Tuesday, December 4, 2007

To many visitors

The powers that be at Riverview, recently told the representatives from the Riverview Horticultural Centre Society, that to many people were visiting the Riverview grounds, and that they would have to cut back on their tree tours. The bureaucracy probably should have told that to Rich Coleman and his "Friends", before they proposed to develop the site. Somebody forgot to tell them that WE own the property, not a few bureaucrats. As usual hindering public access to the site, is contrary to the goals of the mental health mantra, to integrate "normal folks" with the "un-normal folks", back to the seventeenth century we go.......

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Tobacco war at Riverview

http://www.leg.bc.ca/38th3rd/3rd_read/gov10-3.htm

"No puffin at the Hospital" The following is an excerpt from the new no smoking regulations that allows the Governor to change the regulations as required.

" (3) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as contemplated in sections 2.1 to 2.3, and for the purposes of those sections the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:

(a) defining a word or phrase;

(b) exempting persons or places, or parts of places, from all or part of those sections, with or without conditions;

(c) prescribing persons, including by class;

(d) prescribing places, including

(i) by class or use, and

(ii) a private place.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), different regulations may be made for different persons, places or things."

So I guess we have to lobby the Lieutenant Governor to tweak it.
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My reply to the Hospitals: Smoke-free initiative "Feedback Form"

Issues/Concerns:

What has got lost in this debate is who the staff serve. CLIENTS


As a volunteer, who also has this disgusting habit, I am asked all the time for cigarettes. The volunteers will be placed under great pressure to acquire tobacco for the residents.

I do know that when I personally talk to the doctors and staff many of them acknowledge that tobacco is an adjunct to the medications, therapies that the patients receive. But they will not go on record by writing it down, fearing censure.

Many of the patients realize that tobacco is no good for them, but it does help mitigate some of the side effects of the medications that they receive.

The hospital is THEIR HOME, and as such they should be making the decisions, to sell or not to sell tobacco, or smoking or non-smoking.

A few of the 20 questions posed in the survey violate OUR countries rights and freedoms act.
#5 especially.
#6 If staff members want to buy tobacco for the residents on their own time that is their right.
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#9 It is verging on cruel and unusual punishment to totally cut the locked-wards off.

#16 This has been going on for years with native tax-free cigarettes circulating around the site. By enforcing this new smoke-free proposal, we just give the drug dealers, another sideline.


Coffee-free initiative, next? Good luck

Friday, August 10, 2007

What do YOU think we should do with the Riverview lands?

Lets have your ideas, of what should be done with these lands and buildings. Just click on the comments at the bottom of this post. Spill your guts..

Save the Riverview Hospital lands

The Riverview Hospital lands, are under pressure to be developed into market housing. Help to save the lands as a healing sanctuary for the mentally ill of OUR Province.



Please join the Riverview Horticultural Centre Society,( RHCS ) Facebook page. Twitter too!

Please sign the On-line petition or download a Word document petition ,which is a more official type of petition.
Blogs, about the hospital grounds
Mike Farnworth,MLA; Facebook forum " Protect the Riverview Lands"
And another Facebook group: Riverview Preservation Society
this group also has a petition to sign.

Click-able Map of the Riverview site

BISCO -- Brookside-Leeside-Roadside -- Centre Lawn -- Colony Farm
Crease Clinic -- East Lawn -- Essondale Hospital
Finnie's Garden -- Henry Esson Young -- Hillside unit
Home for the Aged-Valleyview -- North Lawn
Nurses homes -- Pennington Hall -- TreeFest -- West Lawn
John Davidson; "Botany John" blog. He was the first Provincial Botanist, who created British Columbia's first Botanical Garden at Riverview.
Other groups involved Riverview Horticultural Centre Society
Who also have a media NEWS Blog
You can also download a 42 page report titled, For the future of Riverview created by the Riverview Task Force.
Or Burke Mountain Naturalists, report: The Riverview Hospital Site, Respecting its Past,Realizing its Future
Coquitlam has designated the buildings and grounds, as a heritage site.
Download the Statement of Significance; SoS report PDF

Tour through the grounds


Paul Buikema, of Progress Landscaping, created this video.

Treefest 2011 slideshow


A slideshow of images from the Tree festival of 2011. Created in HD. Enjoy.

Riverview trees

Finnie's Garden -- slideshow

Finnie's Garden -- Pond restoration slideshow

TreeFest -- slideshow