Vital Victoria Podcast

On the final episode of the Vital Victoria Podcast, host Lucky Budd discusses uplifting Indigenous cultures with T’esóts’en (Patrick Kelly), a member of the Leq’a:mel Nation and longtime resident of Victoria.   For over 40 years, Patrick has been bridging cultures in his many roles as Indigenous relations advisor, board member, and volunteer. This year, he was awarded the prestigious King Charles...

Greater Victoria is quickly becoming a region known for its cycling infrastructure. There’s no doubt that pedalling comes with benefits, such as boosting your physical and mental health, and saving money on transportation costs. But what is the community doing to encourage active transportation? And what more needs to be done to keep the roads safe and accessible? This month, host Lucky Budd inter...

Lisa Mort-Putland   has her fingers on the pulse of volunteerism in Canada, and especially here at home in Greater Victoria.   From learning essential skills to building community relationships, volunteerism has a pivotal role to play in strengthening the region's vital services while boosting the wellbeing of volunteers, themselves.    This month, host Lucky Budd chats with Lisa Mort-Putland, Exe...

Andrea and Jordan Minter, the managers of Victoria’s renowned Russell Books, chat with host Lucky Budd about their family's story of building one of Canada’s largest independent bookstores.    For 28 years, Russell Books has been inspiring reading enthusiasts, and bringing the community together through regular literary events, while proudly supporting non-profit literacy initiatives and schools t...

The Victoria Community Food Hub is a crucial organization in a giant sustainable food ecosystem working to put farm-fresh grub in the bellies of all Greater Victorians.    This month, host Lucky Budd chats with Laura Gair and Colleen Popyk – two outstanding people who are working tirelessly on Food Hub initiatives that bring good food to the capital region’s most vulnerable, while feeding our robu...

For the last few years, Victoria's Jess Gibbard has been passionately working to help trans and non-binary people find their true voices, be it from her private home studio or through charitable initiatives. After transitioning herself, she learned there's large gap in BC and all over the world for gender-affirming voice training. Often, voice coaches are expensive, unavailable, or, in certain par...

Fateh Care means “winning hearts by caring.” And that’s exactly what Harjas Singh and Navneet Kaur Popli aim to do by delivering food, clothing and other necessities to people in need, through their family-fun mobile food bank called the Fateh Care Charity . When the Poplis immigrated to Canada in 2020 on the last flight from India before COVID shutdowns, they found themselves housebound, without...

Chief Constable Del Manak of the Victoria Police joins host Lucky Budd to talk about his life in the public service, and how the police are connecting with community through their non-profit and related work. Chief Manak reflects on his childhood in Victoria, his inspirations for leadership, and his vision for the future of police work at a time when more community members feel less safe overall....

Anne McIntyre says while there are services that provide food and shelter to those in need, hygiene products can often be more of an afterthought. Tune in as Anne joins host Lucky Budd on the Vital Victoria Podcast to share the story of her journey building Soap for Hope Canada – one of the country’s only nonprofits dedicated solely to personal hygiene. Soap for Hope collects gently used and unuse...

Laila Pires joins host Lucky Budd on the Vital Victoria Podcast to tell the story of one of Canada’s first Filipino-owned community centres, and how it continues to create space for Victorians of all backgrounds to celebrate Filipino arts, food and culture. Laila, the treasurer and a founding member of the Bayanihan Cultural and Housing Society, has won numerous awards for community involvement, i...

This month on the Vital Victoria Podcast , host Lucky Budd joins Janine Hannis, the Head of the Greater Victoria Alliance for Literacy (GVAL), and Christine Bossi, the Executive Director of the Victoria Literacy Connection, to talk about the community’s work to boost literacy skills in people of all ages. They discuss the community’s most pressing literacy needs today, how to tackle the stigma aro...

This month on the Vital Victoria Podcast, Rory Kulmala, the CEO of the Vancouver Island Construction Association (VICA), joins host Lucky Budd to talk about mental health and addiction issues that many are facing in the construction industry. They talk about how VICA has been educating workers about harm reduction, connecting them with local resources to help, and reducing the stigma around mental...

Host Lucky Budd welcomes Jack Knox to the Vital Victoria Podcast. Recently retired from the Times Colonist in Victoria, B.C., Jack shares his story on how he got his start in journalism and the first story he ever wrote covering a dead cow on the road in Kamloops. He talks about his start at the Times Colonist, from copy editor to columnist, and how his column started with a piece on men at craft...

