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Not just kale and snow peas, but ‘seeds’ of community organizing and excitement around community gardening!

We accomplished many things at our 2nd ‘The Plot Thickens’ Community Gardening Workshop held in East Vancouver at Lakeview Multicultural United Church Saturday May 5th, 2012. We even moved 5 yards of donated compost into 4 of the 6 garden boxes!

Removing compost clumps in Garden Bed to prepare for planting

Here are the ‘Why’s’ and ‘How’s’ that we addressed all in one day!

Why should we garden in the City? What is Food Insecurity and what gardens in our CGN is doing to address it? Why is food spiritual? How do plants use N, P and K? Why should aim to have ‘sticky’ soil? How can we create a cohesive community around the garden? Why is Community Gardening important?

Want answers?

We encourage you to discuss and learn from your friends and neighbors. We’ll be uploading our Gardening Slides online soon. Post your specific questions here on our Online Forum. Or be our host venue for our next ‘The Plot Thickens’ Community Gardening Experiential Education Workshop and help us plan a day of learning for your community.

See the Photo Album here!

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Benjamin Bouwman of Willoughby Church is looking for people in the Willoughby area that would like to be part of a Community Community Garden Organizing Committee.

Permission from the church has been granted to use their empty lot, so there is a blank state to work with. Exciting Opportunity!

Find his Inquiry Posting on our Community Garden Forum
http://www.arocha.ca/community-garden-forum/the-community-garden-network-forum-group1/starting-up-a-community-garden-forum1/willoughby-community-garden-thread24.0/

Let’s work together to grow food!

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Encouraged. Inspired. Exciting Opportunity. Daunting.

These were some of the ‘one-word’ descriptions by our Workshop Attendees at the end of the day.

Saturday April 28th we had the ‘The Plot Thickens’ – Community Gardening Workshop at our A Rocha Brooksdale Environmental Centre and it was a great success! Within 7 hours of the day we learnt about why Christians should seek Shalom in the City, the life of soil, how to build a strong community of people around a garden, and even planted potatoes in reused Coffee-bean Burlap bags!

Topics of the Day:

- Why do Christians care for God’s Creation: how do we think about Sustainability, Food and Justice biblically

- Gardening Fundamentals- Soils, Plants and Growing Methods

- Community Management- What is successful community organizing, ways to address challenges and barriers.

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Join us at the Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust’s Starcliff Nature Reserve where we’re stewarding the property’s natural habitat. For this event, we’ll first continue our efforts at controlling the spread of the aggressively invasive garlic mustard plant; and then in a combined effort to (1) maintain the walking trail and (2) restore the areas where garlic mustard is being removed, we’ll transplant plants (shrub and tree seedlings, herbaceous species) to the weeded sections.

• All tools and equipment will be provided;
• Please wear closed-toe shoes or hiking boots and dress appropriately for the weather (unless thunder and lightning is forecasted within 2 hours of the event, we volunteer rain or shine!);
• Water and a snack will be available; and
• For complete details, including directions, please RSVP by sending an email to ontario@arocha.ca.

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“Community Shared Agriculture” (CSA for short) is a way of connecting eaters more directly to the farm that is feeding them. It works like this: The farm grows a variety of crops that work well within the growing season and conditions/capacities of the farm. “Shares” are sold to a group of farm supporters, who pay up front prior to the season for the food that they will receive during that season. It is a simple and effective way for folks to know and support their farmers while getting the healthiest, freshest food possible.

A Rocha has operated a CSA program for 8 years. We focus on veggies (there are CSAs out there that do meat, eggs, fruit, honey, etc.). Our 20-week season runs from mid-June until the end of October. A full share costs $600.00 and contains a mix of 8 to 12 varieties of vegetables and herbs per week – enough to supply a family of 4 or 5 with most of the veggies they would need for a week. We do offer a half-sized share option ($350.00) but we encourage people to consider sharing a full share with friends if possible. Share participants pick up their weekly veggie box at the Brooksdale Environmental Centre (16th and 192nd in Surrey).

Participation in a CSA involves sharing the risk of farming with the farmer. There are no guarantees as to the content of the bins from week to week – yields and variety will be determined by weather and other factors beyond the control of the farmer. Typically the first month of the season has lighter boxes (more leaves, fewer items). The weight of the bins increases as root crops and squash come into production. I anticipate that the week of June 18 will provide our first share boxes, and the season will conclude the week of October 30 (for a total of 20 weeks).

