Nanaimo Old City Association - NOCA

04/25/2026

Thank you to Salt Spring Seeds and West Coast Seeds for the incredibly generous vegetable and flower seed donations for our beautify the boulevards and alleyways as well as boosting the Pawson Park garden area. 30 companies were contacted this year and these were the two companies that responded.

The goal of this projects is to increase positive experiences in the old city, reduce crime and negative behaviour though beautification.

We have had a 90 percent reduction in issues with the Franklyn and Milton parkette through changes to the built environment. We are excited to see the continued evolution in the old city.

04/19/2026

03/03/2026

New store in our neighbouring zone in the downtown.

🎉 We’re officially opening on Friday, February 27th!

Levant Foods is a Mediterranean grocery bringing specialty products and flavors to Nanaimo.

Join us for our Grand Opening and enjoy Arabic coffee & baklava available all day.

Regular Hours: 10AM – 8PM Daily
Opening Day Only: Open Until 10PM

📍 56 Victoria Crescent, Nanaimo
🅿️ Parking available at the back entrance of the building

We can’t wait to welcome you!

03/02/2026

Hello resident of the old city. Check out this great opportunity from the Nanaimo Area Land Trust (NALT) NALT (Nanaimo & Area Land Trust)



From: NALT Volunteer
Sent: February 23, 2026 3:31 PM
To: Linda Brooymans
Subject: Volunteer Opportunity - smolt trap volunteer callout

Hello neighbours,

Do you want to learn more about our local salmon populations while
helping to collect valuable data on the state of those populations? Join
our Cat Stream Salmon Smolt monitoring project!

We are looking for 28 volunteers who are willing to give 1hour of their
time either once a week or every 2 weeks in the mornings to check our
smolt trap and record data on smolt numbers.

Training provided, although experience is an asset.

This project will launch in mid-March (exact date TBD) and will continue
to late May or early June, depending on our season. We need to check the
smolt trap EVERY day during this period, so if you available on weekends
or weekdays and are interested, please connect with us!

Contact [email protected] for more information.

Linda Brooymans

Stewardship Manager & Mid-Island Coordinator for BC Community Bats Program

Nanaimo & Area Land Trust

(250) 714-1990 (work)

(250) 714-5361 (cell)

02/10/2026

Hello NOCA members!

Did you know that the city of Nanaimo is planting almost 40 trees in the old city on Machleary and Wentworth Streets in the late winter/early spring of 2026? Some trees were planted Thursday and Friday of last week. The next planting will happen in the next few weeks.

We are looking for volunteers to get involved in some of the planting to raise awareness of the type of trees planted, good practices in how trees are planted and their care to help them survive their first years of growth and establish themselves in the area.

We all know of the wonderful ecological benefits of trees in our living spaces and how they are a pillar of sustainability for us. And increasing the urban canopy in the old city is one of NOCA's priorities.

If you'd like to help, please let me know. I will let you know when the planting is scheduled.

~ Joy
--------
Joy Adams Bauer, President
Nanaimo Old City Association (NOCA)
[email protected]

02/10/2026

Neighbourhood Priorities. It's that time of year when we reach out to our members to ask what your priorities are for 2026. Check our website at https://www.nanaimooldcityassociation.ca/ for last year's priorities. 2026 Priorities should fit under the responsibility of local government and ideally reflect our City Plan. Your Board looks forward to hearing your ideas which we will take to CIty Council this spring.

Art Project at Campbell and Machleary Streets - The City of Nanaimo and NOCA are commissioning an artistic design for the 4-way intersection at Machleary and Campbell Streets The city’s culture coordinator has created an online survey for those who couldn’t be at a recent open house to talk with the artist. This is your opportunity to answer a few questions that will help inform the artwork. Feel free to complete the survey even if you attended the open house.Here is the link to the survey: SURVEY LINK

The artistic design would be applied as a surface covering treatment across the asphalt of the intersection. The goal with this project is to improve pedestrian safety, revitalise and beautify public space, and engage the local community. Site-specific design direction will reflect the priorities and desires of our neighbourhood.

Mark your calendars for our AGM - Tuesday, October 20, 6:30 pm at St. Andrew's United Church on Wesley Street.

What are your neighbourhood priorities? by Joy Adams BauerFebruary 9, 20262:38 pmLeave a comment on What are your neighbourhood priorities?Heads Up It’s that time of year when we reach out to our members to ask what your priorities are for 2026.  Here are last year’s priorities, on which we ma...

02/08/2026

Next weekend in the old city.

02/06/2026

We do not have a social media volunteer at this time. Please email us with your thoughts and suggestions
[email protected]

02/06/2026

Hello NOCA members!

We are exploring an exciting project this fall in partnership with the Nanaimo Area Land Trust (NALT). We are looking for 10 to 15 people who are interested in contributing a small 1 m x1m or 1m x 2 m plot of land on their boulevard or front easement to grow native plants that attract pollinators.

Ideally, the sites identified should be fairly close together in order to create more habitat connectivity. NALT is applying for funding and is happy to work with those who volunteer on site preparation, planting and maintenance for up to 2 years. Then all you have to do is w**d and water your little plot and wait for the pollinators to appear! NALT is even interest in conducting a pollinator census or two on the plots, and letting you know what they find!

If you are interested, or have any questions, please let me know. This sounds like great fun for us and for our planet!

~ Joy

Email us to be a part of this or if you have questions [email protected]

02/06/2026

Hello members of NOCA and thank you for your support of your neighbourhood association! It's that time of year when we reach out to our members to ask what your priorities are for 2026. Here are last year's priorities, on which we made good progress!

1. Promote community safety by using passive safety measures for the Old City that can be introduced at the following "hot spots" (Pawson Park and St. Peter's Church Overnight Shelter), to lessen fear and crime in the neighbourhood:

2. Promote community safety and well-being by focusing on the neighbourhood as a model for Active Transportation and Complete Streets, and address traffic and parking problems in the Old City. The Intersection of Machleary and Campbell Streets is the Hot Spot that our priorities are focusing on for 2025.

3. Promote community well-being through work on sustainable improvements to the quality of life in our neighbourhood by increasing biodiversity through tree canopy coverage up to 33% of the land area and landscaping on boulevards and parkettes (like Franklyn and Milton Streets) with landscaping similar to the Old Firehall and the Italian Fountain. Increase the number of trees to a minimum of 50 in areas identified as prime locations for climate change mitigation such as streets, boulevards and parks.

2026 Priorities should fit under the responsibility of local government and ideally reflect our City Plan.

Your Board looks forward to hearing your ideas which we will take to CIty Council this spring.

Joy Adams Bauer, Brian Booth, Alan Drexhage, Basia Henoch, Twila Konynenbelt, Jamie Molloy, Mayta Ryn, Barbara Schreiber, Shelley Serebrin

Email us with your thoughts and suggestions
[email protected]

11/13/2024

Hey Old City Nanaimo Folks! NOCA needs volunteers! We need a social media person to keep everyone up to date on things happening in our neighbourhood! please contact president (at) nanaimooldcityassociation.ca