Saturday, October 26, 2013

Memorial Service at Riverview Cemetery

 "A Memorial Ceremony at the Riverview Cemetery"



Update:  photo from the event, nice sunny day.

Article in the newspaper:  Remembering Riverview’s dead  
We even have a Jane Doe interred there, who knew?


Now is a timely opportunity to ensure that the religious/spiritual Life of Riverview is given proper recognition and attention.

In the midst of high profile debatable issues around Riverview, a pause needs to be taken in order to remember and to celebrate the sacred history of the Riverview "Estate" Lands.

As a significant part of this recognition, a Memorial Ceremony is being planned for Sunday afternoon, 17th November. It is to be held in the Cemetery, off Lougheed Highway, at the eastern side of Riverview garden.

The Ceremony will honor, not only the religious programs of the "Estate", but even more so, the people who are buried and resting in peace in the cemetery. Beneath the shadows of the ancient oak trees growing along Orchid Avenue, the promise of a new future is imagined and hoped for as individuals are remembered and their lives celebrated.

Over 1,000 headstones, flush even with the ground, mark their individual places. Their 'resting in peace' in the hallowed ground acknowledges who they are and to whom they belong as much as the sacred identity and integrity of Riverview itself.

The Ceremony will include prayer, song, readings, and the scattering of flower petals by different leaders in the community. The public is invited to attend and to participate in the event which begins at 2:00 p.m.

The Memorial Ceremony is intended to provide that opportunity to build community awareness and to express gratitude for the heritage of the Riverview "Estate" Lands.

Further details can be obtained from Rev. David Spence (604-469-1164).

Saturday, October 5, 2013

October is upon us

 Recent news:
 Letters to the Editor:   Monday, Oct. 21: Readers call for more support for mental health

 Riverview not the answer
 [ more drivel from the misguided academic. Throw her into the trenches for a few years and see if she changes her mind.  ]
two letters to the editor:   Riverview’s future
 ----------------------------------

Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson ready to tackle mental health ‘crisis’

Reopening of Riverview Hospital not the answer
 Opinion: Truly compassionate solution would be an honest look at how we treat people with severe mental illness   [ When are the writers of this piece going to start to give an "Honest look at how we treat people with mental illness" ]

A letter replying to the above article:  Thursday, Oct. 3: Riverview healed my mother, saved my childhood

A letter in the local paper:   Riverview saved my life  Great to hear the voice of former patients.

More than 200 new beds for seniors, people with mental health issues announced.
[ Further hardening up of the privatization of the health care industry. The shit hits the fan though when these for-profit groups want more money from "OUR" government, and the patients are used as pawns ]

World is lighting up purple for mental health
Can you say Barney ?

 David Spence — Riverview Cemetery Memorial Service

     Gathering information on the names of the people interred in the cemetery and inviting their families to participate in the event. Sunday, November 17, 2013 as the potential date for the Memorial Service.
A project still in the planning stages.
 <<<<<     (     )     >>>>>

We are at the early stages of another planning process, apparently the present land management outfit: Shared Services, is transferring their control of Riverview to BC Housing, will be interesting to see how that works out, No idea who actually will be in total charge of the fort, as usual.
BC Housing will be starting a planning process to look at revenue creating ways to maintain the buildings and grounds, about time! It was very noticeable through the years how the site had empty space; that I know local groups would have loved to have, but were turned away  when they asked. Will be interesting to see if this attitude will change.
As a goodwill measure they have started to cut the lawns again, a good neighbor thing.
A few local news articles: 
 Not a 'surplus asset'

Cutting the grass, BC Housing says, shows it means business about Riverview's future
 Correction to the above article from Anna Tremere:  As a point of clarification re "bodies of thousands of patients lie in rest."   My comment was that "there are over one thousand patients interred in the cemetery."  The actual figure I was given by Shared Services in 2012 was one thousand and eighty five patients interred.

[ I am looking into getting the list of internments in the cemetery, and will ask if it is allowed to be made available to the web.]

 This closure was 'nuts'
 It's time to talk about Riverview

Another letter from a patients family:  Renew Riverview Hospital to support mental health

Found out on the side that they are making 500-800,000$ per year from the movie industry use of the site.
And that it is costing actually about 3.5-4 million per year to maintain the site.

The Greater Vancouver Water District is scheming away to run a large 2 metre diameter water pipeline to Surrey through the western end of Riverview and along the western edge of Colony Farm; one giant huge mess ahead. See map below the Yellow line was an early idea, that has now been changed to the blue line idea.

March 2014, Update:  some news about the water tunnel under construction; Metro Vancouver drilling $240m water tunnel under Fraser River (with video)
And the official Metro page devoted to the project;   Port Mann Water Supply Tunnel

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