The Britannia Homework Club
Who are you? We are a non-profit society that draws its students from Vancouver’s 3 poorest neighbourhoods – Strathcona, Grandview-Woodlands and the Downtown East Side. Our mission is to support the academic, social/emotional and financial needs of youth at Britannia Secondary, struggling…
99 Ways to Leverage our Humanity – Part 2
[Editor’s note: I must start by saying that what unfolds below is a team effort – thanks to everyone who has contributed to this list! So, for better or worse, many parts of the world have been recently occupied –…
99 Ways to Leverage Our Humanity
For better or worse, many parts of the world have been recently occupied – and in some places, like Vancouver, these occupations may be coming to an end. Many elements of the Occupy Movement have issued demands. Personally, I see…
Pedal Etiquette – Drivers are too nice!
Most weekdays see me ride my bike home from work. And the lovely and talented Michelle Burtnyk-Horn rides to and from work every day. Recently, we had a chat about similar problems that we were having with drivers at four-way-stops.Long…
October – the best month of them all
Ok. I admit it. I’m biased. I happen to have a birthday that falls right at the beginning of the month. But that’s not why I like – no scratch that – love October. Let’s start with the season itself…
English Bay’s Bulk Carriers Revealed
Ever notice that Vancouver’s English Bay skyline is constantly littered with those, squat, red-hulled ships? Or maybe not. They’re such an omnipresent feature of our surroundings, that we pay them little heed despite their importance. Each of these modern-day merchant…
The Cost of Poverty
Poverty accounts for huge costs on our society. And not just the ones incurred by the massive losses suffered by our human capital because of all our wasted talent. There are financial costs, too. Big ones. The Canadian Centre for…
Sustainable Shipping: the Wave of the Future
“Sustainability”, “low emissions”, “saving fuel” – these are the buzz words in global shipping circles these days. With jacked up oil prices and pressure on ports to “Green” their operations, ship owners are frantically casting about for new technologies to…
Awesome Community Business Projects
[Editor’s note: Recently, I left my job at the UBC’s Sauder School of Business (pictured above, my leaving is pictured below) for a job with UBC Career Services. Last year, Sauder launched the Community Business Project, an experiential and service…
Urban Densification and the Death of the House Party
On many an occasion, friends in Vancouver have crammed upwards of 30 people into their 692 square foot apartments. And a few times since moving to Vancity in 2008, I’ve seen many of those same 30 people party in a fairly spacious household setting, where – throughout the course of the evening – components of the party will actually take on identities all their own: the kitchen might turn into a cauldron of political debate, a guitar-playing sing-along might erupt in the livingroom, a game of croquet might take place on the lawn, and people might check out wedding photos on the computer in the den.