YouthCore Symposium at UVic May 2nd

YouthCore and the Centre for Youth & Society present:
Youth can do it all: Developing, Evaluating and Implementing your own Change Project

It’s not too late to register for the upcoming YouthCore youth symposium on May 2nd at UVic!Workshops will include project development and evaluation, outreach planning, and non-violent communication. A complimentary light lunch will be provided to participants. YouthCore SPARK grant applications for youth-led projects will be available at the symposium and eligible youth will be encouraged to apply for funding between $500 and $3000 to launch their projects this summer.

Sat. May 2, 2009, 9 am - 3 pm
David Lam Auditorium, MacLaurin Building at UVic

This is a FREE event and registration is required as space is limited.

For more information contact Caitlin at the LifeCycles Project Society at caitlin@lifecyclesproject.ca or 250.383.5800

Food Matters Political Panel DIscussion: Apr 30 2009

Learn what your politicians will do about food if you vote for them:

FOOD MATTERS
A panel discussion with representatives of BC political parties on all things pertaining to food and farming. Find out how provincial candidates plan to keep food on the table.
Thursday April 30, 7 to 9 PM
First Metropolitan Church Hall 932 Balmoral Rd (Balmoral and Quadra)

Food and farming displays
To reserve a display table contact Susan at 250-595-6742 or susantych@telus.net.
Tea, coffee and locavore snacks for sale.
Donations accepted at the door, with proceeds to cover venue costs.
More information: 250-595-6742 or susantych@telus.net

New Grocery Store in Victoria to Specialize in Local Produce

By Richard Watts, Times Colonist April 14, 2009

A new-age grocery store specializing in locally grown produce is opening on Pandora Avenue in a block notorious for junkies and shopping-cart hoboes. Scheduled to open in June, the store called Village Family Marketplace is undergoing renovation and reconstruction at 920 Pandora Ave. which is a storefront formerly occupied by a housepainting business. It's located across the street from Our Place, 919 Pandora Ave., a drop-in centre offering free meals and some shelter to the city's street people. But store owner, Cosmo Meens isn't put out in the least by what is happening outside his door.

"I'm not afraid of that scene." Meens said his new store is all about buying the right food for all the right reasons: A healthy body, a healthy community, a healthy economy and healthy agriculture. "What I have to offer is consciousness through food."

The food will be locally grown and organic and even the prepared deli items will feature ingredients that can be traced to local sources. Customers will know their money is going back to local farmers and local businesses operating in a downtown locale. For Meens, the store is about community and connectedness and that includes the neighbourhood with its street people. He notes too many people say they want social services and social programs but flinch when they are offered up in their backyard.

"Well, I want all those things and I'm OK with having them in my backyard. "I know I'm taking a risk on the location," said Meens. "But what I am really doing is calling the community out."

Meens, a 30-year-old father of two who started working in restaurants at the age of 12 as a dishwasher, is no stranger to opening up businesses in tough neighbourhoods. About five years ago, he opened Mo:Le Restaurant, specializing in local food, just down the road, at 554 Pandora Ave. It was an area about which he was cautioned because of the drug-fueled street life. Last year, right next door at 556 Pandora Ave., Meens opened Cafe Bliss, specializing in raw, vegan, organic cuisine. Both have proven successful not only as businesses but also as part of a rejuvenating streetlife.

Meens' willingness to invest himself, his business know-how and money in Victoria's downtown is already winning him notice and support at city hall. Coun. Charlayne Thornton-Joe said she was delighted when she heard of the new store opening up in that particular block of Pandora. She said the new business will complement the nearby deli on the same block and thought it would help create "a good mix" in an area known for its social services. "I welcome it, I think it's great," she said. "I'm definitely looking forward to going in there. "Hopefully, it will generate more openings."
rwatts@tc.canwest.com © Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist

Sharing Food & Knowledge Forum at UVic

Sharing Food and Knowledge: a Forum Connecting Food, Research, and People
To explore food system-related education and research happening at the University of Victoria and Vancouver Island University.
To look at campus-community partnerships to undertake community based research (CBR) around food, health and sustainability.
To build linkages and foundations for establishing a more cohesive Research Agenda for Food and Sustainability on Vancouver Island.

