Village Vancouver
Newsletter and Upcoming Events
March 2014
Welcome to the March 2014 edition of the Village Vancouver monthly newsletter and Upcoming Events.
Despite some February snow, spring is poking its head through the earth and Village Vancouver is bursting with events, gatherings, and energy! Village Vancouver is excited highlight the Just Film Festival running from Feb 28 to Mar 2 at Langara College. Another exciting event we're pleased to be sponsoring is the Caring for All Creation: Land, Water, and Our Communities series, which features discussion and community engagement gatherings on different topics from Mar 4 to May 13.
Our
9-month placemaking course, anchored by Mark Lakeman, founder of
Portland's City Repair, kicked off in February with a sold-out public
talk at SFU Woodwards on February 7th, followed the next day by the
first full-day placemaking workshop with Mark Lakeman and Sara Dent. The
course's 30+ participants represent a broad swath of community leaders,
artists and activists from around Vancouver and other parts of Metro
Vancouver. The City Commons Placemaking Course's mission is to train its
participants to be placemaking leaders and catalysts in their
communities, and will culminate this summer in the 2nd annual City
Commons Placemaking Convergence! More announcements about this coming
soon!To learn more about the course, please visit www.citycommonsvancouver.ca.
And for those of you who missed our Richard Heinberg talk at UBC (in partnership with UBC Sustainability), here's a link to the video.
In This Newsletter:
- Just Film Festival - Feb 28 to Mar 2
- Caring for All Creation: Land, Water, and Our Communities - Mar 4 to May 13
- Neighbourhood Small Grants Program
- Volunteer Positions with Village Vancouver
- Food Scrap Drop Spots - Tuesdays and Saturdays
- Arts in the Village - An Update by Laura Lee Coles
- Permaculture Learning Opporunities, one-day and year-long certificate
- Paul Stamets: Mycellium Running: A Presentation & Book Signing - Mar 16
- Introducing the Just Say Hello Project
- Lower Mainland Urban Watersheds Forum - Mar 21 to 22
- Enlightened Green Leadership Course - Mar 8
- Vancouver Ecovillage
- Vancouver Storytelling event - Mar 16
- Step Right Up - Celebrating 25 Years SFU CSCD - Mar 13
- Numerous Additional Events: workshops, courses, and potlucks!
Enjoy!
Your March newsletter team,
Rhiannon, Jordan and Ross
Join the Village Vancouver community by joining our website! We hope you'll also become a member of the Village Vancouver Transition Society. Your annual membership will make our movement even stronger! It's easy to join - just click here!
Feb 28 - Mar 2
Become a Member Today!
Just Film Festival
Feb 28 - Mar 2
Langara College, 100 W. 49th Ave
www.justfilm.org
The
Just Film Festival brings the pursuit of justice to the big screen.
Now in our 13th year (formerly known as the World Community Film
Festival), we feature social and environmental justice documentaries
that go to the heart of issues confronting communities here and around
the planet. The focus of the festival is to motivate audiences to action
by focusing on issues both local and global. It runs for three days at
Langara College and is BC’s largest social and environmental justice
film festival.
The
Just Film Festival is produced by a group of partners including
Codevelopment Canada, Langara College Continuing Studies, World
Community, Amnesty International, and Village Vancouver.
Neighbourhood
Small Grants Program:
Coming up
this Spring!
Created by the Vancouver Foundation in 1999, the Neighbourhood Small grants Program supports ideas that connect and engage residents in their community to strengthen their own neighbourhood. Past projects have included neighbourhood block parties, a portable canning kitchen, emergency preparedness workshops, neighbourhood exchange-a-book boxes, drop-in spaghetti nights, seed libraries, creating bee pollinator corridors, collaborative gardens, Neighbour Savour, Re-skilling workshops, and bike tune-up workshops. Start thinking of projects you might want to organize for your neighbourhood’s grants up to $1000. Be creative! Be collaborative! 2014 application deadline: April 7. Further details will be available here the first week in March.
with Village Vancouver
Immediate Village Vancouver volunteer needs:
Newsletter Reporter
-- Practice your writing and reporting on events happening within Village
Vancouver. Write short articles for the
newsletter on current events. We need
help to share the good work that’s happening out there! (Skills: researching, writing, 4-10 hours a month.) If you’re interested, contact Rhiannon@villagevancouver.ca!
