A story came to our attention recently we wanted to share. East Vancouver has many great pockets of community minded folk. There are so many residents that give of their time to build a better community and make people feel a part of their community and instill pride in what they call home. Our hats go off to these individuals, as there time and effort is appreciated. Recently, we received a note from a community organizer in South Hill that gave us pause. On Canada Day, South Hill Neighbours hosted a great community event at MacDonald Park that included a potluck dinner and had the neighbourhood kids paint bright wooden bee cutouts to hang on the tennis court fence of the park. The aim was to remind everyone of the great work these flying pollinators do in the local parks.
But after Canada Day, something strange, sad and unexpected happened. July 7th ALL the bees and a pathway information sign that was posted was not only removed but ripped to shreds and thrown in the garbage. To add insult to injury, someone left a sidewalk chalk message in the tennis court entry saying “bees suck!” Neighbours sadly pulled the bees from the garbage and remounted them.
Then later in July neighbours noticed that someone had been removing several bees at a time and again throwing them in the garbage. One mother retrieved 11 bees from the park garbage bin, but couldn’t account for 12 missing bees, since the garbage had been emptied. We learnt there was a young girl in tears looking for her missing bee that she had painted and a number of other kids were equally as upset. This painting project brought neighbourhood children so much joy and pride in being able to share their work for others to see. It was heartbreaking for South Hill residents to see their community efforts destroyed. For the idiots that participated in this senseless vandalism not once but repeatedly, you made young children cry! Who does this and why?
ILiveInEastVan.com 
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