture—working with nature in order to grow food and regenerate natural systems—can be an important way to address climate change. Eating local food has long been a known as an effective way to lower your carbon footprint; our food forest at the co-op will be a way for all of us to enjoy local, healthy food that has not been transported by plane or truck.

Also, permaculture tends to include growing trees, shrubs, and other plants that will sequester carbon in the ground in the most natural, life-giving way—there is nothing wrong with carbon, per say, but there's something deeply wrong when we've released too much of it into the atmosphere.

But it's not simply trees that sequester carbon; it's the entire natural system, including the soil and mycelium. Agriculture monocrops do not sequester carbon the same way that complex polycultures do, in part because carbon cannot be effectively and naturally sequestered unless there is healthy soil.

 Soil is full of trillions of living microorganisms, and those beings do enormous work to sequester carbon and communicate with each other, and they don't like to be disturbed. Permaculture—which mostly relies on perennial plants and is often no-till/low-till and organic—allows us to produce food without much disturbance of the top soil. In contrast, industrial forms of agriculture tend to involve using pesticides—which kill microorganisms in the soil—and then attempting to replenish the soil through the addition, each year, of more and more fertilizers. These chemicals are generally fossil-fuels based, and they lead to soil depletion and, over the long term, the death and disappearance of topsoil. The loss of topsoil is a huge topic, as it has led to the collapse of whole civilizations, so preserving our topsoil is one of our most effective ways of addressing the linked crises of climate change and food insecurity.

Permaculture uses natural methods to increase the soil's capacity to capture carbon, such as compost, compost teas, mulch, fungi, worms, beneficial micro-organisms, and sustainably produced biochar. Permaculture also generally involves ground cover, which protects and nurtures the soil. Permaculture is always concerned with building and preserving soil, rather than tearing it apart and letting it blow or wash away.

I highly recommend Kiss the Ground, a documentary that is informative about regenerative agriculture's effect on soil health, and therefore on the planet. It can be found on Netflix.

And of course, there are many other ways in which permaculture can help solve the climate crisis, but these are far too numerous for a short article. Here are just a few, and there's more information at permacultureclimatechange.org:

• Water harvesting, retention and restoration of functional water systems allows for better management of watersheds and less waste (see our last article on permaculture and water management)

• Forest conservation, rewilding, and sustainable forestry and agriculture allows for healthier ecosystems and natural carbon capture

• Community-based economic models—incorporating strategies such as co-operatives, local currencies, gift economies, and horizontal economic networks—allow for citizen engagement instead of corporate monopoly

• Conservation, energy efficiency, re-use, recycling and full-cost accounting (taking more than just economics into account) decrease waste

• Conflict transformation, trauma counseling and personal and spiritual healing can allow for greater engagement with the natural world

Permaculture Potential #1: What is Permaculture? And Winterizing Your Garden!

Submitted by Debbie Willis on behalf of Grounds Committee

Welcome to Permaculture Potential! This is a new column from the Grounds Committee; we are excited to help educate co-op members (and ourselves!) about permacultures principles and techniques, with the eventual aim of proposing more permaculture projects to membership.

What is permaculture?

According to Bill Mollison, who was a professor of biogeography and environmental psychology at the University of Tasmania, permaculture is the "conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive systems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems."

In short, permaculture is about living and gardening in harmony with nature. It is a holistic worldview, as well as a set of principles and techniques. It often involves closed-loop systems (a system that provides its own energy needs), rain conservation and usage, the planting of perennial crops (rather than annuals, which involves disturbing the soil every year), and letting nature do the work for you (the human's role is to observe and work with nature's inclinations, rather than to engage in unnecessary labour).

A wonderful example of permaculture is the food forest that co-op members planted last summer—a welcoming space of perennial plants and trees that we expect will produce hundreds of pounds of food for co-op members in the coming years. We feel that further permaculture projects will enhance the beauty and sustainability of our grounds while also reducing maintenance costs and increasing food security.

For a lovely and moving overview of the principles of permaculture, please see the documentary Inhabit, available on Vimeo.

Winterizing Your Garden—Permaculture-style!

To winterize your garden the permaculture way, you want to take advantage of the resources that nature has already provided and to sustainably cycle them back into your garden to feed your soil over the year ahead. According to the website growmyownfood.com, here is a reliable way to prepare your garden space for winter:

After you've harvested the last of your veggies (and presumably you already did this before the snow this year!), cut your annual veggie plants stems off at the soil level. By retaining the root system in the soil, the roots will gradually die off over the winter and provide a ready source of accessible nutrients for next year's plants.

For perennials, perform some last "chopping and dropping." To "chop and drop" means to take extra green leafy growth and drop it directly into your garden as you cut it off.

