What is a Community Kitchen?

Community Kitchens class in action

Community Kitchens (CK) is a fun, interactive cooking class where participants learn to how to prepare healthy, delicious meals on a budget.  If you come to a CK you will learn about nutrition, seasonal eating and will meet like minded community members. Not a bad deal for only $10!
Next week we have 2 great classes planned. On Monday, May 27th Tracey Higgs; chef and holistic nutritionist is teaching people how to make Pork Marbella (tenderloin with prunes, capers & olives). The best thing about Tracey's classes is her obvious passion for food. She shows you how to cook with love and can answer practically any question on nutrition.
Then on Wednesday, May 29th raw food chef Sarah Uy is going to teach participants how to make Vanilla Pudding with Berry Aspic. The focus on this class will be using the ingredient agar agar. What is agar agar? Come to the class to find out:)

What our participants are saying about the classes:

• Talya, Just wanted you to know that I took two young ladies from Japan, who live with me, to the Community Kitchen. We made a delicious Chorizo and white bean soup with Matt Prescott. It was great to see Yuko and Hiroe interact with all the friendly people, learn some great cooking techniques and experience our culture and community. They have already bought all the ingredients to make the soup again at home tomorrow! They are so excited! Thanks! Kate Linton
• I really appreciate that you offer this service, thank you so much!
• Carolyne was an excellent teacher and hope to do more courses in the near future.
• Sarah`s classes are awesome.  I love learning about raw foods.

Classes are held at 1519 Spring Creek Drive (Whistler Blackcomb Foundation Social Services Centre) at 6:30pm. Contact Talya at 604-935-7717  to book your spot. Please sign up before 10am on the day of the class to ensure your spot.

 

Watch for our canning classes this summer and fall!

http://www.mywcss.org/pages/community-kitchens

Photoblog: Goofy tshirt collection (Part 1)

We get a lot of silly, crazy & weird t-shirts in at The Re-Use-It Centre... Here are our staff member Julie's picks over the last 2 weeks.

Stay tuned- more to come.


Helen, Manager at The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre

Upcycling: An Introduction

The resources we have at our fingertips here at The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre in Whistler are seemingly endless. We re-sell lightly used clothing, housewares, electronics, books, movies, sports equipment and so much more. It is awesome to give items a second life, to follow our mantra of goods out of landfill, but it always seems we could be doing more.

On a recent investigation into recycling possibilities, we have put some more time into researching the concept of "Upcycling", Recycling's sister concept. Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or higher environmental value.

Where recycling breaks items down, upcycling remakes and constructs. Sound crazy?

Imagine you have a pile of scratched LPs. Instead of throwing them away, why not make them into a bowl? Scratched records can be made into bookends or bags or even a cake stand. A leaky rubber boot might make a great planter just by adding a few more holes.

There is an amazing online culture surrounding upcycling. Any make-it-yourself tutorial you care to think of as videos, step-by-step photos and how-to blogs.

We're excited about it. In the next months we will be showing you all a bunch of projects for those upcoming rainy spring days. We'll help you find the bits and pieces you need to make awesome additions to your home and a sustainable addition to your life!

We are all Whistler (Bears too)!!

Living in such a tight-knit community, we share many of Whistler’s jewels with the melting pot of people. As we saw during the Olympic period, rubbing shoulders with celebrities, athletes, weasel workers and locals. Whether standing in line for Peak Chair to open with Ashley McIvor, sitting in a coffee shop next to the Mayor, sharing a hiking trail with Arthur Dejong, or giving a cheers to Ray from the Husky at ‘A Whole Lotta Led’ show, you are as likely to see and know such people during your lives in Whistler as you are to see a bear in the summer.

Living in Whistler you follow aspects of the lives of these people and the causes they support. And that’s the nature of the town we live in is that it’s success and compassionate vibes comes from the joy of sharing the same things. The love of wilderness and its animals; the fruits of the seasons and community spirit that exists but it is especially prevalent through hard and good times.

The Re-Use-It Centre loves being part of the lives of all our awesome community. After receiving a bear hide through the Re-Use-It Centre last month and feeling uneasy about selling it, I contacted Michael Allen, the corridor’s Bear Researcher, who also happens to be an avid thrifter and Re-Use-It Center donor, to see if this majestic creature could go to some use within his programs.

