Village Vancouver May 2015 Newsletter







Welcome to the
Village Vancouver Newsletter
May 2015


WHAT'S NEW?   VOLUNTEERS   TRANSITION NEWS   EVENTS


Spring into Summer with Village!

Volunteer Sunday, Stone Soup, Village Burnaby, 100 in 1 Day, the Aberthau Garden Project, and our Demo Sustainable Village at Main Street Car Free Day highlight our May and June activities

We hope that you've been enjoying the great weather as much as we have. As always, there's more going on in Village then you can shake a stick at!
Come by and pick up some free seeds for gardening at our booth at the 20th Annual Stone Soup Festival on May 9. The following day, May 10, marks the start of VV Volunteer Sundays. Join us at a garden party, a permaculture project, a seed packet party, or a community potluck. The following week, Village Burnaby re-launches with a Drop in Spaghetti NightGarden parties abound during the month, including a couple at our Aberthau Garden Project permaculture demonstration site.
May 29 marks the deadline for voting on the Transit Plebiscite. Thoughts from VV Transition Society's Board of Directors can found inWhat's New, and whether you're for or against, we encourage you to vote.

We have three exciting activities planned for 100 on 1 Day in early June - another Permaculture Blitz, a Marpole Neighbourhood Food network booth at Marpole Community Day, and a Seed Library Launch in Mt. Pleasant. (The latter is still to be confirmed.) 
And last, but far from least, we looking for dozens of volunteers (and tents, tables, and chairs) for our 6th Annual Demonstration Sustainable Village at Main Street Car Free Day on June 21st.

With dozens of upcoming activities, there's something for everyone!
Happy Mother's Day!

Your May Newsletter Team, 

Ross Moster, Bonita Jo Magee, Aska Djikia, and Simone Hoedel

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.

 




Village Vancouver Volunteer Sunday May 10

Weekends are a great time to get involved with Village! Join 20 of your fellow villagers for fun volunteer activities on May, 10. You can come for one or more of the activities – whatever you decide. We will be starting the day at 10 am, and run through until 8:30 pm. Everyone is welcome!
Our itinerary includes a lot of time outdoors, in celebration of the great weather. It’s promising to be a sunny day, perfect for gardening activities. Join us for one or more of the following:  
10 am – Working on the Plots:
We will begin the day by working on our plots at Cottonwood Garden (Permaculture plot, Inner City Village plot, Downtown East Side Neighbourhood House Plot, and Herb Spiral Plot). This fun and educational activity requires no previous experience!
12:30 pm and 1:30 pm – Kits Gardens:
Help maintain urban greenspace at the Kits Village Green Streets garden in Kits, followed by a work party at our collaborative garden at 1:30 in Kits Point.
With the help of Village Volunteers, we’ve folded over one thousand seed packets for our seed libraries! Come out and help us pack seeds in them, and let’s grow our libraries together. As always, everyone is welcome and no experience is necessary.
7 pm – Potluck:
We'll end the day with potluck! Enjoy some good food and conversation and find out what's happening in Village Vancouver. We'll have the Kits Village Seed Library there – you can get some free seeds for your garden or swap or donate some seeds. Bring some food or drink to share!
We hope to see you Sunday!

Aberthau Garden Project 2015-17 -- VV Permaculture Blitz April 18 and May 2...and upcoming garden parties


Over 30 Villagers joined us for our two part Aberthau Garden Project blitz on April 18 and May 2. Facilitated by Grant Watson (April 18) and Ross Moster (May 2) we built a hugelcultur, an herb spiral, and spiral paths, and planted lots of herbs, berries, flowers and veggies. As a demonstration permaculture garden, our goals include water conservation, attracting pollinators, saving seeds for our seed libraries, and showing permaculture principles in action. This is a hands-on project and new volunteers are always welcome. Our next work parties are on May 30 and June 13. No experience necessary - we teach you as we go along!


Hosted by Village, and building on the last two year’s outdoor garden project, the 2015-17 Garden Project includes collaborations with local artists, community members and the WPG Preschool. Among our many offerings: free workshops open to all ages (please check the VV website for updates), and Aberthau Artists-in-Residence Rob Scharein and Laura Lee from LocoMotoArt will be collaborating on the Sunflower Garden - Placemaking with Children Project. For info on the garden's previous years Flax – Food - Fibre Project, go towww.Aberthauflaxfibrefood.blogspot.ca/.


March
Blitz!


