BC Roundup: 5 Sites for Better Living, Eating, Learning and Travelling

Credit: Flickr/Taz

Shake things up this spring with a taste of the good life BC styles

With so many ways to live the good life in BC, we really are spoiled for choice. Here are five sites that’ll help you get started

Be a Tourist in Your Own Backyard

Who says you can’t be a tourist even when you’re at home? Backyardbc, an online travel company, is focusing on the locals. Its aim is to get British Columbians out and about enjoying the treasures right here in BC.

The website makes it easy to find great rates and you don’t have to worry about searching out the best deals as the site is linked with BAR (Best Available Rate). The best part is that the rates are discounted for British Columbians.

So go get out there and then tell us all about it on our Choose Your Own Adventure blog.

Eat Local, Wherever You Are

Flickr / Lori L. Stalteri

Everyone loves fresh produce, especially when you know it’s local. There’s a farmers market in just about every community in BC, and the BC Association of Farmers Markets is a great resource for all you market goers.

Find a market near you with its marketfinder, learn what’s in season with its handy lists, which detail what will be fresh each month, and check out their tips for market shopping.

Volunteer in Your Community

During a recession volunteering usually takes a bit of a hit and yet volunteering is crucial to Canadian society, so what better time to get involved?

If you’ve always thought about volunteering, but never knew quite how to go about it, Volunteer BC is a great place to start. You’ll find everything you need to know about volunteering, from working with youth, elderly, families and more.

The site also has practical information about the screening process involved with working with certain groups, useful FAQs and great resources for finding volunteer opportunities and centres in your part of BC.

Learn Something New

Flickr / Karindalziel

Want to learn a language? Get fit? Try your hand at sculpture, acrylics or watercolours? BC Travel Guide, the Unofficial BC Travel and Tourism Guide has a page dedicated to workshops in BC. It’s pretty extensive, and you can either look at what’s happening all over BC or choose your region.

Explore Edible BC

Flickr / Kirti Poddar

Fresh mushroom, crusted BC spot prawns, homemade sausage, Island Bison, Pattison Farm Walnuts…drooling yet?

Chef Eric Pateman has travelled extensively throughout BC cooking up a storm wherever he goes and he shares all this experience in his online archive of local recipes.

Edible BC’s recipe archive is a must see, whether you’re looking for a great local recipe, need some inspiration or just love browsing delicious creations.

There are literally thousands of local recipes. Enjoy!

Lydia Millett hails from New Zealand and has recently moved to Vancouver. She has an English literature degree and a diploma in creative writing.