Admin Team Members
– Help Village Vancouver get even more organized! We need helpful hands to do straightforward
administrative tasks such as keeping email lists current and helping organize
files. Your help will support the
foundation that allows the organization and the transition movement to
thrive! (Skills: general computer
skills, Minimum 4 hours a month). If
you’re interested, contact AdminWG@villagevancouver.ca!
Village Vancouver always has need for more engaged involved
co-creating volunteers, so contact us if you wish to be involved!
Land, Water, and Our Communities
In Vancouver and Victoria or online.
March 4 – May 13
All people are invited to The Caring for All Creation: Land, Water, Our Natural Community series, a weekly gathering of the diverse peoples who care about our lands, waters and communities in different ways. The series is premised on having to create a caring community that knows and supports each other as we take on the vital task of seeing, thinking and acting in new ways.
Every 2 weeks, we gather as large groups (one in Vancouver, one in Victoria, or listen online) to reflect about the various aspects caring for our Earth implies. Each gathering begins with a shared meal, followed with facilitated dialogue, guest speakers, and reflection around a central theme. It addresses the head, the heart, and our hands.
The dates and bi-monthly themes for Vancouver are:
- March 4 - From Fear & Apathy to Active Hope & Love
- March 18 - Re-Valuing Vocation in Land & Food Systems with guest speaker Seann Drory of Sole Food Street Farms
- April 1 - De-Colonization, Indigenous Wisdom
- April 15 - From Extractivism to a Gift Economy
- April 29 - A Culture & Politics for our Land, Water and Communities - May 13 - The Art of the Commonplace
Village Vancouver Founder Ross Moster will be one of the presenters on April 15.
In the weeks between large gatherings, participants meet in smaller neighbourhood groups. A guideline of readings, activities and "field" trips are provided, as well as opportunity to meet with the facilitators and guest speakers again. Neighbourhoods gather to re-localize caring relationships - with each other and with their lands. The diverse gifts within their own neighbourhood will become known, enabling neighborhoods to better care for their community. In so doing, they will be simultaneously responding to global suffering. And will know they do so in solidarity with many others.
Everyone is welcome including children, young adults, elders, non-religious, religious, spiritual, long-term activists, industry workers, unemployed, the hopeful, and the doubtful. Calling all lovers to join in!
The Vancouver Series is held at Spirit of Life Lutheran Church, 375 West 10th Ave, Tuesday evenings, 6 – 9 pm, from March 4th – May 13 or listen in online on Monday or Tuesday Evenings. Another similar series is being held in Victoria. For more information, see http://spiritoftheland.ca/. To register, see http://spiritoftheland.ca/registration/.
Sponsored by The Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life, KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, Village Vancouver Transition Society, Spirited Social Change, Vancouver School of Theology, The Faith & Society Committee of the BC Synod, The BC Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, The Eco-Justice Unit, Anglican Diocese of New Westminster
- Tuesdays 6 - 7:30 pm, Gordon Neighbourhood House, 1019 Broughton St.
- Saturdays 10 - noon, Gordon Neighbourhood House, 1019 Broughton St.
- Saturdays 10 - noon, West End Community Center, 870 Denman St
Every Tuesday and Saturday our volunteers receive food
scraps from hundreds of the 45,000 residents in the West End. The take since
June 2012 now totals over 40 tonnes of food scraps for composting to be
recycled back into growing, also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Come drop off your scraps!Upcoming Tues evenings Mar 4, 11, 18, 25
Organized by West End Neighbourhood Food Network, Recycling Alternative and Village Vancouver.
Arts In The Village
An Update on Art, Celebration, play, and Creativity in Transition by Laura Lee Coles
Arts, celebration, and playfulness are as important an element of the Transition movement as building gardens and ending our dependence on fossil fuels. Rob Hopkins reminds us, “A Transition process without play and creativity would miss out on a vital way of reaching, touching and engaging people.” Arts In the Village as a new contribution to the newsletter reporting on Village Vancouver’s specific arts-based projects whose goal it is to create pleasurable shared experiences. Past Village Vancouver art projects include Cornucopia (2009) an interactive sound and visual sculpture about food security; Yarn Balm (2012) a whimsical way for folks to post speech bubbles envisioning what they would like to see happen in their community. Both of these projects were exhibited during the Sustenance Festival at the Roundhouse.
 |
| Building seed library boxes. (Photo provided by author.) |
In 2014, Village Vancouver embarks on a community
arts-engaged collaboration with the LocoMotoArt Collective (LMAC) at the
McBride Fieldhouse from February to August. LMAC is part of the Vancouver Park
Board’s artist studio in residencies in the parks at the West Point Grey
Community Centre -- Aberthau Mansion and temporarily at the McBride Fieldhouse.