APRIL 18


Good Morning
Getting Started


Path Building

Creating the hugelkultur
Lunch!
Building the herb spiral
Herb Spiral

Big help from a little guy
Planting
Stretcharoo
Facilitator Grant Watson planting beet seeds

May 2

Cardboard for the paths
Tools of the trade

Borders
Mulching
Facilitator Ross Moster
End of the day



VV and the Transportation Plebiscite

As the local chapter of the Transition Town movement, Village Vancouver (VV) strongly supports low-carbon, healthy modes of transportation such as public transit and cycling, which are essential for a sustainable future.  Despite the fact that the 2015 Metro Vancouver Transportation and Transit Plebiscite is far less than perfect, the VV Board has nevertheless unanimously expressed support for a ‘yes’ vote for the Mayors’ Council proposed 0.5% sales tax.  We believe that the transportation plan proposed by the Mayors of the region is generally good, and will benefit everyone by improving the regional transportation network.  Village Vancouver has joined the Better Transit and Transportation Coalition along with some other 130 groups in the region that represent business, environmental organizations, unions, students and seniors, to support the YES campaign.  For more information on this coalition, please see http://www.bettertransit.info/.  Finally, this article in The Georgia Straight offers a useful perspective on why it matters to vote ‘yes’: "TransLink looks for a yes vote that will move Vancouver into the future" --  http://www.straight.com/news/393046/translink-looks-yes-vote-will-move-vancouver-future

100 in 1 Day in Vancouver 


100 in 1 Day Vancouver, an annual and global civic engagement festival, returns on June 6 with a promise: small actions equal big change. Village Vancouver is pleased to be a Community Partner for 100 in 1 Day Vancouver and will also be hosting several events. Currently in its second year in Vancouver, this growing movement aims to change how people interact with their cities by connecting citizens in leading and joining small but powerful community interventions. In the past, 100 in 1 projects have ranged from beautifying the streets with urban gardens to meeting your neighbours in social events. The list of events this year includes playing a truth or dare game with strangers using cards placed around the city, learning to pack a go-bag in case of emergencies, and a nature walk to teach children about insects and our connectivity with them.Join hundreds in Vancouver and help spark change on June 6 – spread the word, sign up for one or more of hundreds of community projects, or pitch your own one-day intervention!


Click here to learn more about 100 in 1 Day Vancouver, follow their movement on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or their Blog, and use the hashtag #100in1DayVan.
Workshops Building up to 100 in 1 Day, people of all ages, backgrounds and locations across the city are invited to attend workshops to develop their interventions—from idea to execution. This workshop process is meant to inspire generative, creative and reflective interventions, and for you to share your ideas for making your city a better place to live.
During the workshops, participants will be asked:
  • What is your dream?
  • What do you wish your community to be like?
  • What actions will improve the quality of life in your community, street and block?
Upcoming Workshop Schedule

The workshops will be a source of inspiration and resources to guide successful interventions across the city. Check the 100 in 1 Day website for information on when workshops are happening near you.

See below for a list of Village Vancouver 100 in 1 Day Interventions.



VV 100 in 1 Day Activities

11 am – 3 pm

Please join us at this family friendly neighbourhood festival on 100 in 1 Day. We'll have a seed library there, and will be doing our other usual tabling activities – telling folks about Village projects and activities, making new connections, and promoting the Marpole Neighbourhood Food Network, which is sponsored by Village. If you'd like to help table, please contact volunteer@villagevancouver.ca.

Kits Permaculture Blitz
10 am – 4 pm

Join us on 100 in 1 Day for a Permaculture Blitz Day – a KitsBlitz "barnraising" work party where we transform a space using Permaculture design principles. Up to 25 people at a time have participated in past VV garden blitzes.

This garden party will be held at a home near Cornwall and Arbutus, and we'll be re-designing an existing garden.

Everyone welcome and no experience necessary – it's fun and educational

Please RSVP here or to ross@villagevancouver.ca
For more information click here.

This Greenest City Neighbourhood Small Grant project is funded by the Vancouver Foundation and the City of Vancouver, and administered by Kits Neighbourhood House.


VV Seed Sharing Library More details to follow.


Responding to Abrupt Climate Change

Award-winning Conservation Biologist Dr. Guy McPherson to Speak in Vancouver.

Dr. Guy McPherson, Professor Emeritus of Natural Resources from University of Arizona, has made a detailed study of the scientific literature on climate change and has determined that feedback loops and tipping points in the climate system are vastly increasing the rate of change, but are not being addressed in our official response policy. He will speak on this urgent topic, and about his personal journey from scientist and teacher to author and counter-culture activist, at Heartwood Café, 317 East Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. at 7:00 p.m. on June 12, 2015. For more information, visit http://www.guymcphersontour.com

Queens & Quirks from Vancouver Storytellers

Listen! Laugh! Enjoy! Stories for YOU! On Sunday, May 17 join Vancouver Storytellers Mary Gavan, Priscilla Jones, Jennifer Martin and Kristy Woodcock for an evening of storytelling and music from acclaimed fiddler Mary Brunner and Irish vocalist Philomena Jordan. Tea will be a celebration tea focussed on potatoes! We provide the tea, please bring a potluck treat. St. Marks, 1805 Larch @ 2nd Avenue, Kits. Cost $7.






