Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023 - The lawn dilemma

Tuesday, September 19, 2023 | 🌧 High 17C

Good morning!

Several years ago, my wife acquired an old keyboard (of the 🎹 variety) through Facebook for our kids to tinker around on. The kids barely touched it for years until this summer, when, one sunny day, my eight-year-old found a beginner’s piano activity book in our home and asked where “the piano” was.

We found the keyboard laying on its end against the wall, but ever since, its sound has been a constant presence around the house. My son has spent entire days playing the keyboard. He even learned that he could use YouTube, which he is otherwise prohibited from using, to learn to play songs from animated movies. Now, previous musical re-discoveries around our house have nearly driven my wife and I mad. We’re still recovering from The Day The Kids Played The Recorders. But the keyboard has been fine, bringing volume-controlled harmonies as my kid plunks out single-fingered renditions of movie theme songs. So it’s been delightful to see my kid so enthusiastically take to a new passion purely through his own interest, even if I hear the Harry Potter theme song in my dreams by now.

Thanks to our newest members Jon and Ella for supporting our journalism and helping make each newsletter possible. You can join them and become a member here.

WORTH KNOWING

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope

⚠️ Here’s the current smoke forecast / Check the BC Wildfire Dashboard here

🚘 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google, and find DriveBC’s latest updates.

NEWS

The lawn dilemma

Consider the lawn.

For decades, verdant expanses of green grass have been seen as the aesthetically pleasing embodiment of the perfect neighbourhood. Lawns mattered so much that many communities enacted laws regulating their height. And letting grass or any other plants grow shin-high could net you not just bad looks from neighbours, but fines from uniformed officers.

The last decade has seen a reconsideration, of sorts.

Lawns consume large amounts of water. And there are few greater sins than water wastefulness in an era of increasingly dry summers and expensive water infrastructure. And as our grass increasingly goes brown in the summer, we’re losing what makes lawns good, beyond the aesthetics.

But finding tolerable replacements for lawns won’t be easy. And while the grass might be greener on the other side, it might also be illegal.

• Today, Tyler talks to two horticulture experts about the future of lawns and greenery in our neighbourhoods.

• In a coming edition, we’ll look at each municipality’s lawn-maintenance rules, and whether they discourage the planting of butterfly gardens.

Need to know

🏒 The Abbotsford Canucks will hold their training camp in Chilliwack over four days in early October; it will be open to the public [Abbotsford Canucks]

🏎 Langley Township residents say speeding is a constant problem near the site where a pedestrian was killed last week [CityNews]

⚠ Two more people have been bitten by Mission’s ravenous coyotes [Mission Record] / The city is asking residents to be careful and shared tips on how to avoid getting bitten [City of Abbotsford]

🔵 A berry scientist has been honoured with UFV’s Distinguished Alumni Award [UFV]

🏥 Langley’s hospital staff are working in ‘outdated spaces that fall short on many fronts,’ according to the head of the local hospital foundation [Langley Advance Times]

👉 An Abbotsford woman has been chosen to appear on the next season of The Bachelor [Abbotsford news]

🐄 A Chilliwack biogas plant is the largest such facility in the province [Chilliwack Progress]

🔥 A new wildfire was sparked west of Harrison Lake near two other existing blazes [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

👉 Canada says there is reason to believe the Indian government was involved in the killing of a Sikh leader in Surrey earlier this year [Associated Press]

SPONSORED BY SUSTAINABLE CONNECTIONS

Unveiling the culinary charms of Whatcom County

Visit Whatcom County for a month-long celebration of local food and those who grow, raise, fish, make, and cook it! All month long Sustainable Connections will be highlighting opportunities to meet chefs, farmers, fishers, and grocers to experience the unique flavors of our region.

The Agenda

Chilliwack enrollment grows

Enrollment in Chilliwack’s public schools is continuing its upward trend.

As of Sept. 11, there were 14,520 students in classes from kindergarten through Grade 12 throughout School District 33, which covers Chilliwack and the surrounding area. The enrollment is up by 444 students since the end of last September.

While the increase in students is about on-par with changes seen between 2020 and 2021, (where 469 more students joined classrooms) it’s double last year’s increase. Those figures mean enrollment has increased by more than 1,000 over just the last three years.

A recent CBC analysis found that among BC’s largest school districts, Chilliwack and Abbotsford have the highest number of portables per student in British Columbia.

🔓️ Become a Current Insider for 25% off today and get full access to this newsletter. Every Tuesday, members get exclusive information on events, food and drink, and local deals.

You’ll also get our weekly behind-the-scenes newsletter and roundup on Saturday. And most of all, your contribution will allow us to keep producing all the great journalism you already know and love.

🍴 Sasquatch Inn: Harrison Mills. Inn-based pub with a wide selection of burgers, pastas, and pizzas. Large pizza costs around $30; legendary Sasquatch burger costs about $17. Open Wednesday through Monday, 10am until 10/11pm.

🍴 Cultivate Cafe: Chilliwack. Reader-recommended café located at Minter Country Gardens, with chef-created brunch and lunch items. Sandwiches cost around $15. Open 9am to 4pm, Tuesday through Sunday.

🍴 Little Donkey: Fort Langley. Mexican restaurant with a self-described focus on 'beer and burritos.' Most burritos cost about $15. Open 11am to 7pm.

Local specials

Want to promote your business to 30,000+ engaged locals?

Contact our partnerships team today

Have a tip? Email us