President’s Message – September 2023

With the advent of September we witness the colour change and cooler temperatures. Hopefully the summer weather we have enjoyed will continue and everyone will enjoy Confederation Park, Nose Hill Park and our own Off Lease Dog Park this fall.  By now the new trees in our Dog Park will have been planted and additional tree log landscaping and planting of wild flowers on the northern edge will have been completed. Unfortunately, some additional wild flower planting will be necessary resulting in the fencing staying in place until next year. Calgary Parks has also added three free compostable “poop” bag dispensers that I hope everyone is utilizing. These bags are compostable and are recommended by the City for use over the less expensive biodegradable types. 

I am sure everyone has noticed the construction activity within the community, particularly in the area around Confederation Park. Recently we have received our first land use application change, in this case from R-C2 to the new R-CG designation that if approved could allow up to 4 units being developed on a 50 foot frontage corner lot. This is the first of a trend that is well represented in the neighbouring Mount Pleasant community.  If you have comments on such developments please contact our Planning Committee at planning@cambrianheightscommunity.com .

In September CHCA will restart the Fitness (Monday) and Yoga (Wednesday) programs. Details are available in the Newsletter or our website (www.cambrianheightscommunity.com). The Community Hall will also see twice a week (Tuesday/Thursday) Scottish Country Dancing lessons and evening socials. Enjoy the music, camaraderie and exercise afforded by qualified instructors and Scottish music. Again details may be found on the website. We hope to have a family concert event outdoors in mid September but we have no firm plans at the writing of this report. Watch the website or Hall signage. 

The previously reported garden project at the park space bordering Cambrian and Northmount Drives has progressed thanks to a group of resident volunteers. This fall we will develop cost estimates to design and install signage to identify an entrance to our community at this location. If you wish to get involved with this project please let us know by emailing us at cambrianheights@gmail.com . 

The Community continues to need volunteers to replace our Treasurer and our Social Media Director. These are critical positions for the Community Association controlling our finance and communications activities. We currently have only 5 volunteer Directors which restricts our ability to plan events or programs. This is an opportunity to join an experienced team and help develop the programs, events and planning for Cambrian Heights. It is your community. Help make it better for your family by volunteering even on a limited basis. To discuss these two volunteer opportunities or others please contact us at president@cambrianheightscommunity.com .

Daryl Connolly, President CHCA

With the advent of summer the Board of Directors take a two month holiday from meetings. However work continues on planning social events, continuing progress on our Off Leash Dog Park development, the volunteer effort to enhance the park space bordering Cambrian and Northmount Drive and the attention to increasing development permits as our community grows and experiences changes in housing design. 

June was highlighted in Cambrian Heights by our Annual General Meeting on June 27 and some Neighbour Day block parties held on June 17.  Those that attended the AGM heard of the continuing strong financial position the community enjoys while our need for residents to join in planning and participating in social events remains a challenge. We are planning to host an outdoor event in mid September with entertainment and food to welcome the fall months and a new season of social activities.

Of major impact to the residents was the provincial general election. We congratulate our new MLA Lizette Tejada on her successful campaign and look forward to establishing the same level of communication and community support enjoyed with our previous representative Jeremy Nixon. 

The Community Hall will remain busy this summer season with the second year of the Between Friends summer camp occupying the facility and grounds throughout the July August months. We will be hosting on July 15 our second Die Volksmesse car show on the community hall grounds. In addition we have recently added a Church group and committed to a Fall Scottish Country Dancing group program. We are looking to add additional programs this fall as well as return with our Yoga and Fitness programs in September. 

As previously reported, there are two gardening projects in our Community. One is the planting of flowers at the park space bordering Cambrian and Northmount Drives, and the new demonstration garden sponsored by the Alberta Low Impact Development Partnership. (“ALIDP”) at the rear of the Community Hall. The first garden is a beautification project on this park spacing as a visible entry point into our community. With the City reducing services we have gathered a volunteer group to plant flowers and care for this park space. Should you wish to help out in this regard please contact us at cambrianheights@gmail.com. The ALIDP garden on the other hand is a provincial sponsored project that identifies low maintenance natural plants designed for Alberta weather conditions as an alternative to high water demand grass lawns.  Come visit the garden behind the hall that is also being monitored and studied by the University of Calgary for natural moisture levels. 

We continue to pursue future enhancements to the Off Leash Park on 32nd Avenue and 10th Street. Progress has been slowed by a current small volunteer base but with Calgary Parks help improvements have been made and will continue with the planting of new tress this summer. You may have noticed fencing around some areas of this park which are designed to allow the initiation of a taller growing but hardy grass to minimize maintenance of the area. This is part of a City wide parks program. The City will continue to cut grass in the main area for off leash activity and water new trees until they are stabilized. Please consider involving yourself in our Parks enhancement projects. 

The Community is in need of volunteers to replace our Treasurer and our Social Media Director, both of whom have retired this year. These are critical positions for the Community Association controlling our finance and communications activities. This is an opportunity to join an experienced team and help develop the programs, events and planning for Cambrian Heights. To discuss these volunteer opportunities and others please contact us at president@cambrianheightscommunity.com .

Have a Great Summer!

Daryl Connolly, President CHCA