The inaugural Gumboot Nation Haiku Throw-Down was a rippin’ success. With nearly 50 entrants, our intrepid judges had their work cut out but have handed me their top three picks. Coming in third place, penned by George Dueck and getting the first RC hoodie is:
Where Roberts Creek ends
the Gumboot Nation rises
from the salish sea
Also a recipient of a hoodie is Rik Jespersen, who created this second place poem:
Wherever gumboots
sink in garden mud, right there’s
your heart of the Creek
And (drum roll please!) the first place, first annual, $50 gift card-winning Haiku Throw-Down champion for 2021, as chosen by your RCCA board, is:
Hidden Roberts Creek
gumboots and magic alike
where the wild things live
Congratulations to Jocelyne Gregory and let’s do this again next February, eh? Check the online edition for all the haiku received.
Our International Woman’s Day celebrations will be without the usual Labour Council potluck at the hall so I want to celebrate a few of the women that helped shape my own experience in the Gumboot Nation. A shout out to Donna Shugar, for her service at the SCRD and beyond, Edna Naylor for her 40 plus years at the fire hall, and to Trudy Baba, the rock I leaned on for eight years when my son attended RCCES. There are so many more I could mention. In this community shaped by volunteers it should also be noted that 29 per cent of women give of their time, compared to 23 per cent of us men. Every day is a good day to honour the women in your life. Reach out to your sisters, mothers and daughters, et al, and let them know how much they mean to your world.
What was five farms providing 27 weekly food boxes last year, has grown to nine farms and 70 boxes this year! A quick google of Sunshine Coast Community Food Box 2021 will land you on the Persephone Brewery page to sign up now, and your food harvest begins June 21. The small box has sold out so act fast. Pickup is in the Heart of the Creek each Tuesday for 18 weeks. For families struggling, please get in touch; subsidized memberships in this food security initiative are available for 30 families for up to half your food for four whole months, thanks to One Straw Society, Sunshine Coast Community Services and Vancouver Coastal Health. Paying up front gives farmers cash for infrastructure in the spring when it is needed. Three Creek farms are part of this partnership – the Tiny Farm behind the Gumboot, Ashley & Bjorn with Little Red Wagon on the Highway and John Yue with Coastal Sun on Pell Road, along with a couple almost-Creekers: Maria with Wilson Creek Blackberry Farm, and Hannah & Mel with Grounded Acres on Highland at the highway, among the other local providers.
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