He jumped upon the idea; the Bear hide would be used within Michael’s ‘Student and Visitor Bear Outreach Program’ where he visits schools and educates on reducing human/bear conflict and the wonders of their existence showing a wide selection of resources, beautiful photography, videos and now a hide.

As we approach spring and as the Bears start to show themselves a little more, here are some tips and useful advice Michael has put together for us.

Tell us a little about yourself, where you live and how long you've been in the area?

This is my 19th year doing research on Whistler black bears. I live with 2 dogs, 2 cats, and 7 chickens in Paradise Valley north of Squamish.

I came to Whistler in 1993 because my sister (Susan), who is a school teacher here, said there were lots of bears. She was right.

How did you find yourself as the number one  'Bear Researcher/Guide' of the Sea to Sky corridor?

I don't know about number one...but I guess I have put in the time. I'm not a biologist (many people think I am) and even though I've spent close to 30 years following black bears around, I don't consider myself an expert...I'm constantly learning...a "student of bears". I began guiding bear viewing in 2000 for Arthur DeJong at Whistler-Blackcomb. Its a great program that allows visitors to see the "real-time" life of bears that have learned to adapt to life in BC's largest recreational environment – vital to understanding the future of black bear conservation.

What is the kids education program that the hide will be a part of all about ?

I started doing talks on bears for kids at Whistler schools in 1997 despite my overwhelming shyness. This will be the 16th year elementary students will listen to my never-ending adventures with the larger, furry locals. Each spring and fall, I give an update on the personal lives of resident bears by showing photos, video, maps, and physical artifacts: skulls, claws, and hides. Hides are important because kids can feel a bears coat and claws. From that feeling, kids understand how a bear is designed and has adapted to living in the forest and more recently, out of the forest. The head-mounted bear hide donated by the Re-Use-It Centre is a useful addition because it represents another age-size of bear and with the head mounted with the hide, gives a more realistic perception of head shape because my other hides don’t have this. 

Can you remember the coolest item that you have found at the Re-Use-It Centre, or best item you've dropped off for donation?

I found a great desk which in the Whistler area is pretty much impossible to find. Mostly, I have dropped off lots of stuff ranging from DVD's to snow boots to computer screens.  

 

What tips can you give the community coming in to bear season?

The best way to help bears is by keeping "your space" in Whistler's environment clean. That's all bears really ask...an environment to share without

temptations of human food...that's what kills bears...sooner or later. We're likely in for a milder spring than last year and because of 2011's poorest berry crop on record, we may have a few early bears in March. When bears emerge and there's just snow, some head directly to backyards and birdfeeders.  So you should have your bird and squirrel feeders down by mid-March and start getting into the habit of keeping anything food or garbage related securely inside. Remember, recycling is bear food. Make sure you clean recycled containers with soap.  

 
How do you envisage the co-habitation between residents and Bears moving forward over the next few years?

This is the best question anyone's ever asked. The last 2 years saw alot of bears die in the Whistler area...over 50...mostly due to being destroyed as conflict bears from garbage-feeding leading to breaking into homes and bears being struck by vehicles on Highway 99. Bears also died from old age, malnutrition, and injuries from other bears. Having 2 bad berry crops back to back (2010-11) didn't help. Its important to understand that the bear population is cyclic. When we experience balanced, seasonal weather, bear survival is higher. When we have unseasonal, extreme weather, bear survival is lower. Extreme scales of snowfall, rain, and/or temperature reduces the availability of huckleberries and blueberries, the bear's most important food. These cycles in the bear population will always occur...so we will have good years and bad years. This year, we will have less bears around because 2010-11 were bad for berries and bear survival was low.  This year, a base population of at least 45 bears (that I know) could grow to 60+ bears depending on how many cubs are produced. In the WB ski area, there are 17 female bears and 16 of them are due to have cubs. They all won't produce cubs but we should have more cubs this year than the 7 cubs in 2011. When the bear population does drop, competition between bears goes down and some bear survival increases because there are less bears looking for food. And please don't hind behind Whistler's BearSmart Status...last summer the berries failed and bears tested the system and accessed garbage everywhere. So bear proof containment continues to be a progressive challenge each year.

