Nowadays when somebody asks me which Calgary neighbourhood I call home, and when I answer that I live in Bridgeland-Riverside, I have stopped being surprised when they respond by saying one, or both, of two things. First, they often say, “oh, that’s a great neighbourhood!” Or, second, they often ask, “wow, your neighbourhood is really changing, isn’t it?”
I think those two thoughts actually go together pretty well, and, with Spring in the air, the idea that great neighbourhoods experience a lot of change seems, well, natural. Within these pages you will find lots of information about what some of your neighbours are doing both to make and to shape the kinds of change that come along inevitably every day. Some of your neighbours are leading walks around the community in search of respecting history, or learning about natural features, or both; others are volunteering to bring us another season of social events like kids soccer or farmer’s markets; some work directly on beautifying our public spaces; others are hosting opportunities to talk about strategies for sustainable living and commuting.
I have been volunteering now with BRCA for several years, and I have come to think that BRCA works best when makes room, or acts as a sort of platform, for residents to contribute in whatever ways that they want to contribute anyway. All of the most neighbourly things that happen in Bridgeland-Riverside basically seem to start with somebody who says, “I’d like to do that.” Today I was in the audience as the project to construct Flyover Park was officially announced, and Councillor Carra was generous enough to say that Bridgeland-Riverside is lucky to have a “very strong” community association in BRCA. To whatever extent that’s true, I think it really means that Bridgeland-Riverside is lucky enough to have living within its boundaries lots of people who care about making positive changes in a way that is meaningful to them personally.
So…if there is anything that intrigues you—anything you’d like to see more of, or learn more about, or make happen—then please consider joining BRCA as a member and being a volunteer, or even joining the Board. We would love to support your energy. Our AGM announcement is in this edition of Bridges, and we hope to see lots of neighbours out on Friday, May 24, 2019—both for the AGM and for the pub night to follow! And, speaking of changes, you may have noticed that Bridges disappeared for the past few months. This happened because the former publisher of Bridges unexpectedly closed shop in late 2018, but with this April 2019 issue we now begin again—like Spring itself—with our new publisher Great News Media. If you have comments about what you would like to see more of, or less of, or about anything at all, really, please drop us a line! [email protected]
Brian Beck
