Village Vancouver Newsletter
April 2015
Wild About Permaculture, Wild About Vancouver!
SO MUCH IS HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND!
Village Vancouver is proud to be hosting the 2015-17 Aberthau Garden Project at Aberthau Mansion and you're invited to our Village Vancouver Permaculture Blitz there Saturday, April 18th from 10am to 4pm. The Aberthau Mansion is located at 4397 West 2nd Avenue (garden entrance is off NW Marine Drive) overlooking Locarno Park in Vancouver's Point Grey neighbourhood.
The 1st Wild About Vancouver Outdoor Education Festival is also happening April 16 - 22 (Earth Day) and Village Vancouver has many activities listed that you can be a part of. Did you know the average North American only spends 15% of their life outdoors? Come on Vancouver, get outside and get WILD!
As always, there's also lots of fun volunteer opportunities, including room for 2 more volunteers on our fabulous Newsletter Team, and lots of fantastic workshops and other invigorating activities listed in Upcoming Events.
Enjoy!
Your April Newsletter Team,
Bonita Jo Magee, Simone Hoedel, Aska Djikia, and Ross Moster
Become a Society Member Today
Join the Village Vancouver Transition Society! The membership fee is based on a sliding scale (suggested dues are $25) and it helps us develop this Village and its community. Your annual membership will make our movement even stronger! It's easy to
join here.
Permaculture at the Aberthau Mansion Garden
Join us for a free educational work party to kick off the 2015-17 Aberthau Garden Project, hosted by Village Vancouver.
Facilitated by permaculture designer and teacher and longtime VV member Grant Watson (and others), we'll be building an herb spiral and a hugelkultur and demonstrating permaculture techniques as we create the garden.
There’s room for up to 25 folks. UPDATE: We have 19 confirmed as of Friday morning and room for 6 more. All levels if experience welcome – we teach you as we go along.
The Blitz is generously supported by a Greenest City Neighbourhood Small Grant from the Vancouver Foundation and the City of Vancouver, and administered by Kits Neighbourhood House.
*****
Building on the last two year’s outdoor garden project, Aberthau Garden Project in 2015-17 will be partnering with Village Vancouver, local artists, community members and the WPG Preschool here to grow food based crops and fibre together. Free workshops open to all ages will be offered, please check the VV website for updates. For info on the previous years Flax –food -Fibre projects go to www.Aberthauflaxfibrefood.blogspot.ca/
RSVP on the event post or to Ross at ross@villagevancouver.ca.
There’s room for up to 25 folks. UPDATE: We have 19 confirmed as of Friday morning and room for 6 more. All levels if experience welcome – we teach you as we go along.
The Blitz is generously supported by a Greenest City Neighbourhood Small Grant from the Vancouver Foundation and the City of Vancouver, and administered by Kits Neighbourhood House.
*****
Building on the last two year’s outdoor garden project, Aberthau Garden Project in 2015-17 will be partnering with Village Vancouver, local artists, community members and the WPG Preschool here to grow food based crops and fibre together. Free workshops open to all ages will be offered, please check the VV website for updates. For info on the previous years Flax –food -Fibre projects go to www.Aberthauflaxfibrefood.blogspot.ca/
Wild About Vancouver!
We're ready to get Wild About Vancouver!
Celebrate the start of this blossoming season with the first of an annual outdoor community educational fest, Wild About Vancouver. Featuring a series of events geared at empowering children and adults to spend more of their time outside, this is an exciting addition to our city’s roster of outdoor affairs.
This free, week-long educational festival aimed at students, teachers, families and community members will run from April 16th to the 22nd, ending on #EarthDay2015.
The aim of the festival, as evidenced by its slogan "Get INvolved and Get OUTside," is to facilitate Outdoor and Experiential Learning, and reverse the negative impacts of children spending increasingly limited time outdoors. We're enthralled by the long-term sustainable goals of this festival, including the plan to inspire critical and creative thought surrounding the future of our communities – something that comes hand-in-hand with decreasing risks of childhood obesity and sedentary behaviour. It's critical for youth to be inspired by taking care of both the health of the planet and themselves, and those seeds are sewn by events like these!