There is no “choice” as to what you receive in your weekly box, and you can expect that you will encounter items that you wouldn’t normally buy and some things you may not recognize! Some folks love the adventure of opening their weekly share, while others find that they would rather support farmers by shopping at the farmer’s market where they can buy exactly what they want.
To give you an idea of what a bin might contain, here are projected harvests for 2 weeks of the summer:
June 25 – scallions, garlic scapes, broccoli raap, bok choi, swiss chard, lettuce, spinach, snow peas, daikon radish
September 3 – onions, garlic, cucumbers, sweet pepper, tomatoes, lettuce, cilantro, green beans, zucchini, cantelope

This year you can have the option of purchasing “add-ons” to your share, including flowers, basil, pickling cukes, sauerkraut, and hot sauce. The costs and quantities are indicated on the registration form.

If you have any other questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. I welcome all input and participation. Growing organically and intensively is a big job – many hands are required to do it well. Share members are not required to put in volunteer hours, but my experience is that participating in the growing increases your sense of connection and thankfulness for the food you eat. So if you can, plan to pitch in and help your veggies (and your farmers) thrive!

Email Paul Neufeld (paul.neufeld@arocha.ca) to register!

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2012 Birdwatch – 8:00 am

Meet at the A Rocha Brooksdale Environmental Centre at 8:00 am, Mon. May 21st.

The Birdwatch is for beginner and expert birders alike. This year Lower Mainland residents can join us at five locations in the Little Campbell River Watershed, then return to Brooksdale to tally the birdcounts. Bring a bag lunch. Drinks will be provided.

For more information contact british.columbia@arocha.ca

Spring Festival & Native Plant Sale – 1:00 pm

Join us, this Victoria Day Monday, for a guided naturalist walk of the Little Campbell River portion of the Brooksdale Environmental Centre, site tours, conservation themed public talk (with Mike Pearson a local biologist), native plant sale at The River Tree Store and more family friendly activities like hayrides, face painting and live music.

This year, kids can participate in Surrey’s Environmental Extravaganza program (kids get a passport and stamps at different events over the month of May). Also, the theme for this year is Survivors–Mike Pearson will be highlighting species at risk in the Lower Mainland and A Rocha will be showcasing our conservation efforts on species at risk in the Little Campbell River watershed.

Feel free to bring dessert treats ready to share.

Dress for the weather – the event will be rain or shine.

For more information contact british.columbia@arocha.ca

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This free and open opportunity is for anyone who is interested in helping with our yearly beach survey, looking at intertidal creatures and their habitats at the mouth of the Little Campbell River. There is also opportunity to help out at other beach sites around Semiahmoo Bay.

Where? Meet at West Beach Boat Ramp, 14500 Blk., Marine Drive, White Rock

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Great opportunity for school groups!

May 5 to September 6 – Milne Hollow – Thursdays, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Join us as we partner weekly with the City of Toronto’s Natural Environment and Community Programs section in leading the Community Stewardship Program’s Milne Hollow Team. Milne Hollow is a Toronto wetland adjacent to one of Canada’s most congested expressways: the Don Valley Parkway; and much needed in one one of the nation’s most ecologically degraded waterways. We’ll be planting herbaceous plants, woody ones (shrubs and trees), controlling the spread of invasive species, maintaining recently planted areas, monitoring water chemistry, pollinators and the success of previous plantings, and… witnessing a lot of wildlife in this recently created “natural” refuge.
• All tools and equipment will be provided.
• Please bring water, wear boots or closed-toe shoes and dress appropriately for the weather.
• If you haven’t participated in a previous orientation to the City’s Community Stewardship Program, please plan to join us at Riverdale Farm during the evening of Tuesday, May 3.
• Volunteering weekly through the season is ideal but if you can only participate once or twice, you’re more than welcome!
• You may also be interested in bringing a group, such as from a church, campus club, or high school or postsecondary class. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship blessed us last year with 24 very appreciated volunteers!
• Please RSVP by sending an email to paul.abell@arocha.ca. You can also call him at 647-969-0259.

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A Rocha has been partnering with World Vision for the past three years to provide families on low income with programming that connects them to food, community and creation. We recently hosted “From the Ground Up” — a Spring Break day camp at our Brooksdale Environmental Centre that welcomed many children from the Umoja Operation Compassion Society in North Surrey. Umoja runs after-school programming for children from new immigrant families. We also hosted a couple of families who live in a local RV park.

The jam-packed camp included a cooking class, bird-watching, sing-a-longs, planting blueberry bushes and exploring a nearby forest. Interestingly, some of the children were afraid to go in the forest, making us realise that many of them had never in their lives walked through the woods! One spiritually savvy child even said, “We should pray before we go in there!” But the children conquered their fears, enjoying the sights and sounds of God’s creation, even in its wooded wildness.

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