Active bear season is upon us. There have been bears in Griffith Woods Park as well as in the community. Unfortunately, they accessed residential waste from bins being stored outside that were not secured. Alberta Fish & Wildlife set two bear traps and closed a portion of Griffith Woods Park. The following update was provided to the DRCA late this morning:

“Alberta Fish and Wildlife has notified the City that two (2) adult bears have been successfully trapped and removed from the Discovery Ridge community. However, bears can and will continue to visit the community. Please continue to practice the Bear Smart residential waste best practices to protect your neighbours and any future visiting bears. Black, blue, and green carts are significant bear attractants, so please:

The entrances and pathways in Griffith Woods Park that were closed are now re-opened.

All residents are asked to ensure bears and other wildlife cannot access the contents of their bins.”

Alberta Fish & Wildlife has closed a portion of Griffith Woods Park, including some pathways. There is an active bear in the area. Bear traps have been set in an attempt to capture the bear and safely relocate it. All Discovery Ridge residents are asked to assist with this being a successful endeavour.

Unfortunately, there are now reports that the bear has accessed residential waste from bins being stored outside of homes but not secured. Please do your part and ensure wildlife, in particular bears, cannot access the contents of your bins. This will be one of the key factors in protecting residents and the bear.

The City of Calgary says:
Bears in the area. Please practice the Bear Smart best practices for waste to prevent attracting bears to your carts.               

Now that cycling and skateboarding weather has finally arrived, here is a reminder from Alberta Health Services and EMS.

The City of Calgary is hosting an online information session this Thursday for residents of Discovery Ridge regarding the work that has begun on the Discovery Heights Pond. The session will be focused on current and planned activities to improve the stability of the embankment.

Meeting Information and Link:
Date and Time: Thursday, April 25th. 7:00-8:00 pm. Online.
Microsoft Teams
Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 291 927 161 166
Passcode: xWo2qS

Dial-in by phone
+1 587-318-3194, 751562151# Canada, Calgary
Find a local number
Phone conference ID: 751 562 151#

Music In the Park

Planning for this spectacular community event begins at this time of year. This year’s event is scheduled for September 7th, 2024.

Our previous Music In The Park Lead, Anil Tahiliani, has retired from his role on the DRCA Board and as Special Events Lead. His years of volunteerism will always be appreciated! Additionally, after this year, another of our key Music In The Park volunteers will likely be retiring from his role as well. Moving forward, in order to proceed with this event we are going to divide out the work into easy-to-manage sections, so we require a minimum of 5 new volunteers to step up and job shadow through this year in preparation for next year. You don’t need to be a DRCA Board member to take on any of these tasks. There are Board Members on the Committee to assist with overall coordination and Board Member Lillian will take Lead for this year, so there is plenty of support available to learn from.

The Music In The Park roles we require immediate volunteers to job shadow through 2024 are:

Parade of Garage Sales

The current suggestion is May 11th, in advance of the Community Cleanup on May 18th. We require 1 volunteer to assist with this. There is not much to do outside of:

Community Cleanup

Community Cleanups provide an opportunity for Calgarians to dispose of items that do not fit in their waste and recycling carts. Our annual community cleanup event is scheduled for Saturday, May 18, 2024. As last year, 3 communities — Discovery Ridge, Signal Hill, and Springbank Hill — have combined volunteer efforts and are sending volunteers to the event. We are required to send 8 volunteers from our community. If you would like to help, please email Andrei (DRCA Environment Lead) at romaniuk.ag@gmail.com. Please email Andrei on or by Tuesday, April 30, to arrange your shift time.

Event Date: Saturday, May 18th, 2024
Location: Westside King’s Church parking lot (SE corner of Springbank Blvd and 69th St SW)
Time: 9 am – 2 pm (2-hour shifts)

Discovery Ridge is required to provide 8 volunteers of the 30 required if we wish to participate. Shifts will be 2 hours. Duties include: directing traffic, helping people unload their items, supporting City workers and vendors, answering questions, promoting community memberships, etc.

For more information on the event see Community Cleanups.

Stampede Roundup

We require 2 or more new volunteers to step up here as well. Jobs include:

Food Truck Event

We require 1 volunteer to book the food truck days with the food truck coordinator and ensure the site is ready for the truck’s arrival. The DRCA will assist with dates for events.

Bottle Shack

The shack is unloaded every few months, usually on a Wednesday evening at 6:00 pm. With 6-8 volunteers it takes approximately 15 minutes to complete the unload. A line of volunteers is formed from the Bottle Shack to the depot truck. Volunteers pass along boxes and bags of bottles for transportation to the recycling plant. Volunteers must be able to handle boxes of wine and bags of drink containers. Bring gloves. It’s fun!

Ice Rinks

Stay tuned in the fall for these requirements. There are several volunteers retiring after many years of rink volunteerism so they will have to be replaced to ensure we can have ice next winter.

For any and all things volunteering, please contact Lillian at: volunteer@discoveryridge.com.

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!