Browsing “Gardening”

Here’s a press release that got our attention this morning: Happy Planet’s release for their Grow For Food campaign! It arrived in a steel bucket, and it came with gardening gloves and soil. Special care was taken to insure that it was something we’d be interested in (they called last week to make sure we wanted it) and it wasn’t addressed to “Frank” or “Rob” as many of the hundreds of mass-mailed press releases we receive every week are (we don’t have anyone named Frank or Rob here, so those ones get deleted faster than most).

The message they wanted to get across is that on this Earth Day (that’s today) they’re launching an online contest where you can win up to $2000 in food from SPUD.ca and Green Earth Organics.

To enter, drink any of the Happy Planet Organic Juices that come in a 1.89L carton. Next, cut the empty carton in half (as seen in the photo above), fill it with potting soil and plant the seeded cards (that thing that says TAKE ONE PLANT ONE pictured in front of the bucket) that you’ll find next to their products in the supermarket… or plant some of your own favorite herb seeds. Take a photo of that once it’s growing, upload it to their Facebook page (HERE) and you’re entered to win a year’s supply of fresh produce delivered to your door every week, courtesy of SPUD.ca or Green Earth Organics.

UBC Botanical Garden is Canada’s oldest continuously operating university botanical garden. The original mission of the garden was research into the native flora of British Columbia. Over the past nine decades, our mission has broadened to include research, conservation, teaching and public display of temperate plants from around the world, particularly Asian, alpine and native plants. We’re also home to the Greenheart Canopy Walkway.Come visit us – we’re located at 6804 SW Marine Drive, Vancouver, BC. You can find more info at botanicalgarden.ubc.ca

April is an exceptional month for flowers at the Botanical Garden. Magnolias are in their ascendancy now, and daffodils and cherry blossoms are everywhere bringing cheer to Vancouver’s April showers. This is also definitely the month to see rhododendrons in the Garden. Every day brings another few species into bloom. Some of the most beautiful of these rhododendrons are in the David C. Lam Asian Garden, many from wild collections made in exotic locations in Asia.

Indeed, there are hundreds of different species here, and every one has a story to tell. One of the ways we tell those stories is through our smart phone tours. If you haven’t been in the garden lately, you might not have noticed small signs in a variety of colours that indicate the various self-guided tours we’ve compiled for visitors. One of these, the Rhododendron Study Tour, which will be completed before the end of this month, was made possible by a donation from the Vancouver Rhododendron Society.

Each of the tour stops is clearly numbered and has a graphical QR (quick response) code on the sign. Using a smart phone QR code reader (a number of different ones are available free on the Internet), one merely has to point the smart phone at the QR code, and the smart phone does the rest. For each stop on the tour is a short descriptive write up and a corresponding sound file. Tapping the play button allows you to hear the description read aloud.

Along with the Rhododendron Tour, visitors can listen to (or read) a Garden Introduction Tour (yellow signs), Prehistoric Plants Tour (beige signs), Vine Study Tour (light green signs), Plant Explorers in Asia Tour (black signs) and our newest, the Magnolia Tour (dark blue signs). Ask at the Gatehouse for maps of each of the tours.

Here’s a fantastic piece from Bob Nixon and CBC Vancouver today. A mother (Andrea Bellamy) and daughter are walking the streets of Vancouver throwing seed bombs — a combination of clay, potting soil and B.C. wildflower — in the hopes of adding some green to the city’s vacant lots.

Watch the video below for the story…
…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Another instalment of the video series we’ve partnered with has launched! Produced by Fire and Light Media Group, “Meet Your Urban Farmer” is a series that takes an in-depth look at different urban farmers in greater Vancouver, bringing you a little bit closer to the food you eat!

Meet Seann Dory from Sole Food Farms in this 10th short film in our Meet your Urban Farmer series.

