Take a few moments when hiking the Cowichan Valley Trail to admire the recently unveiled Yos Pole by the Malahat Nation.

Master carvers Moy Sutherland Jr. from Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and John Marston from Stz’uminus First Nation worked with Malahat Nation youth to create the Yos pole.

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The central figure of the pole, overlooking the trail and Shawnigan Creek, is the Thunderbird, standing aloft with salmon under each wing. On the far side of the pole, the Sasquatch is featured prominently, gazing out into the forest.

This beautiful artwork is placed along the Cowichan Valley Trail (part of the Great Trail) that travels through the Malahat Nation’s forested lands on the west side of Malahat Mountain (at the south end of Shawnigan Lake).

Known as the Malahat Connector, this recently completed section of the trail links the Cowichan Valley with Langford and Greater Victoria.

The trail is an all-weather gravel trail for hikers, cyclists and equestrians, providing a 20-kilometre connection between the south end of Shawnigan Lake at Sooke Lake Road to the Humpback Reservoir in Langford.

Representatives from the Malahat Nation, Cowichan Valley Regional District, School District 79 and the master carvers were on hand to commemorate the completion of the Malahat section of the trail and the dedication of the Yos pole.

New gate unveiled at Abkhazi Garden

Konstantine Kavtaradze, ambassador of Georgia to Canada, was in Victoria in November for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Abkhazi Garden to recognize the Georgian connection to the garden and officially reveal the new entrance gate.

Abkhazi Garden in Victoria bears the name of Prince Nicholas Abkhazi, member of a noble Georgian family. His father, Maj. Gen. Konstantine Abkhazi, was one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Georgia. A military invasion in 1923 forced Nicholas and his mother, Elena, to flee the country. After years of hardship in Europe, Nicholas found refuge in Canada.

After reunion with his beloved wife, Marjorie “Peggy” Pemberton-Carter, Abkhazi found his new home in 1946.

They transformed a rocky piece of land into a beautiful garden now known as Abkhazi Garden. In 2000, with community support, the TLC purchased the property to save it from becoming a townhouse development.

“To recognize the Georgian connection to Abkhazi Garden and to express our appreciation for TLC, which saved, preserved and developed this garden, it would be my pleasure and privilege to visit Victoria and meet those individuals who contributed to the success of the garden,” said Kavtaradze.

Admission to the garden is by donation. The heritage home and community garden are open to the public from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday throughout the fall and winter, and daily from April 1 to Sept. 30. It is at 1964 Fairfield Rd.

For more information, go to conservancy.bc.ca/featured-projects/abkhazi-garden.

Alzheimer’s patients invited to join choir

The University of Victoria is looking for people who have early-stage Alzheimer’s disease (and their family caregivers) to join an intergenerational community choir as part of a research study.

Voices in Motion is a choir that will explore the impact of participation in the participants’ quality of life, well-being and social networks.

The program is a research initiative by the University of Victoria led by Debra Sheets, an associate professor in the school of nursing.

Evidence has shown that singing can improve mood, increase energy, reduce stress and support self-esteem. Singing with others is fun and social.

Choirs could be an inexpensive intervention that might reduce health-care costs and improve quality of life for people with dementia and their caregivers.

The choir will practise over a 14-week period and will be led by Erica Phare-Bergh, a professional musical director.

The research team includes Stuart MacDonald from the department of psychology, Andre Smith from the department of sociology and Mary Kennedy of the school of music.

It is expected the project’s findings and tools will allow other organizations to replicate best practices.

The study is open to:

• Older adults with Alzheimer’s disease

• Persons with early stage Alzheimer’s disease and their family caregivers

• Living in the community

• Able to commit to attending a 1 1/2-hour weekly practice for 14 weeks

• English speaking

Family caregivers

• Family member of the older adult with Alzheimer’s disease

• Must have a telephone

• Must plan to remain in the recruitment area for the duration of the intervention and followup.

• Caregiver role for more than six months

What you will be asked to do:

• Caregivers will complete a caregiver survey that asks questions about your well-being, stress, social connections, overall health and satisfaction, and depression. The survey will take 75 minutes to complete.

• Both caregiver and care recipient must commit to attending choir practice for 1 1/2 hours every week for the 14-week season at a local high school. Each week will begin with 15 minutes of socialization, 50 minutes of choir, and then another 15 minutes of socialization.

• Both caregiver and care recipient will participate in separate 45-minute focus groups at the start of the choir season and at the end of the season.

