Sunnyhill Voice May 2026

Sunnyside’s Evolution

Submitted by Bob Bott (Sunnyside resident since 1990, SHC since 2002, before that, six years in Hillhurst)

An article that Gerald Wheatley and I put together for the two Jane’s Walks in Sunnyside May 2.

SEE ARTICLE HERE

Board Update

Submitted by Buzz Viberg

Dear Sunnyhill Members, The June AGM is fast approaching and the Board will be losing Sean, who has served his two year term. Previous to our Board of eight, soon to be seven, Sean as Chair and now Director, has been integral in ensuring that sound Governance was sustained when the Board was meagre on members! We owe Sean a huge 'thank you', we will miss the energy, intelligence and wisdom you brought to the Board role. Wishing you every success in any new endeavours and a relaxing life moving forward!

The Board would like to encourage and welcome two new Board members at the June meeting. Ideally nine members on the Board would ensure continuity, collaboration and a great opportunity to learn the ropes while being in a supportive environment, where our present respectful, caring and responsible Board members would value your opinions and contributions.

Thank you for your consideration, Sunnyhill Board

Current board members: Anna Barrett (chair), Emma Thursby (vice chair), Jaime Muneoka (treasurer), Meagan Synnott (secretary), Sean Lindsay (outgoing), Rikia Novotny, Buzz Viberg, Rachel Rose

Electrical Panel Replacement

Submitted by Ximena Gonzalez

Electrical panel replacement coming later in May!

If you’ve taken a close look at the electrical panel in your home’s basement, you may have noticed that the breakers are a little bit loose, or that they trip often without rhyme or reason. Maybe your lights flicker more than they used to. The reason for this is that the panels are almost 50 years old, which is double the number of years as they typically last, so we’re long overdue to replace them. Because old electrical panels are a significant fire hazard, in our last general meeting members voted to get new ones, and the buildings committee is gearing up to begin replacing them by the end of May. The bulk of installations should take place in June. The process is pretty straightforward and takes about four hours in total. First, ENMAX turns down the power to your unit, so that the electrician can safely swap the old panel for a new one. After a City of Calgary inspector makes sure the new panel is safely installed, ENMAX turns the power back on. Food should keep fine in the fridge/freezer, as long as these appliances remain shut while the power is down. Sasha, the office coordinator, will send out the replacement calendar soon. If you aren’t home at the scheduled day/time, Sasha will let the technicians into your unit.

In the meantime, if you notice any of the following red flags, flip the breaker off and notify the office immediately: Smell of rotten eggs or fish, warm breakers

Spring News from Grounds!

Submitted by Debbie Willis

The bin is booked! Our spring dumpster will arrive on May 26th and stay for ten days. If you are getting rid of goods in usable condition, please put them beside the bin in case someone else finds your trash to be treasure. But please check back after a day or two to ensure that these goods go in the bin if they're not wanted by neighbours.

Please join us on for a Clean Up Your Yard and Common Spaces worker bee on June 7th at 10am. There will be weeding, pruning and mulching to do be done, and snacks to eaten!

We will be meeting with our arborist at the end of May. If you have any concerns about your trees, please email us with a description of the location and issues you hope will be addressed by May 22nd.

A reminder that our shed is here for you! Please make sure to put your name on the sign-out sheet in the shed if you're borrowing tools or other items that can be used multiple times. You do not need to sign out single-use items, like pest-control or paper yard bags.

If anyone would still like to sign the Water Not Coal petition regarding coal-mining in the Rocky Mountains, please reach out to Debbie Willis at debmwillis@gmail.com

Good Food Box Delivery

Submitted by Belle Auld

The next Good Food Box delivery date is May 28. To place an order, email Belle Auld (belleauld@gmail.com) or Marion Gauzer (mgauzer@yahoo.com) by noon on May 19.

Day of Protest

Submitted by Cindy Schnee

Neighbour Day Event

Submitted by Belle Auld

Neighbour Day 2026 is June 20, please see hsca.ca for more information.