Host Lucky Budd welcomes Micah Zandee Hart, a member of the Canadian Women’s National Hockey Team. Growing up on the Saanich Peninsula, Micah talks about her journey from playing minor hockey with the boys on the Peninsula to becoming the second sophomore to wear the ‘C’ when she played at Cornell University. She talks about the culture and work ethic playing for Team Canada, how the Women's gold...

May is Asian Heritage Month and host Lucky Budd welcomes Dr. Grace Wong Sneddon, board chair of the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society, to the Vital Victoria Podcast. Dr. Wong Sneddon shares her story of how her family came to Vancouver Island and touches on the impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act. They talk about the need to preserve, teach and inform about the culture of Chinese Canadians and how...

Isaac Thomas is the executive director of the Belfry Theatre and joins host Lucky Budd for episode 12 of the Vital Victoria Podcast where they talk about Isaac’s journey to Greater Victoria. They discuss how theatre can analyze the past, present and see the future and explore a broader set of stories while reflecting on arts in Greater Victoria and how, across the country, theatre can set the stag...

Alex D’Arcy is a professor of Linguistics and Associate Dean of Research in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Victoria. She joins host Lucky Budd for episode 11 of the Vital Victoria Podcast, where they talk about how she found her way to Victoria, crossing paths with her family’s history in the city and what led her to pursue studies in linguistics. They talk about the connection to...

Silvia Mangue Alene, president of the BC Black History Awareness Society, joins host Lucky Budd for episode 10 of the Vital Victoria Podcast. They talk about Silvia’s journey to Victoria, from being born in Africa to growing up in Spain and coming to Canada. Silvia recounts growing up as a black child in Spain and the experience of moving to London, seeing black people and the power of “being invi...

Open Ocean Robotics’ co-founder Julie Angus, the first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean from mainland to mainland, joins host Lucky Budd for Episode nine of the Vital Victoria Podcast. They talk about how Open Ocean Robotics started and the importance of monitoring and protecting our oceans with cleantech. They also touch on how technology and innovation can play a role in adapting to climat...

Human Nature Counselling takes what Greater Victoria is known for, its picturesque outdoors, and provides individual and group nature-based therapy and programs for children, youth, adults and families. In episode 8 of the Vital Victoria podcast, co-founders of Human Nature Counselling David Segal and Katy Rose join host Lucky Budd to talk about how Human Nature Counselling started, working in par...

From delivery service to pop-ups and a successful downtown restaurant, Dumpling Drop started with a gathering between mother and daughter. In episode 7 of the Vital Victoria Podcast, Tarn Tayanunth, owner of Dumpling Drop, joins host Lucky Budd. Tayanunth shares the story behind Dumpling Drop, which began with her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and time spent bonding afterwards, making dumplings....

When our children return to school, our hearts go with them.” It’s a quote that rests on the back of a t-shirt from Surrounded by Cedar. In this episode of the Vital Victoria Podcast, Jennifer Chuckry, Executive Director of Surrounded by Cedar Child and Family Services, joins host Lucky Budd. They talk about Surrounded by Cedar’s work as a delegated agency and their mission, to provide child and f...

From tennis courts around the world to leading the Pacific Institute of Sports Excellence (PISE) in Greater Victoria, Robert Bettauer has left a mark on the world of sport. In episode five of the Vital Victoria Podcast, Bettauer joins host Lucky Budd to talk about his unique story: emigrating from West Berlin to Canada, his journey to becoming a professional tennis player and playing events like t...

Host Lucky Budd welcomes Marc Jenkins, director of The Choirs YYJ, to talk about leading three choir ensembles with over 200 members of all ages, genders, vocal abilities and experiences. They talk about Marc’s beginnings, being inspired by seeing Stevie Ray Vaughn and picking a guitar up at the age of seven and years later, moving to Victoria and taking over The Choirs YYJ. From arranging a Radio...

Host Lucky Budd sits down with Jean McRae, CEO of the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria, to talk about her time working in the immigrant and refugee services sector since 1982. McRae reflects on the experience of supporting the full integration of newcomer immigrants and refugees into the Capital Region and the role the Inter-Cultural Association plays. She also talks about the commun...