Michelle Whitten

It’s National Volunteer Appreciation Week! Thank you to all our volunteers here in Discovery Ridge who support our community and help to make it the amazing place it is. Your gifts of time, energy, and expertise are so greatly appreciated.

Our volunteers contribute to our community in numerous ways including casinos, bottle shack unloading, rink crew duties, organizing events like Stampede RoundUp and Music In The Park, serving on the DRCA Board, participating in various committees, and, finally, managing our Communications Team responsible for the website, Ridge Review, and social media. Thank you all!

“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they have the heart.” – Elizabeth Andrew

We encourage all residents of Discovery Ridge to thoroughly review how blanket rezoning will impact them and the community of Discovery Ridge. For information on this issue, see the Rezoning for Housing website.

The deadline for submissions to the project team is April 11th, 2024. The deadline for Public Hearing submissions is April 15th, 2024. See Ways to Provide Input for instructions.

This is a very important topic, so please ensure your opinions are heard!

Did you know that Discovery Ridge has a community bottle shack where you can deposit your refundable bottles and containers? It is conveniently located in the parking lot adjacent to the community recreation facilities (rink and tennis courts).

The Discovery Ridge Community Association (DRCA) uses the proceeds from the bottle shack to help maintain and operate our facilities. We collect about $2,000 each time the bottle shack is unloaded! The proceeds are an important part of our funding in addition to community memberships that we remind and encourage all residents to purchase annually.

Every few months we look for volunteers to empty the bottle shack, and emptying the shack usually takes 20 minutes or less. We can always use new recruits to come and help out. Our next unload date is tonight (April 10 at 6:00 pm)! To volunteer to help, contact Lillian at volunteer@discoveryridge.com.

When you use the bottle shack, please remember to tie the bags and tape the boxes to help keep things safe and simple for our dedicated volunteer who stacks and re-packs the facility regularly.

Please consider using the bottle shack for your refundable items to help us fund our facilities.

“The Boss”, sometimes described as the most dominant grizzly bear in and around Banff National Park, is awake! This tells us spring is upon us and additional wildlife sightings and encounters are bound to occur around Discovery Ridge. Coexisting with wildlife is one the benefits of our special community, but this also requires caution and mutual respect. Let’s coexist positively!

The unseasonably warm weather has taken its toll on the ice rinks. As a result, the hockey rink is now closed and is expected to remain closed for the balance of the season. The leisure ice will remain open for as long as possible.

This decision was difficult to make, but with the season ending in a few short weeks anyhow and the utility bill doubling last month due to the water use required to salvage the rink after the last warm spell, it may be cost prohibitive to continue to try to salvage and rebuild the ice for such a short period of time.

If you are one of so many that love the rinks, please consider volunteering next year to be part of the rink crew team!

Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on February 26 at 7:00 pm, via Zoom, during which elections for our 2024 DRCA Board will be held. For get the Zoom link, please email drca_pres@discoveryridge.com.

The AGM is open to all Discovery Ridge residents; however, only members are eligible to vote. To purchase or renew a membership, see our Membership page.

Please consider getting involved with the DRCA as a board member. We have positions to fill! The DRCA Board is an elected board of volunteers, and our bylaws allow for up to 20 active board members. If this is something you’d be willing to consider, please reach out to us at drca_pres@discoveryridge.com.

Due to warm weather, we must cancel our DRCA Community Skating Party planned for Sunday, January 28. Stay tuned for a new date. We’re hoping for colder weather as it is winter after all.

With the approval of The City of Calgary’s Housing Strategy, Council directed Administration to take bold actions to address the housing crisis. One of these actions is to rezone low-density residential properties to allow for more forms of housing (including single-detached, semi-detached, rowhouse, and townhouses) throughout all communities. As mailouts about rezoning reach Calgarians this week, public interest on the topic is expected.

The City’s Rezoning for Housing website includes information on upcoming webinars and open houses, FAQs, timelines, resources, and a link to an Engage page for Calgarians to provide their questions and comments. The site also provides an interactive address map to see which land parcels will be affected by citywide rezoning.

The dates/times/locations of the upcoming webinars and open houses as well as the opportunity to sign up to receive project updates can also be found at engage.calgary.ca/rezoningforhousing,

The DRCA recreation facility’s leisure ice rink is ready to go, so please enjoy safely! The hockey rink is still closed as the ice isn’t yet ready due to the unseasonably warm temperatures we were having.

Did you know the rinks are 100% volunteer run, both for ice making and maintenance? The pool of volunteers assisting this year has been limited, so more help is always needed and welcomed. If you are able to assist or can pass the message along to someone who might be willing to help, we would appreciate it. Contact us at volunteer@discoveryridge.com.

Stay tuned for news about the opening of the hockey rink.