Thanks to Michael for giving this Bear a new life and with his commitment to learning and promoting ‘considerate and bear smart’ behavior, so we can live in harmony with Whistler’s bear population.

For more information on how to be bear smart you can participate in Bear viewing and ecology tours through Whistler/Blackcomb by calling 1-800-766-0449 or read more on their site at http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/todo/summer/bears/index.htm?aheading=0, read about more ways to behave responsibly with Whistler’s bears at http://www.bearsmart.com/, or contact your municipality for more information at http://www.whistler.ca/residents/sustainability-environmental-protection/bears , 

Sarah Walters

Assistant Manager The Re-Use-It Centre

Old is new again: VHS movies

Thrift stores are always guaranteed to be a place where old technologies congregate, to be revived and collected by folk who promise them another life.

Avid collectors of LP's, cassettes and now CD's come through on a regular basis to peruse our wide variety of out-dated retro treasure, snapping up old favorites here, taking a $1 chance on investigating an obscure band there... It's gratifying to see the excitement of the "find" take over with a fanatical gleam of an eye.

With all the movie-downloading and whatnot these days, sometimes it's refreshing to go back to basics and watch an old favorite on VHS. We have a huge selection at the moment after one of our customers donated more than half the collection of her and her boyfriend (Boyfriend is out of town... let's hope his heart isn't broken to find his South Park stash has disappeared). Perhaps one of these recent classics will pique your interest...

 1) Braveheart, featuring Mel Gibson: Who can go past the classic tale of one man fighting for what he believes in against all odds?

Best viewed with: someone who enjoys a little battle-type violence.








2) Meet the Parents, with Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro: An comedy that takes all your little fears about meeting the family of your Significant Other and just runs with them... Cringeworthy, but strangely, you can't look away...

Best viewed with: a large group of people who can't decide on a movie.

3) My Best Friend's Wedding, featuring Julia Roberts: A romantic comedy that doesn't end the way you expect. Some great slapstick, a truly awful karaoke attempt by Cameron Diaz, and plenty of angst.

Best viewed with: Girls.







The possibilities are endless, folks- the VHS shelves are heaving full, and if you find yourself smacking your hand to your face because you ditched your VCR last spring-clean, never fear, we can find you a workable solution at The Re-Use-It Centre for $10 or less.

I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to put the popcorn on!

Enjoy.

Helen, Manager at The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre

How the Mystery Cabinet Came to Whistler!

Sometimes you recycle more than you mean to is the story of a 63 year old wallet found in a cabinet donated to the Re-Build-It Centre. Both local papers ran a short story about the mystery wallet and because of their help, we now have the story of how it ended up in Whistler.

Yesterday I received an e-mail from Eileen, who was surprised to hear that there was a secret drawer in the cabinet she used to own. "I had no idea there was a secret drawer," she writes. "I aquired the cabinet during my first marriage which occurred in 1963. We lived in Glendale at the time (next to Burbank) and it was a hand-me-down from friends of my parents...the Ertels. It was an old music cabinet which I converted to a china/linen cabinet. An I painted it the colour it was when you aquired!"

Eileen adds,"Then it came to Canada with me when I moved here in 1974 with my second husband. It was used still as a cabinet and then was in storage for a bit...in between husbands! Then when I met my 3rd husband and we bought our house, it came into the dining room and was used for a bit until we started buying antique furniture.  Then when we bought the Whistler property in 1985, it moved there...and remained there until the house was sold! While at Whistler, it also served as a storage area for little kids' toys.

Please feel free to share this part of the journey!" Eileen.

John McGregor, a real estate agent in Whistler had received the cabinet when Eileen sold her house, and then donated it to the Re-Build-It Centre when it was too big for his new townhouse. He was kind enough to contact Eileen with the story published in the paper. Thank you to both for helping us fill in more gaps on the mystery cabinet.

Ten Indications You May Be a Thrift Store Addict (or, alternatively, a Dedicated Sustainable Shoppper)

1. You walk into your local Thrift Store, the staff greets you by name and lets you know that a big donation of owls/masks/brass elephants just came in and they've been put aside for you.

