For those of you following the anti-shark fin lobby, you may be interested to hear that Burnaby’s very own Claudia Li is expanding her horizons. Li founded Shark Truth, a non-profit group that aims to stop the slaughter of sharks for their fins. Now she’s starting a new group: the hua foundation, which is launching an intercultural food literacy program with a seasonal Asian produce guide, cooking workshops that span generations, and information on healthy sustainable and culturally appropriate food sources. The idea behind the foundation is to challenge the stereotype that Chinese culture and environmental protection are mutually exclusive. For more information on the new foundation, go to www.huafoundation.org.
Seeking info on great-grandma
We received an email from a U.K. resident looking for information on her deceased grandmother. Sue Cooper is trying to track down her late great-grandmother Margaret Cook Sykes, who died in Burnaby in 1956. Cook Sykes was born in the U.K. in 1922, but moved to the U.S. and then Burnaby.
“Perhaps, there may be someone still around who remembered her,” Cooper wrote. “How and why she was in Burnaby is a complete mystery. My mother nor her mother ever discussed her as a child. We did not even know she was still alive.”
Cooper is planning to visit Vancouver next spring and is hoping to locate her great-grandmother’s grave, although no one knows where her remains are. According to Copper, her great-grandmother lived at 4040 Parker St. and died in the Lindross Private Hospital. Anyone with information on Margaret Cook Sykes can email Cooper at [email protected].
Knitters unite
The Tommy Douglas library branch has been hosting a monthly knitting club that has been growing in popularity. The club’s next meeting is on Nov. 16, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and people are welcome to knit, crochet or stitch. Bring your own needles and yarn. Tea and cookies are provided. The library branch is at 7311 Kingsway. For more information, call 604-522-3971.
Award finalist
Kudos are in order for the Burnaby Neighbourhood House. The local neighbourhood house, (which recently dropped “south” from its name) was nominated as a finalist for a 2013 Safe Harbour Champions Award in the community organizer category. Safe Harbour is an interesting program we’ve featured in the past. It’s a bit like Block Watch for businesses but with an anti-racist twist. Businesses sign up and learn how to be “safe harbours” from discrimination, and they display a Safe Harbour decal in their door or window. The Burnaby Neighbourhood House is a Safe Harbour member and community organizer, which means they provide diversity training for businesses or agencies that sign up for the program. But it’s the neighbourhood house’s work beyond Safe Harbour that inspired the nomination. For instance, there’s the long-standing partnership with the Burnaby Intercultural Planning Table, a recent mural project at the Marlborough daycare, the regular Sharing Cultures dinners, and ongoing training for staff and volunteers on how to create a space that’s welcoming and inclusive.
The award winners will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 19 after NOW deadlines.
A few of your favourite things
What makes Burnaby an amazing place to live? Is it the local restaurants, the incredible parks, or an unknown little thrift store full of treasures? Send us your favourite Burnaby attractions, and we’ll post one great thing about this city on our Facebook page each day. (Make sure you go to Facebook and like our Burnaby NOW page, too.) Send us your suggestions via Facebook, on Twitter (@Burnabynow_news), or snap a pic of your favourite thing, and tag us on Instagram.