It's best to refrain from doing any pruning of fruit trees until the late winter when they are more dormant.

Once you cleaned up the old plants in your yard, feed and preserve the soil by keeping it covered and moist. This is especially important during Calgary's dry, cold winters! The simplest (and most inexpensive) way to protect your soil is to mulch with shredded leaves. Shredded leaves decompose faster than whole leaves and so won't rot. According to The David Suzuki Foundation, leaves also provide important nutrients for the microorganisms that keep soil healthy, as well as providing a warm home for butterfly pupae, who need shelter to overwinter.

And voila! You have a simple, low-maintenance way to preserve the integrity and health of your garden over our long winter! :)

Please get in touch with Debbie in unit 34 (debmwillis@gmail.com) if you have ideas for other topics that should be covered in Permaculture Potential!

Murals Project

Submitted by Debbie Willis on behalf of Grounds Committee

Greetings SHC,

As stated in our September and October newsletter articles, the Grounds Committee had planned to address a General Meeting regarding the question of the amount of our donation to the Sunnyhill Mural Project given that the mural was painted on half the enclosure rather than all the way around as we described it. It was our intention to ask that the full amount be paid despite this discrepancy in our understanding. With this, as with so many conversations about money and value, there were arguments on both sides about whether the Co-op should follow through with the full amount or not. In the end, the full donation has been made. To provide transparency to the membership, we wanted to give the background information about those conversations that allowed for this decision's arrival.

How the mural came to be

The Sunnyside Murals Project (SMP) sprung up this past summer, inspired by many of the fence and garage murals painted in Sunnyside over the years. The Project is run by Dexter Bruneau, who is the coordinator of the artist collective. One of our members, Debbie W., reached out to SMP for more information and approached the Grounds Committee about completing a mural at SHC. She presented this at the Grounds meeting on July 6th and received the support of the committee. Following this meeting, we moved forward with a petition to the Board to discuss this item at the July 28th General Meeting.

After a site visit, the SMP picked the northeast enclosure, by the garage, as their preferred mural location. They also designated artist Sarah Johnson to do the mural upon approval by membership and chose the August long weekend to complete it.

Before the July 28th meeting, we received this information from SMP:
SMP had requested a public art grant from the city
The artist would paint the entire enclosure
Previous examples of Sarah's work

We presented this at the July 28th meeting, which was done by Zoom. The following motions were passed:
To approve the Sunnyside Mural Project to paint the garbage enclosure by the Sunnyhill Garage
To make a $500 donation from the Grounds Committee budget to Sunnyside Mural Project
Sunnyside Mural's Project would choose the design for the mural

The following weekend, July 30-August 3, Sarah painted the two sides of the garbage enclosure that face the bluff.

Following the completion of the mural

The Grounds Committee received feedback from members that while they generally were pleased with the mural, they were disappointed that it was on only two sides, not four, as promised. Following this feedback, we communicated with Dexter to inquire about the garbage enclosure's completion. Dexter explained that Sarah felt what was completed fit the scope and timeline of the Project.

Following this discussion, Grounds decided to release only half the donation amount ($250) until we could further investigate how to move forward. After reviewing the artist's previous work, it became apparent that this size project would have cost us thousands of dollars had we commissioned it ourselves. It was now clear that the Co-op receiving local artwork for a mere $500 was a bargain, and we should show our support in valuing our local artists' work by releasing the remainder of the funds. We recommended this position, with our full arguments and support to the Board, who followed our recommendation.

Moving forward, we have discussed the possibility of Sarah returning to complete the remaining sides of the enclosure. SMP said this was a possibility; however, it would be considered a new project and most likely not occur until next year if taken on. There is also the option of members participating in painting our enclosures ourselves, which could be fun.

We appreciate your time and energy in this process and welcome any questions or concerns that members would like to address. Please send any thoughts you have to our email: SHCgrounds@shaw.ca, and we will be happy to discuss them either directly or in future newsletters.

Grounds Committee Update

Submitted by Yvonne Sabraw on behalf of the Grounds Committee

The colder weather has seen us move our meetings from out in the common space to indoors and onto Zoom, and we've slowed down from meeting every 2 weeks to monthly for the winter. But we are still basking in the glow of that glorious and productive summer.

The focus for the fall has been:

1. Getting the Yardworx contract underway. We've received several kudos and a couple of suggestions on the job Yardwox has done so far. Please continue to provide feedback on how the snow clearing is going- just fire off an email to shcgrounds@shaw.ca.

2. Planning the Grounds budget. It's in the draft stages for SHC budget discussions, so it's not too late to weigh in on Grounds priorities for the upcoming year. Let us know if there is something near and dear to your heart that we should be planning for. For example, we are hoping to start digging out and replacing cotoneaster starting in 2021, but the first round we are proposing is to provide members with the funds to purchase new shrubs if they are prepared to take on the digging-out of the cotoneaster themselves.