Whether you're vested in helping to build a sustainable community, joining your peers in applying creative solutions to issues such as invasive plant species (hint: weaving!), or even trying your hand at paddleboarding, you'll find something in the lineup of events. Plus, there are myriad prizes to be claimed, including the Wild About Vancouver Sticker Contest, and a few outdoor gear prizes at a free screening of the film Tidal Wave on April 18th. The movie screening, which will take place on the rooftop of MEC Vancouver, will also feature a poetry reading by Vancouver Poet Laureate, Rachel Rose, and a keynote presentation by Dr. Mariana Brussoni.
We hope you're as excited as we are about this festival. Check out the full itinerary, or post your own outdoor event, at the Wild About Vancouver website. You can also follow updates on Twitter at @WildAboutVan.
See you there!
Vancouver Neighbourhood Food Network Events Committee
-
Are you passionate about food and food security in our neighbourhoods?
- Do you have events and/or fundraising experience or you want to learn these skills?
- We are looking for a few more folks to join the Vancouver Neighbourhood Food Network's Events Committee to help organize one fundraising dinner each year and one fundraising campaign each year. Join the fun!
- Details here.
Origami anyone? Seed Packet Party Alert!
Join the Village Vancouver Seed Savers on April 22 and spend a few hours on Earth Day making seed packets...if you cannot make it on April 22, there's another gathering on April 25. See EVENTS below for details.
Permaculture and other Village Gardening Activities
New participants are welcome to join us at one of our three (almost) weekly gardening parties in Kits and Strathcona. No experience necessary - we teach you! For more information, please contact Ross at ross@villagevancouver.ca.
Village Surrey Transition Initiative!
There's a new village in town!
Village Surrey responds to contemporary challenges – including climate change, scarce cheap oil, and economic volatility – by making our communities more resilient. We foster community connections, food security, and the development of skills, knowledge and technologies to transition to a less energy intensive and healthier way of life.
We are happy to see more villages in British Columbia and have listed several of Village Surrey's events below.
April 2: Carrots, Leeks, and Greens
West End Community Centre
April 3: Kits Village Collaborative Garden Weekly Work Party
Kits, near beach
April 3: Kits Village Green Streets Garden Work Party
Kits, please RSVP for location
April 5: Kits Village Dinner Group #2 April Gathering
Kits
April 6: Village Vancouver Permaculture Plot Work Party & Potluck
Cottonwood Community Garden
April 6: Kits Village Collaborative Garden Holiday Work Party
Kits, near beach
April 6: Kits Village Green Streets Garden Holiday Work Party
Kits, please RSVP for location
April 7: Main St. Village Vancouver Monthly Potluck and Workshop
Little Mountain Neighbourhood House
April 11: Kits Village Collaborative Garden Work Party
Kits, near beach
April 11: Kits Village Green Streets Garden Work Party
Kits, please RSVP for location
April 12: Village Vancouver Permaculture Plot Work Party & Potluck
Cottonwood Community Garden
April 12: Village Vancouver Seed Savers Volunteer Work (seed packets) Party
Kits, near beach
April 12: Kits Village April Potluck
Kits, near beach
April 14: Westside Deadline
Neighbourhood Small Grants / Greenest City NSG
April 14: Renfrew Conversation Cafe
Starbucks at the Tech Centre
April 15 - Growing Veggies in Containers
VanDusen Botanical Garden
April 15: Talking Circles for Young Women in High School
Britannia Centre, East Vancouver
April 16 - 22: Wild About Vancouver Outdoor Education Festival
Vancouver
April 16: West End, Downtown Penninsula, Richmond Deadlines
Neighbourhood Small Grants / Greenest City NSG
April 16: Kits Village Plastic Recycling Depot
Kits, near beach
April 16: Commercial Drive Village Vancouver Potluck and Free Bike Maintenance Workshop
Rising Star Co-op
April 18: Village Vancouver Permaculture Blitz!