Seann J Dory is the Co-Director of Sole Food Farms. Before starting Sole Food, Seann was a project manager at United We Can a social enterprise creating employment opportunity for inner city residents through environmental enterprises. Seann is a founding member of the Young Agrarians, an initiative to recruit, promote and support young farmers in Canada.
Seann speaks regularly about food, sustainability and inner city development and has presented at the EAT Vancouver Festival and the Projecting Change Film Festival. Seann is a graduate of the Sustainable Community Development program at Simon Fraser University and a member of the National Farmers Union.

About Sole Food Farms:

Sole Food transforms vacant urban land into street farms that grow artisan quality fruits and vegetables, available at farmer’s markets, local restaurants and retail outlets.

Sole Food’s mission is to empower individuals with limited resources by providing jobs, agricultural training and inclusion in a supportive community of farmers and food lovers. Individuals are given basic agriculture training and are employed at the farm based on their capability.

Some participants excel in this environment, but the project is set up to allow for the “ups and downs” of people with multiple barriers. For some individuals, a weekly shift at Sole Food is one of the only meaningful engagements they hold. Unlike mainstream employers, Sole Food uses employment as an outreach tactic, working to build and nurture relationships with even the most challenging individuals.

We believe healthy food systems foster healthy communities. We envision a future where good food is accessible and grown sustainably, where farms thrive in an urban setting and where the community comes together to connect directly with their food and their neighbours.

Working under the guidance of farmer/author Michael Ableman, individuals are trained to install and manage small production farms on leased urban lots. Produce grown from the farms is washed, cooled, and consolidated at a central location, then sold to restaurants, at farmers markets and distributed to community organizations.

With few significant food production farms within the city, the project provides modeling and education opportunities to a population that has little connection to the natural world or to their food sources. The farm provides employees with a place to learn new skills and an opportunity for self-growth.

Sole Food now includes a network of farms throughout the city that are providing meaningful employment to 25 individuals who are dealing with drug addiction and mental illness. The farms are supplying fresh food to city residents, and presenting a successful credible model of high quality innovative agriculture within the urban context.

Visit Sole Food Farms here – solefoodfarms.com

If you’ve never had the opportunity to meet the wonderful array of passionate individuals behind the urban farming movement, and the wonderful food they grow for the community, stay tuned as we meet other urban farmers in the Vancouver Metro area. This will be an opportunity you won’t want to miss.

Support your local urban farmers (and local rural farmers of course), and know where your food comes from.
Please follow @FandLMediaGroup and Like facebook.com/fireandlightmediagroup

Another instalment of the video series we’ve partnered with has launched! Produced by Fire and Light Media Group, “Meet Your Urban Farmer” is a series that takes an in-depth look at different urban farmers in greater Vancouver, bringing you a little bit closer to the food you eat!

Meet Trisha Sedgwick and Alicia Baddorf from The World In A Garden.

The World In A Garden is a multicultural urban farm project that educates community and youth on the nutritional, cultural, environmental and social benefits of a just and local food system. The extended version of this short film can be found here: vimeo.com/57479046

Their programming includes youth leadership, kids summer camps, school programs and gardens and farm to table workshops. Their social enterprise includes market sales, honey from our bees, educational workshops and programs, community events, fundraisers, garden wares and more.

The World In A Garden is also working to fulfill it’s global and local initiative with international expansion. They are currently working to build International twin sites with partner organizations connected to Africa, Guatemala and Costa Rica to ensure fair food for all and support self sustaining community building.

Visit the World in a Garden here: theworldinagarden.com

If you’ve never had the opportunity to meet the wonderful array of passionate individuals behind the urban farming movement, and the wonderful food they grow for the community, stay tuned as we meet other urban farmers in the Vancouver Metro area. This will be an opportunity you won’t want to miss.

Support your local urban farmers (and local rural farmers of course), and know where your food comes from.
Please follow @FandLMediaGroup and Like facebook.com/fireandlightmediagroup