The first of a series of workshops has begun: building and painting of seed
library boxes with future workshops in banner making, soundwalks, naturalist
collages, painting garden containers and photography walks.
http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/loco-moto-art-collective.aspx. Also, as a collaborative initiative, Village
Vancouver, City Commons and Living the New Economy Vancouver, have launched a
comprehensive 9-month placemaking course in Vancouver from February through
October 2014. Many community arts-based
projects and performances are expected to emerge from this project!
Stay tuned for future announcements on these projects
and others!
Permaculture
One-Day Learning OpportunitiesJoin a permaculture learning guild for a one day journey into the urban or rural environment and experience permaculture in a creative new way. Here for more information.
- Introduction to Permaculture : Sunshine Coast March 16, Free
- Social Permaculture Activation Richmond, March 18, Free
- Introduction to Permaculture : Langara March 22, Free
- Permaculture and Placemaking : March 8
Langara Permaculture Design Certificate Course
Mar 29 - Dec 6, $900
A new Permaculture Design Certificate course is convieniently offered on weekends in the Greater Vancouver Area. This dynamic and creative experience is hosted by the teaching team Delvin Solkinson and Kym Chi. Join this uniquely creative learning guild to explore permaculture in a transformative 10-month program based out of Langara and including field trips to gardens and urban farms.
Connect with others who want to become more conscious global
citizens, deepen their understanding of how nature is designed, and learn how
to become more empowered designers. Together we will learn how to map and
design our homes, communities and lives, plan for emergency, grow more of our
own food in all four seasons and work to build a regenerative future. The
course is very flexible with busy lives and organized modularly. There is no
time limit to complete the course and if you miss any classes you can do them
in the future with other Gaiacraft permaculture design courses at no extra
cost.
More information here.
Paul Stamets: Mycellium Running
A Multi-Media Presentation & Book Signing
 |
| (Photo from https://www.banyen.com/events/stamets) |
March 16, 3 - 5pm
Canadian Memorial Church
1825 W. 16th Ave (604) 737-8858 for tickets (Banyen Books)
Paul Stamets has been a dedicated mycologist for over thirty
years. Over this time, he has discovered and coauthored four new species of
mushrooms, and pioneered countless techniques in the field of edible and
medicinal mushroom cultivation. He has written six books on mushroom
cultivation, use and identification; his books have long been hailed as the
definitive texts of mushroom cultivation.
Cost: $15 (Reg), $10 (Senior), tickets at Banyen Books
(instore or by phone 604-737-8858) More information here.
Just Say Hello is a budding project of local Vancouverite David Beattie to erode social isolation within our community. Modeled after Meetup, it overcomes Meetup's requirements for a specific time by matching peple available to meet at a particular location by a recognized tabletop sign that says, "Just Say Hello". You can join this movement to increase connection in our community in a number of different ways from hosting a 'Just Say Hello' with other volunteers at a local venue, spreading the word online and offline, helping organize special events, and nurturing new ideas.
More information here.
Just Say Hello is in the process of becoming an Affiliated Project with Village Vancouver. If you have a project you would like to discuss affiliating with Village Vancouver, please contact projects@villagevancouver.ca.
More information here.
Just Say Hello is in the process of becoming an Affiliated Project with Village Vancouver. If you have a project you would like to discuss affiliating with Village Vancouver, please contact projects@villagevancouver.ca.
Mar 21 & 22
Segal Graduate Centre, 500 Granville St. and field trip
locations. Register here.
Under the streets of Metro Vancouver, there are hundreds of watersheds, ducking in and out of sight. Join Evergreen to answer the questions “What are the challenges and opportunities facing watersheds in cities?”, “What stories do the watersheds hold?”, “Who are the stakeholders and stewards?” and to explore how citizens in Metro Vancouver can show leadership in urban watershed management and stewardship.
Enlightened Green Leadership Course
Heart and Soul Sat Mar 8 from 2 - 4 pm
Location: Be’er Necessities, 412 West 22nd Avenue, Vancouver, Rear Apartment, $40
Members of Village Vancouver are invited to an exclusive workshop for Enlightened Green Leaders. Hurry to book your spot now as we keep the class small, effective, and interactive with only 12 spaces. Learn how to stop reacting to what is happening so that you have more resources available to Be the Change that You Would like to Initiate.