Aberthau Mansion Garden
April 18: Free Permaculture Activation Day
Heart Gardens, Roberts Creek
April 18: Edible & Medicinal Plant Walk
Newton Recreation Centre
April 18: Tidal WAV Project Wild Thing film screening & keynote speaker
MEC Rooftop
April 18: The Feast Worldwide, Vancouver
The HIVE Vancouver
April 19: Kits Village Green Streets Garden Work Party
Kits, please RSVP for location
April 19: Village Vancouver April Community Potluck
West End Community Centre
April 19: Kits Village Collaborative Garden Work Party
Kits, near beach
April 19: Homemade Yogurt and Kefir Making
Britannia Community Centre
April 19: Village Vancouver Permaculture Plot Work Party
Cottonwood Community Garden
April 20: Free Permaculture Activation Day
Vancouver
April 20: Only Planet Cabaret
Roundhouse Performing Arts Centre
April 20: Think Inside the Box: Pollinate Your Mind
(Free info session for new Langara Urban Beekeeping Certificate Program)
Langara College
April 22: Village Vancouver Earth Day Potluck
Kits, near beach
April 22: Village Vancouver Seed Savers Volunteer Work (seed packets) Party #2
Kits, near beach
April 22: Successful Organic Food Production
VanDusen Botanical Garden
April 22: The Secrets of Healthy Soil
Newton Recreation Centre
April 23: Painting Flowers with WatercolourVanDusen Botanical Garden
April 23: Healthy by NatureVanDusen Botanical Garden
April 23: Voices of Transition - Free Movie Screening
Maple Ridge City Hall
April 23: Water Kefir: Home-made Fermented Sodas
Strathcona Community Centre
April 23 - May 28: Village Vancouver Spring 2015 Cultivating Food, Cultivating Community Series
Strathcona Community Centre
April 24: Deadline for May Newsletter
April 25: Village Vancouver Permaculture Plot Work Party
Cottonwood Community Garden
April 25: Landscape Design "Rules" and When to Break Them
VanDusen Botanical Garden
April 25 - March 19: Langara College Permaculture Design Certificate Course
Langara College, Various Locations
April 25: Kits Village Collaborative Garden Work Party and Potluck
Kits, near beach
April 25: Kits Village Green Streets Garden Work Party
Kits, please RSVP for location
April 25: Village Vancouver Seed Savers Volunteer Work (seed packets) Party #3
Kits, near beach
April 25: Village Vancouver Potluck
Kits, near beach
April 25: Poetry and Seedbombing
Newton Community Hall
April 26 - May 3: EAT! Vancouver Food and Cooking Festival
BC Place Stadium, various venues
April 26: Kits Village Dinner Group #1 April Gathering
Kits, TBD
April 27: School Garden Ecology Workshop
VanDusen Botanical Garden
April 27: Village Vancouver Transition Society Board of Directors Meeting
Vancouver
April 29 : Add Vibrancy to Your Garden
VanDusen Botanical Garden
May 2: Renew, Re-engage and Reconnect to Life
Stanley Park Ecology Centre
May 2: Let's Learn about Honeybees
Terry Salmon Branch Library (Hillcrest)
May 2 - 30 (Tuesdays, Saturdays): West End Food Scrap Drop Spots
Gordon Neighbourhood House
West End Community Centre
May 2: Village Vancouver Permaculture Plot Work Party & Potluck
Cottonwood Community Garden
May 2: Seedy Saturday: Garden Care & Seed Saving
Vancouver Public Library Kensington Branch
May 2: Mastering Macro Photography
VanDusen Botanical Garden
May 2: Kits Village Collaborative Garden Work Party
Kits, near beach
May 2: Kits Village Green Streets Garden Work Party
Kits, please RSVP for location
May 3: Kits Village Dinner Group #2 May Gathering
Kits
May 5: Main St. Village Vancouver Monthly Potluck & Workshop
Little Mountain Neighbourhood House
May 9: Introduction to Permaculture
VanDusen Botanical Garden
May 9: Stone Soup Festival - Village Vancouver booth!
Britannia Community Centre
May 9: Permaculture in the City
VanDusen Botanical Garden
May 9: Kits Village Collaborative Garden Work Party
Kits, near beach
May 9: Truth and Reconciliation in the Indigenous Land and Food System
Britannia Community Centre
May 9: Kits Village Green Streets Garden Work Party
Kits, please RSVP for location
May 10: Kits Village May Potluck
Kits, near beach
Stay Updated on Upcoming Events
The most up-to-date calendar of upcoming events!