• Complete a 10-minute program-satisfaction survey at the end of each choir season

• Care recipients will be asked to complete five neuropsychological assessments in the spring and a minimum of six neuropsychological assessments between September 2018 and June 2019. Each assessment requires a maximum of two hours to complete, depending on the participant.

• Both caregiver and care recipient will be invited to participate in a public concert at the end of each season.

There is no compensation for participation in the choir and study.

This research study has not been approved by the research ethics board of the Vancouver Island Health Authority and the Vancouver Island Health Authority is not responsible for, or involved with, this study.

The deadline to join is Jan. 19.

If you have any questions or are interested in participating, please contact Debra Sheets at 250-721-8595 or email dsheets@uvic.ca. For more information, go to voicesinmotion.ca.

Centre for Inquiry hosts wide-ranging discussions

Join an informal, friendly discussion on the hot topics of the day as the Centre for Inquiry Canada hosts its monthly round-table discussion, held in the boardroom of Quality Foods, Jan. 17.

Centre for Inquiry is an international educational charity that embraces secularism, humanist values, reason and freedom of inquiry. The organization, established in 1991, has its headquarters in New York and branches around the world, including the U.K. and Canada. It opened a branch in Victoria last summer.

Members value the opportunity to come together with like-minded individuals to discuss timely issues including: The need for the separation of the state and church, the promotion of anti-racism and anti-misogyny, scientific inquiry, critical thinking, and exposing and eliminating fake science and health-care scams.

Secularists, scientists and skeptics are invited to attend the next monthly meeting, Jan. 17 (meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the month) at 7 p.m. in the boardroom of Quality Foods, 27 Helmcken Rd. (near Victoria General Hospital). No registration is required.

There is a snack bar available serving soups, sandwiches, coffee, hot chocolate, sweets, fruits and more.

For more information, go to centreforinquiry.ca/victoria or Facebook. Find them on Meetup.

Companies donate to a healthier planet

A local law firm has donated more than $300,000 to a healthier planet as members of One Percent for the Planet.

Horne Coupar recently celebrated 10 years of membership in the international organization, an alliance of more than 1,300 companies from more than 40 countries.

Members pledge to donate one per cent of their gross profits to the organization to fund local environmental causes. Current members include Patagonia, Mountain Equipment Co-op and singer Jack Johnson.

“Horne Coupar believes that demonstrating a commitment to the health of the planet is simply the right thing to do. It also reflects the concern that many of our estate-planning clients share, that our children and grandchildren will live in a habitable world,” said Mark Horne, partner. “Whatever the tipping points might be for continuing inattention to the Earth’s carrying capacity for food and water, biodiversity and the quality of human life generally, concerted action is overdue.”

Horne said clients can also share in the pride of knowing that a portion of their fees have been dedicated to the stewardship of the environment.

In the past 10 years, the firm has funded SeaChange, Serenity Farm (via John Howard Society), Pacifica Housing, Peninsula Stream, Greater Victoria Compost and Conservation Society, Creatively United for the Planet, Growing Young Farmers, Pacific Salmon Foundation, Rocky Point Bird Observatory and Habitat Acquisition Trust, Sierra Club and the Watershed Watch Salmon Society.

The firm recently held a celebration at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, attended by representatives of the Victoria Foundation and local recipients of funding, in conjunction with the firm’s sponsorship of the Emily Carr Picturing the Giants exhibition.

For more information, go to onepercentfortheplanet.org or hornecoupar.com.

Teacher wins Governor General’s History Award

Janet Ruest, a teacher at Chemainus Secondary School, was one of eight educators from across Canada to receive the Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Here is a brief description of why she was chosen:

“Inspired by the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Janet Ruest encouraged her students to go beyond the textbook to explore lesser-known stories that were meaningful to them. In conducting interviews and holding a public exhibition, the students were able to synthesize their knowledge in a stimulating project, while contributing their own stories to the broader narrative of Canada’s history.”

The award was presented by Gov. Gen. Julie Payette at a ceremony at Rideau Hall in November.

The Governor General’s History Awards were established in 1996 to recognize excellence in teaching Canadian history. It is a partnership with Canada’s leading national history organizations, including the Canadian Historical Association, the Canadian Museums Association, Historica Canada and Experiences Canada. The awards recognize the many different ways history is taught, communicated and celebrated by Canadians.

For more information, go to gg.ca.