April 22, 2009, 1-3:30pm
Haro Room, Cadboro Commons, UVic

Featuring: Dr. Peter Keller – Dean of Social Sciences, University of Victoria
Dr. Aleck Ostry – Canada Research Chair in the Social Determinants of Health
Linda Geggie – Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable / Food Security Community Based Research Capacity project coordinator
Dr. Jenny Horne - Vancouver Island University- What’s happening at VIU plus an update on the development of the VIU Agriculture and Innovation Center
CUAC-Campus Urban Agriculture Committee-student leadership and engagement in planning for food production, policies and education at Uvic.

How are island communities addressing food planning and related research? Hear about the Community Based Research Capacity Project on Food Security from the Island VIHA Hubs - the Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable, (CR-FAIR), Judy Stafford from Cowichan Community Green, and Betty Anne Juba, Lush Valley (Courtenay/Comox Region). Learn about the emerging Vancouver Island Community Research Alliance – VICRA - to support campus-community partnerships and research for sustainability. RSVP to: ocbr@uvic.ca
Contact: Sarah Dickie 250 472 4171

CRD is Offering Free Organic Gardening Workshops

Free Workshops!
Organic Gardening and Lawn Care
Learn to work with natural processes to create healthy, vibrant lawns and gardens.
will include: plant and soil ecology, creating communities, enhancing soil and microbial activity, water management, problem prevention and the concept of health management. The workshop is intended for home gardeners and professionals alike.

Wednesday, April 29
6‐8:30pm
Royal Roads University ‐Mews 110

Sunday, May 3
12‐3pm
Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary 3873 Swan Lake Road

Wednesday, May 27
6‐8:30pm
Capital Regional District Office ‐625 Fisgard Street

Saturday, May 30
9am‐12pm
University of Victoria David Strong Building, C116

Saturday, June 13
12‐3pm
Panorama Recreation (SHOAL Centre ‐All Purpose Room) 10030 Resthaven Drive, Sidney

Sunday, June 14
9am‐12pm
Royal Roads University ‐Mews 110

Sunday, June 28
12‐3pm
Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary 3873 Swan Lake Road

Saturday, July 11
9am‐12pm
Oaklands Community Centre #1‐2827 Belmont Avenue (Hillside at Shelbourne area)

Organic Food Gardening: Backyard Local, Gourmet Salad Greens
Food Security Begins in our Own Backyards
Learn how easy it is to grow salad greens all year round and enjoy the succulent, sweet or spicy tastes of custom designed salads. Discover beautiful and flavorful varieties of lettuces, herbs, edible flowers and some surprising greens and learn time‐tested techniques for seeding, succession planting, growing, harvesting, serving and how best to store your greens. This class will feature a delicious sampling of salad greens and some scrumptious dressing recipes.

Saturday, June 13
10am‐12pm
University of Victoria David Strong Building, C116

Saturday, June 27
10am‐12pm
Royal Roads University ‐Mews 110

Journeys in Permaculture
Learn how Permaculture through whole system design addresses increasing yields in your organic garden as much as it does climate change and peak oil. Come out for an informative presentation on permaculture and how it harmonizes design with the patterns of local climates, local landscapes and the principals of natural systems.

Thursday, April 16
7‐9pm
University of Victoria David Strong Building, C108

For more details and to register, please visit: www.crd.bc.ca/workshops
If you do not have internet access, call: 250.360.3051

Sharing Backyards Featured in the Washington Post

Lifecycles' program Sharing Backyards is providing a model for other cities to replicate across North America. Recently, the program took off in Washington, DC and we were featured in the Washington Post. We're excited to see the success of our programs spread, but as the article highlights, funding shortfalls remain an issue. With stable funding, the potential for the program to spread to even more cities is great. Here's the article:



Backyard Buds: Pairing the Landless With Those With Soil to Share
By Christina Ianzito
Special to The Washington Post Thursday, March 19, 2009; H07

