Youth Garden Plot Clean-Up

It's that time again- tis the season for garden clean-up! It's always so sad to pull out the plants we've worked so hard to take care of, but we'll be back next year! Keep an eye out for news of the new garden in March 2015- we hope to hold an interactive planning session around that time. 

Garden clean-up will take place this Saturday at 3pm. If you would like to join us, we would love to see you there! 

Disposing of, recycling and donating unwanted items

Wondering what to do with your old tires? Leftover paint from renos? Fabric scraps? The Martensville Community Access Centre has compiled a list of businesses, recycling centres and charities that will take those items off your hands. Before you take it to the dump, give us a call or email to find out if there may be a better option. 

A reminder that the City of Martensville is running two lane-pick-up days this month. The North Side is on September 15th and the South Side is on September 22nd.  See the city website for more information on what is acceptable to put out for pick up: Lane-Pick Up Info

Martensville World Cafe Summer 2014

The Martensville Community Access Centre hosted its first “World Café” meeting on Monday, August 25^th. A World Café is a gathering of community members to discuss concerns, ideas and actions. The turn-out was small, but enthusiastic. There was a definite interest in holding more meetings of this nature. One idea was to also do more specific, themed World Cafes about one topic at a time. This style of meeting would be open to the public and invitations would be sent out to those community members who have demonstrated an interest in the issue at hand.

Monday’s meeting was more of a general brainstorming session. Guided discussion began with thinking about what makes Martensville great as it is. There was strong praise for our family friendly atmosphere and beautiful green spaces. From there, individual concerns were listed. Each group then picked one topic they felt especially strongly about, and examined possible solutions.  The final group discussion focused on three main issues: boosting community spirit and involvement, bringing health services to Martensville, and altering current vendor opportunities to better serve our community and local artisans.

The citizens who spoke at this event were passionate and ready to take action, but they can’t do it alone. If there are any issues that you feel strongly about, please contact the Martensville Community Access Centre to let us know. From there, we hope to bring like-minded individuals together to form action groups to bring about the improvements we all hope to see. 

Martensville World Cafe on Monday, August 25th

Do you have an idea for something you would like to see happen in Martensville? You are invited to join us from 7-8:30pm on Monday, August 25^th, at the Civic Centre (room #10 and #11) for a World Café style meeting. We will be talking about things that matter to you in our rapidly changing community. It could be about health services or it could be about getting better public transportation, more community gardens or an overpass. Discussion topics are endless! This is an opportunity to meet new people, discuss new ideas and most importantly, to have your voices heard. We hope to see you there!

New program dates for fall

With fall fast approaching, we are getting ready to offer our usual programs again. Our ever popular Baby Babble and Toddler Talk program is scheduled for Wednesday afternoons (1-3pm) beginning October 1^st and ending December 3^rd.  Contact us in September for a calendar of events.  Ah-Ha! Homework Club is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:30pm-8pm beginning September 9^th. We are looking for a new homework club coordinator- please contact us to find out more. Both of these programs will take place in our office, room #2.

We are also set up to offer public computer use and our 1 on 1 computer lessons. You are welcome to drop by anytime to use the public computers. For 1 on 1 computer lessons, please contact us to book an appointment. We are able to help with all sorts of computers, including iPads and smartphones- please bring your own device with you. 

How does our garden grow?

Wow, look at how much the youth garden plot has grown this summer! Thanks to the bad spring weather, the garden took a beating at the beginning. But despite that, the plot has grown to be a lovely, bright spot in the community garden in Kinsmen Park. Thank you to our dedicated volunteers who have made this happen. If you haven't seen the garden yet, make sure to stop by soon! 

Right after planting

Now!

Our office has moved!

We are still in the Martensville Civic Centre, but our office is now down the hall in room #2 (the old planning office). We are (mostly) organized and ready to go! There is a lot of construction going on outside for the new city grounds, but the building is open. Parking is now shared with city hall.