2. You bring your own recyclable bags when thrifting, intending to fill them all with treasure.

3. The only way your Significant Other will allow you to even enter a Thrift Store is if you first donate several bags of items back.When you donate items back to a Thrift Store, some of them still have Thrift Store price tags attached.

4. You have at least 3 half-sets of dishes that you slowly add to over years and years of searching for and collecting.

5.You buy items for other people when thrifting, because when you see that particular item, you know so-and-so will love it.

6.You notice when your local Thrift Store moves items around, and are completely disoriented.

7. When thrifting, you purchase "unique pieces" that you intend to match with other items in your wardrobe. These items, when worn, embarrass your family and friends, but you still love them (the items and the family members).


8. Sometimes you are forced, uneasily, leave your basket(/s) aside with the Cashier so you have your hands free to continue shopping. You check back regularly to the front counter to be sure all your treasures are still yours, safely in the basket(/s).

9. You run into fellow Dedicated Sustainable Shoppers who you know solely because you see them every week in your local/favorite Thrift Store. You start to organize regular trips with them, stopping for coffee and eventually making a weekly afternoon ritual of it. You love these folk, but also remain slightly suspicious that they will beat you to the treasure, and only half-credibly swallow your jealousy when they inevitably do pick up those moose antlers before you get a chance to swoop in on them.



10. You've found so much treasure over the years that when people ask you what your best thrifting find is, you can't choose an item (unless you were the lucky one who scored the child-sized Pink Panther recently, and then your answer is obvious)!

Please note that this list was put together by a self-confessed Thrift Store Addict. I love thrifting; even working at The Re-Use-It Centre hasn't spoiled it for me! Just don't ask me what my best find has been... there are way too many to count!


Helen, Manager at The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre

How does The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre measure up?

Whistler may be a ski-resort town, but we know that for many of our shoppers, it is home. We all love to thrift-store shop, but at our store we understand that a lot of our Whistler community doesn’t have a disposable income, and need our store to afford the necessities. We have been working especially hard in recent times to ensure that our prices are fair and reasonable.

A team of staff went to Vancouver to visit a collection of thrift stores:  a few Salvation Army stores, an SPCA store, a Value Village and First Union on East Hastings . We learned that our ladies clothing is priced up to 30% lower than average. Our kids clothing is up to 50% less expensive; children’s jackets in Value Village go for $10 a piece, where we offer kids jackets starting at $5. Looking for linens? The Re-Use-It Centre can help you out with sheets starting at $2.00; visit Salvation Army and you’ll be paying $8.99!

We sit equal to many of the thrift stores we visited in men’s clothing, houseware and shoes, as well as most second –hand electronics. We offer an exchange-based warranty on electronics where many others make a final sale.

We'll have the collected data available for you to take a look at in store this week, so come on down to visit if you're curious!

The best thing about The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre in our opinion? The money you’re spending in store goes to the local community. Every year, the money raised in our store funds over 25 programs, run by passionate staff and an ever-expanding & enthusiastic volunteer base. We are local. We love our community. Every time you shop with us, or donate items you no longer need, or offer your precious time as a volunteer, you show everyone that you love your community too!

- Helen, Manager at The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre

Why I believe in Community Thrift Stores

I am a thrift store shopper from way back. As a child, I raided my parents wardrobes for "dress-ups", and eagerly awaited the bags of clothes outgrown by my older cousins to dress myself in something "new".
As a teenager, my thrift store habits were driven by both the need to look different and the lack of money to afford to look the same (the latter fed the former).
So as I left home, I had already formed a strong love and appreciation for all treasures second-hand, and the collection of these treasures which fed my identity as an Arts student who wanted to make a statement, along with all the other 10,000 Arts students at my university.

Since making Whistler my home and taking on the amazing opportunity to work at what I feel is one of the very best thrift stores I've seen, I have learned to consider thrift stores in a different light. So often in the past I had failed to ask the question "Where is my money going?". There is nothing wrong in simply shopping at a thrift store for the great deals, but there is so much more to the decision to spend your money with a store such as The WCSS Re-Use-It Centre and The WCSS Re-Build-It Centre.