What do you do if you've been fired up about getting down in the dirt and growing your own food but live in a tiny apartment? Meanwhile, there are hundreds -- thousands! -- of great back yards across Washington growing nothing but grass.
That has been the frustration for friends Alexandra Goldschmidt and Esmeralda Stuk, fans of eating locally and organically who are eager to create their own urban gardens. To help others like them, the D.C. residents are coordinating Sharing Backyards DC (http://www.dc.sharingbackyards.com/), a project to match would-be gardeners with those who have untended land they're willing to share.
Stuk, 23 and an economist with the Treasury Department, lives with two roommates in a Bloomingdale rowhouse whose back yard is a paved parking spot. Goldschmidt, 25, a communications associate at a nonprofit organization, lives in a one-bedroom apartment near Dupont Circle . She has plastic planters tied with rope atop her tiny balcony's railing that bear a few brown stems poking up forlornly. They're the remnants of a modified herb garden that didn't do so well because, Goldschmidt says, "I think there was not enough sun." Inside is a large pot with a few shriveled sprigs of mint that she rescued from the balcony.
"There's still no replacement for being able to grow things in the ground," Goldschmidt says, bemoaning the fact that the nearby West End community garden has a waiting list of 40 would-be gardeners pining for one of a dozen rarely relinquished lots.
A few months ago, Stuk was cruising the Internet for solutions to her landlessness and discovered Sharing Backyards (http://www.sharingbackyards.com/). The Canada-based site was created about two years ago as an answer to overbooked community gardens in Victoria , British Columbia . Creator Patrick Hayes, 27, a green economist and geo-mapping whiz, calls it "basically just a brilliant idea that couldn't go left untouched."
Sharing Backyards connects users who have offered or asked for garden space by submitting their location, an explanatory note and an e-mail address. A user's spot on the map is marked by an image of a fuzzy clump of grass (signifying "I am sharing my yard") or a pair of binoculars ("I am looking for space").
The ground rules need to be hammered out between the space sharers, though the matchmaking site does offer a list of talking points, such as "Do you have tools to share?" "Who will harvest the food?" and "What types of [soil] amendments or additives are acceptable?"
The project, run through an environmental organization called LifeCycles, has no budget to speak of, but Hayes and his roommate, Christopher Hawkins, 28, who volunteers as the project manager, hope the concept is simple and useful enough to take off "in every city in North America," Hawkins says. The mapping tool can be used anywhere, though the project requires local partners like Stuk and Goldschmidt to take the reins and promote it. There are now a handful of offshoots including busy programs in Vancouver , B.C., and Portland , Ore. , and a fledgling site in Cleveland . Stuk and Goldschmidt worked with the Canadian coordinators to spearhead the Washington version.
The D.C. site started off slowly but in the past few weeks has had a burst of postings from Fairfax to Greenbelt , though most are clustered in Northwest Washington .
They include space offered by Ross Margulies, 24, whose house in Petworth, bought in the fall, has a back yard that's a sad-looking rectangle of dirt and weeds. A researcher by day and law student by night, he's too busy to do the work himself, he says, but thinks leaving it unproductive "is a waste." He read about the site on a local blog and since posting last month has received two notes of interest, one from a woman who wrote that she's "craving some green in my life." He responded that the yard is "in need of some love," but she has yet to follow up with him so they can set up a meeting.
The initial meeting is important, Stuk says, because the potential partners need to agree on logistical details, such as how much of what's grown will be shared, how often and at what time of day the garden will be tended, and whether the yard owner would like to take part in the gardening.
"I'm imagining that the person who [offers the space] would be like, 'I don't really mind watering the garden when I come home from work,' " Stuk says. "Then you wouldn't really have to be there every day. But that's one of those discussions that one would have." Some homeowners' postings propose a basic plan. One example: "[I] have a small piece of land in my townhouse backyard that I would be happy to let someone else cultivate for a share of the 'profits.' We can split the costs for seeds, plants, fertilizer, etc."
A few of the postings seeking land have been from either Stuk ("I'm looking for anything more than my little porch. I'd be happy to share whatever I grow.") or Goldschmidt ("I'd be interested in any plot of dirt anywhere close to here!"). Stuk has yet to get a response, and Goldschmidt received two responses to her post, which she has since taken down. She decided that as a site administrator she should pass the offers to others: "Space is a scarce resource, and I didn't want to be greedy."
Still, the two are nothing if not determined. Last summer they attempted some so-called guerrilla gardening, planting radishes, carrots and squash in an empty lot, but they gave up when they heard the area might have been sprayed with rat poison. Goldschmidt appropriated a sliver of the land surrounding her apartment building to plant basil, which flourished, and a pumpkin plant, which yielded one small dark-green fruit. A handyman uprooted the sunflowers she was trying to grow.
She plans to plant in the same spot this spring, and Stuk has a friend renting a house in Arlington who has invited them to farm his entire back yard. In the meantime, they're hoping for even more postings on the site, spreading the word through gardening e-mail lists and a recent visit to the Dupont Circle FreshFarm market, where they found plenty of yardless shoppers. Goldschmidt says: "I asked one woman, 'Hey, do you garden?' And she said, 'I wish I gardened, but I don't have space.' It's a real barrier."
© 2009 The Washington Post Company