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Saanich to Victoria

Day 25 · Completed

Bone Marrow Awareness Day — Sidney

Sidney town centre, British Columbia

Sidney’s history beside the Salish Sea

This day on the route

Date
The day
Awareness Day
Walked
5.8 miles

Day 25, October 1: a Bone Marrow Awareness Day in Sidney, then 5.8 miles walked south to Saanichton. She spent the night back with Kath and Ted.

An empty weathered bench overlooks calm blue water and wooded islands, with driftwood along the shore and coral leaves at left, painted in gouache.
Illustration inspired by Sidney town centre, British Columbia.

On October 1 Jeana held her Bone Marrow Awareness Day in Sidney and walked on to Saanichton the same day, 5.8 miles in all.

Sidney’s history is closely tied to the peninsula and its surrounding islands. The town’s heritage account starts with the longstanding presence of W̱SÁNEĆ people, then follows the later subdivision and growth of the settlement. Fifty acres were divided into lots in 1891; the village was incorporated on September 30, 1952.

She visited the office of the MP, Elizabeth May, which was moving that day, and called at the RCMP, the fire department and the community centre. She was able to do her walk to Saanichton the same day, so she did both. Saanichton, in Central Saanich, is a municipality formed in 1950 to protect its rural heritage.

For readers in British Columbia, Canadian Blood Services provides the official registration process and eligibility information. Readers following from the United States can turn to NMDP. Each offers guidance for people considering joining where they live.

From the road

A Bone Marrow Awareness Day in Sidney, and the walk to Saanichton too

She was able to do her walk to Saanichton that day, as well as her Bone Marrow Awareness Day in Sidney. She visited the office of the current MP, Elizabeth May. Unfortunately, the office was moving, so she wasn’t able to meet her, but she had all the contact information she needed.

Then she was able to see folks at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and they gave her the name of their communications director, so that he could help get the word out to cadets and officers between the ages of 17 and 35 who can join the Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registry.

She also stopped by the fire department, but no one answered the buzzer; she thought they must have been out on a call. She went to the community centre as well, so it was quite a day of crisscrossing Sidney, and a beautiful walk without her great big pack, because Kath and Ted kept it for the day.

Several places offered her food throughout the day. Sapodilla’s Smoothies & Juice Cafe gave her a wonderful breakfast protein bowl with fruit and granola, Sidney’s Scones gave her a delicious raisin scone for a quick snack, and the Corner Thai Restaurant provided her with a late lunch from its buffet.

I am grateful for the time I have had here in Sidney.

Jeana Moore
A skeleton in a black wide-brimmed hat waving from the seat of an old red Fordson tractor with yellow spoked wheels, beneath a sign reading Heritage Acres, MUSEUM, Nature Trails - Village - Picnic Area and heritageacresbc.com.A paved trail with a dashed yellow centre line and patched cracks curving ahead between rough grass and tall evergreens, toward a highway overpass, a billboard and a McDonald's sign under grey cloud.A wide gravel lot lies between two weathered split-rail fences, with a dry lawn, tall evergreens and a glimpse of calm water and a wooded shore beyond under a broad sky of gray and pale gold cloud.Through a gap in a split-rail fence, a dry lawn stretches to dark shrubs and calm water with a low wooded shore beyond, a tall ragged evergreen at left and signs reading FIRE DANGER and NO SMOKING.A dark grey garden shed whose door is painted with one face split down the middle, half Spider-Man’s red webbed mask and half Venom’s black face with a white eye, jagged teeth and a long red tongue, boards and lattice leaning beside it.A grassy waterfront park with two picnic tables and a young evergreen in a low timber surround, a man walking a small pale dog along the path, and calm water with low islands beyond under a pale sky.A road with a double yellow line beside a row of trees along the shore, calm water and a low wooded far shore beyond under a grey sky.A shoreline road looking across calm water to low islands and distant hills, power lines overhead.A blue and orange carved sign reading Welcome to the Town of Sidney, parked cars and the water behind it.Calm water with low islands and a range of blue hills in the distance, a faint snowy peak behind them and a trimmed hedge in the foreground.A close view of a lavender daisy-like flower with a golden centre among more blooms.A notice in a window from the constituency office of MP Elizabeth May, announcing that the office is moving.
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A pink Sidney Scones sandwich board on a brick sidewalk, with shops and parked cars along the street behind.A Royal Canadian Mounted Police sign with the force's crest, a tree with red leaves behind it.The crest of the Town of Sidney Fire Department on a glass pane, a tall-masted ship on blue waves at its centre.A close view of a carved and painted wooden face, with red lips and touches of turquoise.Clusters of small pink bell-shaped blossoms among fine, needle-like green leaves.A close view of a weathered grey statue of a smiling older man in a cap.A folded cream note lies sideways on navy quilted fabric, a handwritten list under 'Sidney' reading 'Elizabeth May – MP – Green Party', a crossed-out line, a smoothie shop, 'Fish on Fifth – lunch or dinner', library, 'MLA Office Sidney' and 'Beacon Community Service.'
Distance walked
5.8 miles
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Choose where you live

Continue to the official registry that serves you. It decides eligibility, handles registration and contacts you if you may match a patient.

Where in Canada?

Canada outside Québec — Canadian Blood Services

The Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registry asks for people aged 17 to 35 in good general health. You answer eligibility questions online, complete a profile and sign a consent form; a cheek-swab kit arrives in the mail within one to three weeks for you to swab and return. If you live in Québec, you register with Héma-Québec instead. Canadian Blood Services makes the final eligibility decision.

Check the listed age range

Visit Canadian Blood Services

Canadian Blood Services — Stem cell eligibility and registration · checked Sep 1, 2026

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Sources

Local history and background reading for this stop.

  1. Culture and heritage — checked Sep 5, 2026
  2. Stem cell donation eligibility and registration — checked Sep 5, 2026
  3. Join the donor registry — checked Sep 5, 2026
The flyer: STOP BLOOD CANCER set in tall letters over a dark plum page, a quote, and a QR code beside a text-to-join line for the U.S.One standing face of the table tent: the same headline and quote on the left, a large QR code on the right.

Take it off the screen

Print it. Put it where people already stand.

A coffee counter, a church foyer, a break room, a race table. Every sheet carries the code that opens Jeana’s walk, and a number to text for anyone who would rather not scan — no app, no wifi, nothing to hand back.Every sheet carries the code that opens Jeana’s walk — nothing to install, nothing to hand back. The number to text printed beside it is for joining NMDP, which registers people who live in the U.S., its territories and the freely associated states. If you live anywhere else, find your country’s registry.

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