All of our lives, we’ve been taught to overcome challenges; to outperform our opponents; to ignore our shortcomings – These are characteristically “masculine” approaches. This seminar will encourage you to embrace what is going on in your heart and your mind; accept the gifts of your specific limitations; understand why your “opponents” have no choice but to act exactly the way that they do. You’ll discover how to succeed by applying Love to the most difficult situations.
Irrespective of whether we’re male or female, most of us were never taught how to interact with the world applying a “feminine” approach, so we’ve been trying to create a balanced and healthy environment with only 50% of the resources that are available to us. We’ve been trapped inside a paradigm characterized by conflict and control. Taking this course is an important step towards effective leadership for Enlightened Green Leaders.
Vancouver Ecovillage is an online eco-conscious community dedicated to rethinking our habit patterns about how we live on this earth, of food, of power, of garbage, sewage and housing, at best to come into balance, for ethical and survival reasons. We are building our community on the concept of Giftivism based on anonymous acts of kindness which we encourage others to pay forward, so that changing our society for the better happens one kind act at a time. Please meet us on facebook and help us create the sustainable future we all strive for.
Celebrating World Storytelling Day
Sunday, March 16th, 7 pm, $6
Includes tea and potluck treats.
St. Mark’s Church, 1805 Larch St.
Vancouver Storytellers www.vancouverstorytellers.ca presents an evening of storytelling with local storytellers and speakers Mike Ewan, Abegael Fisher-Lang, Jennifer Martin, Gael Whelan, and Elaine Ghulam.
Join Village for some inspired storytelling at
Additional Village Events
Kensington-Cedar Cottage Seedy Saturday. Mar 1, 10 am - noon at Vancouver Public Library, Kensington branch, 1428 Cedar Cottage Mews.
West End Neighbourhood Food Network Free Balcony and Container Gardening Workshop. Mar 4 from 7 - 9 pm, West End Community Centre, Bidwell Room, 970 Denman Street. RSVP please.
Kits Village Collaborative Garden Memorial for James Myers, Mar 8, 2:30 - 3 pm, please RSVP for location. Everyone welcome.
Kits Village Collaborative Garden Weekly Work Parties Resume! Mar 8, 3 - 6 pm.
New Kits Village Dinner Group Forming! Mar 8, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Free Bike Security Basics Workshop (to be confirmed), Mar 9, 10 - 11:30 am
West End Neighbourhood Food Network Free Grow Your Own Sprouts and Grass Workshop Mar 11, 6:30 - 8:30pm, Gordon Neighbourhood House
March plastic recycling in Kits, Mar 13, 6 - 7 pm, RSVP Please.
Kits Village Collaborative Garden Weekly Work Party/Potluck, Mar 15, 2:30 - 7 pm
West End Neighbourhood Food Network March Potluck, Mar 16, noon - 2 pm, West End Community Centre, RSVP please.
West End Neighbourhood Food Network Free Native Edibles Workshop, March 16, 2014 from 2pm to 4pm, West End Community Centre, RSVP please.
West End Neighbourhood Food Network Free Traditional Tradional Sauerkraut Making Workshop Mar 18, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, Gordon Neighbourhood House.
Village Vancouver Admin Working Group Work Party (tentative date), Mar 19, 1 - 4 pm, Kits.
Permaculture Vancouver! Monthly Potluck and Workshop: Right Livelihood and Collaboration, March 20, 7 - 9 pm. RSVP please.
Salon d'Elan Vital Monthly Potluck and Discussion: A Trek Thru Nepal and the Himalayas, Mar 22, 1 - 4 pm. RSVP please.
Kits Village Permaculture Blitzes/PET Days (KitsBlitzes), Mar 23, 11 am - 2 pm, RSVP please.
Kits Village Collaborative Garden Weekly Work Party, Mar 23, 3 - 6 pm, Kits, RSVP please.
Kits Village March Potluck/Workshop, Mar 23, 6 - 8:30 pm, RSVP please.
Deadline for April Newsletter, Mar 25, Email newsletter@villagevancouver.ca
Kits Village Seed Savers/Seed Library March Meeting, Mar 25, 10 - 11:30 am, Kits, RSVP please.
VV Admin Working Group Work Party #2 (tentative date), Mar 26, 1 - 4 pm, Kits RSVP please.
Kits Village Collaborative Garden Weekly Work Party/Potluck, Mar 29, 3 - 7:30 pm, Kits, RSVP please.
Kits Village Dinner Group, Mar 30, 6 - 8 pm, Kits, RSVP please.
