Month: September 2015

Finally, after several months I am very pleased to post four wonderful stories that were a part of our Britannia School Garden Storytelling Fundraiser held this past May.

Audio will play after a few seconds.

The first story is by Britannia High School student Mary Igmen who shares her experience working with the Sustainable Opportunities for Youth Leadership (SOYL) summer garden program and finding a sense of identity in the garden

This second story by Siobhan Barker shares with us a fable about greed and revenge at the dinner table.

In this third story Helen May tells us the story of being uprooted from her home in South Africa and finding new home in Vancouver and her garden.

Our final story By Wong Wing-Siu takes us on a food journey through Turkey.

Thank you Vancouver Courier for your wonderful article on the Corn Festival.

Read the full article here

The 12th Annual Corn Festival was once again held at Britannia Community Centre. This wonderful festival in East Van is organized by Canada – El Salvador Action Network with support from the Grandview Woodland Food Connection. I kinda think about this festival as Britannia’s best kept secret. Tucked away in Gym D and outside the usually quite alley is this bustling slice of Latin America in East Van.

The festival features a variety of food vendors selling food made of corn, which in Latin America is a lot of food including my favorite pupusas, as well as tamales, pozole, rigua and more. Along with the food, the festival features a range of amazing artistic talent, flambouant dancers, proud mariachis, folkloric music, and poetry. Equally important is the socio-political significance of corn to the people’s of Latin America which is also highlighted in this festival.

So perhaps it is time for this endearing festival to come out of hiding and spread its flavors and color for more to enjoy. It should not be missed. The Corn Festival is celebrated the first week in September and we hope that you are able to join us again next year. In the meantime, check out these great photos of the corn festival or click here for more pics.

Also read the Courier article

Do you think your neighbourhood needs more food growing spaces? Are you interested in starting a new urban agriculture project? Urban agriculture plays an important role in creating vibrant gathering spaces, greening the environment, supporting local food resiliency and promoting social inclusion. The City of Vancouver has had a long history and support for food growing in the city.

There are two ways the City of Vancouver is helping to create new gardens… Send in your ideas, and potentially get your garden project built!

1. Gardens on City parks or other City-owned land.
If you’re interested in starting your own garden project in a City park or on City-owned property, tell us your ideas! Fill out an Expression of Interest application to help us prioritize support for garden locations and projects. Deadline October 5, 2015.

Some urban agriculture projects that may be considered are:

* Community gardens: One piece of land with multiple garden plots for individual gardening
* Community or urban orchards: Collective management of a group of fruit or nut trees
* Permaculture projects: planting food and plants from a natural and ecological systems perspective
* Pollinator gardens: providing natural habitat for pollinator bees and insects
* Shared growing: growing food together with others for a variety of educational, cultural, and other purposes.

Possible locations for your urban agriculture initiative could include underutilized and unused sites, or improving and adding to existing sites. For instance, a potential site could be vacant land at the end of a block, un-programmed and underutilised areas of parks, or other unused land.

More information and to view the application form, visit: http://vancouver.ca/people-programs/start-a-new-community-garden.aspx

2. Garden projects on non-city land
If you would like to start a new urban agriculture project on non-city land, fill out an application for assistance. This is intended for non-profit organizations and cooperatives wanting to start new urban agricultural projects that believe that “small is beautiful” and make strong connections and enhancements to existing or new programs, support education, establish community connections, and build capacity.

More information and to view the application form, visit: http://vancouver.ca/people-programs/start-a-new-community-garden.aspx