By shopping at stores like ours you are supporting and building community. The implication of spending your hard-earned money on items we're selling is the support of the organization's Mission and Vision:

Our Mission is to provide programs and services that improve social sustainability in Whistler.
Our Vision is to be the prominent social service resource in Whistler by responding to the changing needs of a diverse Whistler community.


All items sold at our stores are donated as goodwill. This means we are able to direct all funds generated to our programming. This set-up is unique in many ways; you as a customer are able to see the results of the money you've put towards us in the local community.

Our community thrift stores are not just about the money though- we work to foster connections and networks of locals and visitors, those who make a visit to our store part of a weekly (or sometimes daily) ritual, both for the quiet browsing of our racks and shelves, as well as to bump into the others they know who are also loyal shoppers. Our volunteer program has been given new life thanks to the awesome Sarah, Assistant Manager, which gives anyone a chance to help out, see how the store works, and contribute to generating even more money for our programs.

We aim to create a welcoming space, with a fun but relaxed environment so you can feel encouraged and supported in your decision to shop and meet your needs with items that have already had a life elsewhere. Community thrift stores give you the ability to say no to consuming unecessarily and adding to a planet already filled with things. So walk with a spring in your step knowing you're wearing a North Face GoreTex jacket you bought for $30, going home to bake in a Pyrex tray you found for $5, and settling down to read a best-seller you snapped up for $2.

I believe in Community Thrift stores like The Re-Use-It Centre and The Re-Build-It Centre for all these reasons and more. I hope you do too!

Helen, Manager at The Re-Use-It Centre

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Christmas is right around the corner now, as surprising as that might seem!

Over the weekend we had our annual Christmas sale, a way of showing appreciation to our beloved customers for their support throughout the year. We enjoyed our coffee from Starbucks, our treats from IGA Marketplace, and the general goodwill and cheer of all our customers and staff.

It's a special time of year, with the snow falling. Whistler is a beautiful place to live, but we do take a second this time of year to think about those in need within our great community. As a program of Whistler Community Services Society, The Re-Use-It Centre aims to generate funds to support the 25+ programs run by our great team.

By shopping at Re-Use-It you are not only getting great deals on the necessities and the luxuries, you are also saying that you care about your community by investing in them. Every dollar spent is helping those in need, whether it be with food from Food Bank, emotional support from our Outreach team, or support building life skills, such as the Community Kitchens.

This close to Christmas, we want to thank you for your support and encourage you to continue making the choice to shop with us, or donate your unwanted items to us. You help to build and sustain the kind of community we are all proud to be a part of.

A huge thank you from the WCSS Re-Use-It Centre team!

- Helen, Manager at Re-Use-It Centre




If you want to know more about how your purchases at Re-Use-It Centre help our community, please visit www.mywcss.org for a full list of our many social service programs.

Introducing: Whistler Community Services Society (WCSS) Re-Use-It Centre

Welcome, everyone out there in the community who is taking an interest in YOUR community store, the WCSS Re-Use-It Centre. We have so many stories to tell at the store here, every single day of the week. The store has a rich history which I’m delighted to be discovering in snippets and anecdotes, shared by all of you as you come in to see us in Function Junction. We celebrated our 12^th Birthday this year; I’ve been on board for just over 2 years but can already appreciate just how unique this store is, in such a vibrant community.

We’re a go-to for household items when you move house; for costume-wearing occasions (there is no shortage of them in Whistler); for an inflatable boat to take down the river; for a board or set of skis you don’t mind beating up in early season; for a Volcom hoodie at a tenth of the price it costs new; for boots to get you through Fall’s puddles… and for everything else in between!

The store is also a meeting place for locals, a warm dry place to ask directions (and de-thaw your hands and feet), a place to spend an hour browsing books or re-vamping your wardrobe.

We have a lot of fun down here, we survive the Spring move-out when all our seasonals leave town (and the piles upon piles of bags left behind). We work in the best place in Whistler, where work is one big treasure hunt.

We thank you for your support and we urge you to share stories with us; to remember the first amazing treasure you found on our shelves, to tell us everything you’ve loved over the years and every idea you’ve had for ways we might become an even better place to shop.

I hope you enjoy this new endeavor. We are your community thrift store, and we want to get to know you better!

Stay tuned …

Helen Taylor: Manager at WCSS Re-Use-It Centre