West Southlands Residents Association
June Binkert
June 17, 1925 - January 22, 2007
June Binkert (nee Barnish) moved to Vancouver from England in 1957. She worked for 35 years in a senior administrative position at the UBC Fine Arts department. She married sculptor Paul Binkert in the mid-1960s, and the couple settled into a bungalow on 50th Avenue, west of Dunbar. At the entrance to their home, they hung a sign that echoed across the decades: Small is Beautiful. The sign and home are gone, but this wonderful rhododendron is a legacy of her garden.
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June held leadership positions in the residents group for 20 years. She served on the Community Forum on Airport Development (1972-1991,) YVR Environmental Committee, Fraser River Coalition and Save Our Parklands. June played a crucial role as a member of the citizens group that formulated the 1988 Southlands Plan.
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A plaque commemorating her dedication to the community's
well-being can be found along the extension of the Highbury
Interceptor. A pond in the marsh has been named June's Pond.
Vivian Bevis
May 19, 1937 - December 15, 2018
Vivian Bevis (nee Leamer) moved to BC in 1970. After completing a degree in art education at UBC and earning her teaching certificate, she taught humanities and art for 20 years in elementary and high schools in Vancouver. She painted with the Vancouver Art Guild and illustrated several children's books.
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Vivian headed WSRA for a decade. She monitored park board initiatives to ensure the park did not become an active over-programmed field. She spoke out to maintain the semi-rural nature of West Southlands, including no curbs, ditches for drainage and non-porous surfaces for sidewalks.
In recent years, she spearheaded lobbying efforts to minimize the impact of the Highbury Interceptor Air Management Facility on the neighbourhood and organized an annual clean-up of forest trails and the wooded triangle on Dunbar at the entrance of West Southlands.
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A plaque commemorating her work is on the little library at the corner of Olympic and 46th.
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