Blogger Volunteers Needed

Are you familiar with Blogger and HTML? We need 2 more volunteers on our fabulous newsletter team! It's just 4 hours each month. Help format and insert photos in this awesome newsletter. Interested? Please email us at newsletter@villagevancouver.ca




VV 6th Annual Demo Sustainable Transition Village at Main St. Car Free Day

Imagine Your Ideal Neighbourhood: Cultivating Community Resilience. Sunday June 21st.

Call out for organizers, volunteers, tents and participants!

Our 30+ tent and open space Demo Sustainable Transition Village at  and surrounding13th and Main will highlight what Village is up to, and, once again, we're inviting several other community groups to join us. 

Want to help plan and organize the Demo Village? Team leaders needed for Transportation, Setup, Breakdown, and Info Booths.  We 're holding planning meetings on May 27 and June 10.  Please contact demovillageplanningteam@villagevancouver.ca

Want to volunteer? We need 40-50 volunteers on the day of, and a few more before and after.  If you'd like to help us with setup (9 am - noon), at a Village info table during the day (between noon and 7 pm), with breakdown, or with transportation, please contactvolunteer@villagevancouver.ca.

If you have have tables, chairs or tents we can borrow, please contact carfreedaystuffweneed@villagevancouver.ca

If you're a group or individual who would like to promote/display a community project, group, or activity you're involved in, please contactross@villagevancouver.ca.




Transition Burnaby 

Burnaby Village is re-animating itself on May 16th with a Drop in "Spaghetti" Dinner! Share a meal with people in the Burnaby community. The cost of the meal is covered by the neighbourhood small grants so all you need to bring is a healthy appetite! Hosted by John, there'll be a variety of food but I'll try to make something that vegetarian friendly (may contain a little milk and free-range eggs) Limited to 8 guests, first come first served but will tell you if you got on the list as soon as possible. The dinner will feature some food from Village gardens grown by Village members. Details here.





Apr 23 to May 28 - VV Spring 2015 Cultivating Food, Cultivating Community Series
Strathcona Community Centre

Apr 26 to May 3 - EAT! Vancouver
BC Place Stadium & Various Venues

May 1 to 3 - Jane's Walk (in honour of Jane Jacobs)
City-wide, Metro-wide

May 2 - Renew, Re-engage and Reconnect to Life
Stanley Park Ecology Centre

May 2 - Plant Sale
Delta Hospital Extended Care Unit

May 2 - VV Permaculture Blitz! (part 2)
Aberthau Mansion Garden

May 2 - Jane's Walk: An affordable alternative to the Broadway Subway
VCC Clark Skytrain Station

May 2- Seedy Saturday: Garden care and seed saving
VPL Kensington Branch

May 2 - Mastering Macro Photography
VanDusen Botanical Garden

May 2- Let's Learn about Honeybees
Terry Alsman Branch Library (Hillcrest Community Centre complex)

May 2 - Jane's Walk: Renters' Union Guide to Mt Pleasant
Mount Pleasant Community Centre

May 2 to 30 - West End May Food Scrap Drop Spots
Gordon Neighbourhood House & West End Community Centre

May 3 - VV Permaculture Plot Work Party & Potluck
Cottonwood Community Gardens

May 3 - Jane's Walk: An affordable alternative to the Broadway Subway
VCC Clark Skytrain Station

May 3 - Kits Village Green Streets Garden Work Party
Kits, please RSVP for location

May 3 - Kits Village Collaborative Garden Work Party
Kits, near beach

May 3 - VV Seed Savers Volunteer Work Party (filling seed packets)
Kits, near beach

May 3 - Jane's Walk: An Archaeological Tour of the Habitat Forum 1976 site at Jericho Beach
Jericho Sailing Centre

May 3 - Kits Village Dinner Group #2 May Gathering
Kits

May 3 - VV Potluck
Kits, near beach

May 5 - Main St Village Vancouver Monthly Potluck and Workshop
Little Mountain Neighbourhood House

May 7 - VV Transition Society May Board of Directors Meeting
Vancouver

VanDusen Botanical Garden

May 9 - We Love Weeds - Foraging 101
Homesteaders Emporium, Strathcona

May 2 - Jane's Walk: Architectural Heritage and Human Scale Urbanism in Mt Pleasant
Quebec Manor in Mount Pleasant

