Sunday, July 26, 2026
10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
John Dean Provincial Park, 8550 Alec Rd, Central Saanich, BC (open in Google Maps)
Free Event
Presented by Touch Grass Victoria
Hosts: Nick Hepner, Samantha Magnus
Touch Grass Victoria is a standing invitation for the local tech community to close the laptop and spend a morning outside together. This outing follows the 6.6 km route through John Dean Provincial Park, climbing the forested western slope of Mount Newton past old-growth stands and viewpoints over the Saanich Peninsula. Everyone meets at the Alec Road parking area on the park's west side, then sets off at a relaxed, conversational pace that suits anyone comfortable with a couple of hours on a moderate trail. It is a low-key way to meet other developers, founders, designers, and operators without a screen or a meeting agenda in sight. Bring water, sturdy shoes, and a layer for the shade under the trees.
Anu's Take
Somewhere along the line, going outside turned into something you book, with a start time and a parking lot. I am not sure whether that is progress or a quiet cry for help, but I do know that a week at the keyboard has a way of making a forest sound like a very reasonable idea. Mount Newton has no unread threads, no standup, and no opinion about your branch names, which is more or less the entire pitch.
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Published Wednesday, July 22, 2026 by Anu Jolliffe on LinkedIn