Sunnyhill Voice April 2026

Friends of Chinatown Events

Submitted by Ximena Gonzalez

Earth Day Clothing Swap - April 18

Tai Chi Classes - April 8-July 1

Little Lions Club - April 12-Jul 5

HIstoric Chinatown Walking Tours -

Please contact admin@vollyapp.com to book: $25 per person, for 2 hours

Easter Event

Submitted by Paola Bacaro

The Social Committee once again hosted an Easter egg hunt for the kids and provided adults with coffee and hot cross buns this past Easter Sunday. What a great opportunity to get outside and chat with neighbours despite the snowy weather, thanks social committee!

Grounds Update

Submitted by Deb Willis

Grounds This Season

The Grounds Committee is gearing up for a great spring and summer! As always, we're looking for skilled members to help care for our grounds. Please reach out to shcgrounds@shaw.ca if you are interested in the following jobs:

• Would you like to adopt a tree or garden bed? Do you live near

an outdoor space that could use some more love? If so, please reach

out to us to adopt your favourite tree or space.

• Do you have the skills to repair and re-stain our picnic tables?

If so, please let us know and we will set you up with the necessary

materials to refurbish our tables.

• Do you want to join our committee and help manage

communications with members? This role would involve attending

meetings when possible and responding to (infrequent)

email correspondence.

We All Love Our Garbage Enclosures

We also want to remind members that the garbage enclosures are everyone's responsibility! Please ensure you are not over-filling the bins or leaving stuff beside the bins. Our co-op is charged if we leave garbage or recycling beside the bins.

Office Space Bookings

On behalf of Sasha Allen

As the office is used outside of my scheduled office time for many meetings, I have created a Microsoft Bookings calendar to ensure that 2 committees/meetings are not using the space at the same time. When booking it automatically gives you a 2-hour session for the meeting and if it is already booked, then you will receive an error message and will need to choose another time.

Moving forward, ensure that you book your session through the link below as it helps with managing the office space usage

https://outlook.office.com/book/SHCOffice@sunnyhillhousingcooperative.onmicrosoft.com/?ismsaljsauthenabled

Free Telus Spark Tickets through the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association (HSCA)

Submitted by Belle Auld 

Email claire.l@hsca.ca if you’d like to receive free admission to Telus Spark.

Good Food Box Delivery

Submitted by Marion Gauzer

The next Good Food Box delivery date is April 30. To place an order, email Belle Auld (belleauld@gmail.com) or Marion Gauzer (mgauzer@yahoo.ca) no later than 12:00 noon on April 21.

Slo-Mow May* and Shed Renewal

Submitted by Yvonne Sabraw

March 20 was the first day of Spring. Because we live in Calgary, that means we prepare to experience Winter/Spring/Summer flip-flopping and sometimes all in one day for the next 2 months.

When the days feel summer-like, it’s natural to want to tidy your yard. But please hold off the complete deep spring-cleaning of gardens and lawns until closer to June. Spring is not just a season we enjoy, it is also a critical time for the insects, especially pollinators, to start their active cycle. To support this we must ensure that dandelions and smaller ground-flowers can grow, and leave some of the leaves and decaying material from last year in our gardens untouched until they have the full warmth of June. This can help the biodiversity in our green spaces.

So… segue to our Co-op Shed, in particular our lawn mowers. The gas mower is being retired and the push mower can’t be sharpened due to a bent blade. We are left with two blade-sharpened electric mowers that are good-to-go and will invest in a new push mower soon. Shears and snips etc are all sharpened as well.

The Buildings and Grounds committees are taking on a joint project this year of making the Garage/Shed building a more organized and therefore useful space. The right-sizing of all our winter and summer implements is planned for the afternoon of Saturday April 25th (Approx 1:00-5:00). If you want to help or to have a say in what stays and what goes, please join the effort that day. If you’re excited about organizing spaces and making things efficient please contact Yvonne via the Grounds email (SHCGrounds@shaw.ca) to join the fun.

*Note: The reading I did for this article provided a more complicated picture than what we’ve come to understand as No-Mow-May’s approach of completely leaving gardens and lawns until June. Worth a deep dive into the updated research if you’re interested!