May 9 - Stone Soup Festival - Village Vancouver Booth
Britannia Community Centre

May 9 - Stone Soup Festival
Britannia Community Centre

May 9 - Permaculture in the City
VanDusen Botanical Garden

May 9 - KidsZone: Seed Ball Making
Kensington Branch Library

May 9 - Truth and Reconciliation in the Indigenous Land and Food System
Britannia Community Centre Library

May 10 - Village Vancouver Volunteer Sunday
Strathcona, Kits, Kits Point

May 10 - Village Vancouver Permaculture Plot Work Party
Cottonwood Community Garden

May 10 - Kits Village Green Streets Garden Work Party
Kits, please RSVP for location

May 10 - Village Vancouver Seed Savers Volunteer Work Party (filling seed packets)
Kits, near beach

May 10 - Kits Village May Potluck
Kits, near beach

May 10 - Deer Lake Walk with Dogs, Potluck & Permaculture
Deer Lake, Burnaby

May 12 - Nature at Work for Employee Wellness
VanDusen Botanical Garden

May 13 - Gardening for Birds
VanDusen Botanical Garden

May 14 - Kits Village May Plastic Recycling Depot
Location TBD

May 14 - Building Your Garden's Soil
West End Community Centre

May 14 - History of the Medicinal Garden
VanDusen Botanical Garden

May 16 - Burnaby Village Drop-in Spaghetti Night 
Willingdon Hastings Area, North Burnaby

May 17 - Village Vancouver Permaculture Plot Holiday Work Party
Cottonwood Community Garden

May 17 - West End Neighbourhood Food Network May Community Potluck
West End Community Centre

May 17 - Kits Village Green Streets Garden Holiday Work Party
Kits, please RSVP for location

May 17 - A Taste of Latin America - Pupusas
Britannia Community Centre

May 17 - Kits Village Collaborative Garden Holiday Work Party
Kits, near beach

May 21 - Rapt in Nature Tropical Walk
Bloedel Conservatory

May 21 - Commercial Drive Village Vancouver Potluck & Free Workshop
Rising Star Co-op

May 23 - Botanical Names Explained
VanDusen Botanical Garden

May 23 - Britannia School Garden Fundraiser
Astorinos Hall

May 23 - West End Neighbourhood Food Network booth at Community Farmstead Day
Roedde House Museum

May 23 - Community Farmstead Day
Roedde House Museum

May 24 - Deadline for June Newsletter

May 24 - Village Vancouver Permaculture Plot Work Party
Cottonwood Community Garden

May 24 - Kits Village Green Streets Garden Work Party
Kits, please RSVP for location

May 24 - A Taste of Latin America - Tamales
Britannia Community Centre

May 24 - Kits Village Collaborative Garden Work Party
Kits, near beach

May 25 - Village Vancouver Transition Society May Board of Directors Meeting
Vancouver

May 26 - Helping Bees in your Urban Garden
VanDusen Botanical Garden

May 27 - Planning Meeting for VV Demo Sustainable Village at Main St. Car Free Day
Kits

May 27 - VV Admin Working Group Meeting
Kits

May 28 - Spring Slaw! Fermented Vegetables
Strathcona Community Centre

May 28 - Wine in the Garden
VanDusen Botanical Gardens BMO Great Hall

May 30 - Aberthau Garden Project: VV Demo Permaculture Garden Work Party and Potluck
Aberthau Manion Garden

May 31 - Village Vancouver Permaculture Plot Work Party
Cottonwood Community Garden

May 31 - Kits Village Green Streets Garden Work Party
Kits, please RSVP for location

May 31 - Kits Village Collaborative Garden Work Party
Kits, near beach

May 31 - Kits Village Dinner Group #1 May Gathering
Kits

Jun 2 - Main Street Village Vancouver Monthly Potluck and Workshop
Little Mountain Neighbourhood House

Jun 3 - How to Improve Wet Garden Zones
VanDusen Botanical Garden

Jun 4 - Capturing Summer with Watercolour
VanDusen Botanical Garden

Jun 6 - Village Vancouver 100 in 1 Day Intervention: VV Seed Sharing Library
Mt Pleasant

Jun 6 - 100 in 1 Day Vancouver
Vancouver

Jun 6 to 27 - West End June Food Scrap Drop Spots
West End Community Centre

Jun 6 - Village Vancouver 100 in 1 Day Intervention: Kits Permaculture Blitz
Kits

Jun 6 - Village Vancouver 100 in 1 Day Intervention: VV Marpole Neighbourhood Food Network Booth at Marpole Community Day
Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre

Jun 7 - Kits Village Dinner Group #2 June Gathering
Kits

Jun 10 - