You are cordially invited to the McLoughlin Gardens first annual garden tour fundraiser. Come explore some beautiful hidden gems in the neighbourhood. A detailed tour map will be emailed to registrants May 18. The gardens are accessible by walk-in only, please wear appropriate footwear. Our friendly garden sitters will show you where to park.

Cost $20.00

Please e-transfer to mcloughlingardens16@gmail.com

Join Glenn Gustafson, local environmental educator, for a walk through the forests and gardens of the McLoughlin Gardens, looking at the wild and naturalized plants (plus other features) that gardeners can add to their landscapes to attract and sustain wildlife.  Meet at the upper gate on Tasman Road - bring sun hat, water, and good walking shoes.

All participants must register prior to the walk. There is no fee for this program. Minimum 6. Maximum 12 participants.

Registration fee: $40 (+ GST) non-members, $30 (GST) members.

While good writing is a necessity for any genre, when it comes to writing for teens there are some special considerations:
- how to handle the POV
- why the age of your protagonist matters
- how to nail the emotional landscape
- sex, drugs, violence, and other touchy subjects: what is and isn’t allowed
- avoiding preachiness
- ending with hope
We will look at the differences between middle-grade, young adult and adult novels, and we’ll discuss several issues that teen readers apparently feel adult writers of YA get wrong. We’ll also look at variations in structure, from basic three-act structure to the episodic structure that is an option in coming-of-age novels. Several YA novels turn structure on its head—we’ll look at those as well.

Michelle Barker is an award-winning author and a senior editor with The Darling Axe. Her most recent publication, co-authored with David Brown, is Immersion and Emotion: The Two Pillars of Storytelling. Her YA historical novel My Long List of Impossible Things (Annick Press) was a Junior Library Guild gold standard selection. Michelle holds an MFA in creative writing from UBC and lives in Vancouver on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations.

Registration fee: $40 (+ GST) non-members, $30 (GST) members.

It’s a myth that scenes get written fully formed. Quite often, writing a scene involves more of a layered approach. This ensures all elements of a scene are included, which in turn helps immerse our readers in the fictional dream.
In this workshop we will do several hands-on exercises to explore:
- how to write dialogue to enhance conflict
- telling versus showing
- the importance of setting and sensory detail
- beats, and how to avoid generic gesture
- how to start and end a scene
- the importance of POV and how character changes everything
- filtering phrases and why you don’t need them
Come prepared to write—and maybe even do some improv!

Michelle Barker is an award-winning author and a senior editor with The Darling Axe. Her most recent publication, co-authored with David Brown, is Immersion and Emotion: The Two Pillars of Storytelling. Her YA historical novel My Long List of Impossible Things (Annick Press) was a Junior Library Guild gold standard selection. Michelle holds an MFA in creative writing from UBC and lives in Vancouver on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations.

Join us for a fun and creative morning exploring the art of leaf printing. This is a truly accessible art form that anyone can do. Leaf prints can be used to create cards and stationary or to create a record of different plant species. Participants can bring some leaves to print (kept flat in a plastic bag) or collect a few of the amazing variety of leaves available in the gardens and surrounding forest. Space is limited to 12 participants. Children are welcome, but must be accompanied by an adult. Please bring $10 for each participant to cover materials provided.