A league member has asked us to post this. Please write to support@bonniedoon.ca if you can help.

Due to illness in the family (not covid) we are seeking urgently a responsible and reliable person for driving to the hospital daily and help around the house (cleaning and food preparation) for the next 3 months at minimum. Approximate hours would be 6:45 to 9:45 AM and 6:00 to 8:00 PM, salary according to experience. Thank you.

The Ritchie Community League has issued another challenge! RCL challenges all community leagues in Edmonton to get moving outside between January 1 and March 31, 2021. 

To help combat the isolation brought on by the pandemic, we’re going to get outdoors, get moving, and raise some money for mental health organizations in Edmonton.

Anything that logs kilometres counts: walking, biking, skating, skiing, sledding and more! We’re going to include indoor kilometres for this, too, so don’t let a lockdown stop you from moving.
​
​To participate, volunteer, or suggest a local charity we should support, please email Alison at bike@bonniedoon.ca 
 
Ritchie made a video explaining the challenge. Take a look!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq0O9Xzj49w
​

Can you help us? Our goal is to provide a view of the rink surface so that skaters can check how busy the rink is, or if the ice is being flooded. The view does not even have to be live video; a still image refreshed every minute might suffice. One hurdle: we have a weak connection to the hall's wifi signal.

If you can volunteer your time and expertise to guide us, that would be great! Please write to Mark, abundant@bonniedoon.ca.

​This Advent initiative was started by Bonnie Doon residents Darrell, Ian and Tracy.

Please join Bonnie Dooners who will provide some life and light this Christmas season. Their goal is to create warmth, comfort, and well-being through neighbourly connection. They will light their fire pits in their front yards from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM and use the metaphors of Advent to welcome you on these Sundays:

• Nov 29, Hope
• Dec 6, Peace
• Dec 13,, Joy
• Dec 20, Love

We invite you to go for a Walking Tour those afternoons and seek out the Advent fires. Their locations are on this map.
 
We hope some of you will light your own Advent fire pit in your front yard on those Sunday afternoons! If you want to be included on our map, please write to Mark, abundant@bonniedoon.ca.

The following was shared by Bonnie Doon resident Darrell Muth:

Howard Thurman, author of Jesus and the Disinherited wrote this many years ago, in a different context for a different time. But I believe it speaks for today.

I Will Light Candles This Christmas
By Howard Thurman

I will light candles this Christmas,
Candles of joy despite all the sadness,
Candles of hope where despair keeps watch,
Candles of courage for fears ever present,
Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days,
Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens,
Candles of love to inspire all my living,
Candles that will burn all year long.

To join in the fun of the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues' 100th Anniversary on Saturday, January 23, 2021, Bonnie Doon Community League is hosting a Community Quiz!

Everyone is welcome to join in.  Drop your response in the mail box at Bonnie Doon Hall (9240 – 93 St NW) by Friday, January 22. There will be a random draw on January 23 and winners will be notified by phone.  Winners will receive Bonnie Doon Community League touques!    
 
The Trendall Family's Christmas Quiz was a local tradition in Bonnie Doon for many years. Their family would sit around at their home on 92 Street, trying to answer all the questions.  We've adapted the idea for a Family Quiz December 2020. 
 
You can print out the quiz or pick up a copy from the Picnic Table at Bonnie Doon Park.  Answer as many questions as you can.  Printable version here 
 
1. How many oak tree seedlings did Joe Opgenorth plant on 90th Street, between 85 Avenue and 88 Avenue?  _________  
 
2. What is the circumference of the biggest tree on your block?    ___________  cm.   Do you know what kind of a tree it is? ______________________
You may be able to find the answer on the yegTreeMap where you can search by location or neighbourhood. 
 
3. How many Lodgepole Pine trees can you find in Bonnie Doon Park?    ___________ 
Did you know that Little Brown Bats in Edmonton prefer Lodgepole Pines for roosting during summer days?
 
4. Describe 1 tree with a commemorative plaque in Bonnie Doon:
  _____________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________
    
 5. Shortly after Bonnie Doon Park was redesigned in 1999, Paramount Pictures filmed  parts of their popular family adventure film, Snow Day, in the park.  If you check it out over the holidays, watch for the rink scenes and some of the chases.  There wasn't much snow in Edmonton that year, and the forest in Bonnie Doon Park wasn't quite as lush as Paramount required. According to locals, "snow was trucked in from nearby fields and many tree branches were added to snow banks in Bonnie Doon to enhance the local forest when Snow Day was filmed." 
Is this statement True   or   False?   _____________________________________________
 
6.  Estimate the size of the biggest bird nest you have seen in Bonnie Doon?  ______________________________
     Who lives there?  __________________________________________
     Where is it?  ______________________________________________  
     What tree did they pick?   ____________________________________
 
 
7. And finally, 'Who put the bop in the bop-she-bop-da-bop and who put the ram in the rama-lama-ding-dong'?  You got me...??  Name that tune.  This line concluded one of the Trendalls' quizzes. 
 
If you have any questions, contact seniors@bonniedoon.ca  
 
 
Quiz completed by: ________________________________     Age: ________   
Phone Number:  _________________________________________________

You can learn more about The Trendall Family, the Snow Day movie and  Joe Opgenorth's tree planting in Bonnie Doon's History Book.  Available to purchase online on our website!  $40 for a hardcover and $25 for a soft cover.  

Rutherford Parent Council has asked us to share an important reminder about the bylaw for dogs on school fields and why it's more important this year:  

"The City of Edmonton website states 'Dogs must always be on a leash when on public property. Dogs are not allowed on school grounds, sports fields, playgrounds and golf courses. The fine for violating this bylaw is $100.'  

Dog poop is found daily on the school field. The snow fort created by our youngest students and painted blue during their outside classtime is now covered in yellow dog pee around the base, making it less desirable to play in.  The snowmen are also covered in dog pee.  

Students remain in their assigned learning cohort during recess activites and a rotating schedule is utilized where each cohort has an assigned area outside for each recess break that supports physical distancing and promotes play and physical activity.  Classes do not mix.  The playground equipment is not permitted to be used during recess.  As a result, every zone of the school field is used daily, both for recess, outdoor class work and gym.  

Please walk your dogs in designated places rather than our school field.  Thank you for your understanding." 
​

PLEASE NOTE, THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO COVID RESTRICTIONS

Join your Bonnie Doon neighbours as we drive out of town (near Drayton Valley) to cut down our own Christmas trees. BDCL will buy permit(s) and coordinate the trailer sharing, however there will be no car pooling this year.  We have one trailer but may need a second; do you have one?

This will take most of the day. We drive out, tromp through the woods, cut some trees, haul them back, tie them onto a trailer, etc. Meanwhile, kids (big & small) may want to toboggan on the nearby hills. Write to Mark at social@bonniedoon.ca before December 6. Mark will contact you with final details. Space is limited.

Your tree may not be the very best but you and your kids will never forget the day!

When: Saturday, December 12. Cohorts in their own vehicles. 
Leave BD Park 9 am, arrive 11 am, depart for home 3 pm.
Trees: usually Alberta spruce, rarely a pine.
Bring: warm clothes, extra socks etc for sliding, sliders, axes, saws, food and drink for yourselves.

Updated November 9, 2020: The event is confirmed. It will occur online, via Zoom. Please register via Eventbrite.
​
Tuesday, November 17, 2020, starting at 7:00 pm we will host an online meeting where you can meet our Bonnie Doon Watch leader, Darryl Lagerquist. Darryl is eager to hear your questions & ideas re reducing crime & improving safety in Bonnie Doon.

Also at the event you can meet local EPS constables and learn about the city's NET program. The Neighbourhood Empowerment Team (NET) began with a conviction that community safety is best achieved through partnerships. The Team is supported by Edmonton Police, City of Edmonton, The Family Centre and the United Way.

If you have put your name forward for Neighbourhood Watch, we strongly encourage you to attend. Thank you for volunteering and we will make every effort to keep you informed of this and other community safety initiatives.

(We intend to join Edmonton Neighbourhood Watch but their process is exceedingly slow.)

Written by Bonnie Doon resident Barb Neil:

"Two years ago I ordered radon detection kits from University of Calgary’s Evict Radon to test my Bonnie Doon home, built in 2002, and my brother’s Lendrum home, built around 1960. These long-term detectors were in place for four months, over the winter, when radon typically builds up houses. I thought my home would be fine and my brother’s might show moderate levels of radon. But in fact, my home showed high levels, and the Lendrum home very little.
 
Radon is uranium gas released through the soil. Odorless and tasteless, it dissipates in outdoor air but can build to dangerous levels in confined spaces. Air tight homes with basements and sump pumps – the types of homes we build in Canada – trap radon and circulate the gas through our heating systems during the winter months. High radon exposure over time negatively affects human health and can cause lung cancer.
 
It’s possible the soil in Bonnie Doon emits more radon than Lendrum, but it’s likely the higher radon level was the sump pump. Building code in 2002 did not require an airtight cover on a sump pump. The area around the sump gave off high radon readings. The highest readings however, were in the furnace room; air was being pulled from around the sump pump towards the furnace whenever the heating system booted up. And all that radon/furnace air was being distributed throughout the house! After installing a radon mitigation system, radon levels dropped immediately, from above Canadian maximum levels, (200 Bq/m3), to half of the World Health Organization maximum level, (100 Bq/m3).
 
While Evict Radon tests cost more, your results will be added to the project’s data base, and be used to map and compile a picture of which neighbourhoods and lands have higher readings, creating a broader understanding of Alberta’s overall radon situation. Test kits also can be purchased from hardware stores and radon monitors can be borrowed from the Edmonton Public Library but the wait list is long!"

Link to Evict Radon