3. Gardening tools that need sharpening will be taken from the shed soon for their annual schlep to the sharpening shop (say that 5 times fast!)

4. Bartlett's, our arborists, have done a fine job of pruning and otherwise caring for all the trees we targeted from our proposal this summer.

5. New maps to replace the aging and damaged "You Are Here" signs at the entrance to the 3rd Street parking lot and at the sidewalk where 4th street turns into 7th Avenue, will be up very soon.

6. We still have an opening specifically for a Pest Management coordinator, and we welcome anyone who would like to come onto Grounds in any capacity - the next meeting is Monday November 23rd. Drop us an email and we will send you the Zoom link for the meeting.

-Sunnyhill Grounds

End of October Grounds’ Activities

Submitted by Yvonne on behalf of the Grounds Committee

Update October 23

Hi everyone,

As we could all guess, the leaf raking plan for Saturday is cancelled.

Thanks!

Yvonne

—-

Mark Saturday, October 24th, 1:00-3:00pm as the Co-op Rake-a-thon. We’ll fill as many bags as we can, and will have them taken off to the City compost.  Brown compostable bags will be in the shed for members to use For leaves  in their own backyards and in the common space.

We will also do a post-Halloween pumpkin pickup for the City compost - details in the November Voice.

Grounds Priorities 2021
We are putting together the budget for next year, and need membership input into things that members want to prioritize.
If you have a tree stump that needs to be removed, if you are concerned about a garbage enclosure door, etc., please let us know BEFORE Thursday October 22nd , when we will be starting to draft  our budget. No guarantee that all the requests will be prioritized by the membership, but we need to cost out the work as the first step.

We expect that Bartlett’s will be on site October 26th and 27th to prune trees. Please be aware that your vehicle may need to be out of your driveway for access and safety if you have a tree that was on the list for being attended to. Another reminder will be sent closer to the date the work is being done.

New Grounds Contract

Submitted by Mahlah Hansen on behalf of Grounds Committee

Greetings Sunnyhill! 

The Grounds Committee is happy to introduce our new contractors Yardworx. They have signed on for the Winter of 2020 and the Spring/Summer of 2021. You will see them onsite next week as they aerate the grass. 

For the Winter, a 2” snow fall will trigger plow services for the 3rd Street Houses. For the sidewalks, a 1” snow fall will trigger clearing. If you notice any ice build up please let Grounds know ASAP. For the Spring/Summer they will be here on a weekly basis taking care of our lawns. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please email Grounds at SHCgrounds@shaw.ca 

Included here is a little information about them: 

“The staff and crews at Yardworx want to say thank you very much for allowing this opportunity!   It is greatly appreciated!.

Yardworx is a Progressive Company Following these Values and Desired Behaviours

1. DEPENDABILITY – Value of showing Reliability and Trustfullness

2. ACCESSABILITY – Be Accessible and Approachable in all Thoughts and Actions

3. GENEROUS – We are Generous with our Time, Money and Resources

4. PERCEPTION – To Always be Aware of how our Action Affect Others

Yardworx has been in business for over 30 years, with experience in residential and small to large commercial properties. We take snow removal very seriously. We are a leader in the industry because of our processes and many benefits we offer to our customers. We manage your site, not just service it! There is a difference.

Our service providers are automatically dispatched and are monitored during all snow events. While on site our service providers time in and out of all sites on a mobile app on their cell phones. This ensures that orders are completed with live time information. Another benefit to live time posting is that we can accurately track when each site is being completed to ensure our customers are getting serviced in a timely manner. Along with live posting, the service provider will add any tech notes regarding the service for the day or any problems on site such as a leaking eaves trough, broken window, etc. When it comes to plow and graveling sites, we take a before and after picture at every service that gets completed.

Our production manager and office staff are available outside of regular business hours such as weekends to address any concerns or requests, we want to make sure you are getting the best possible experience.

Yardworx offers many value added services such as: 

-Regular site inspections – Our Production Manager and team will visit sites to make sure the maintenance and services being performed are up to Yardworx standards. We ensure all sidewalks are cleared from edge to edge and down to concrete. Snow Pile locations are kept away from any high spots, drains, handicap parking stalls, roadways, and entrances to ensure drivers and pedestrians can get to their destination safely.

-Yardworx and our service providers are fully insured and WCB insured.

Any service related issues that may arise, please do not go through us directly, rather, contact Grounds @ SHCgrounds@shaw.ca and they will contact us directly.

We look forward to keeping your site safe hopefully next summer, really pretty!!”

Thank You For Choosing Yardworx.ca!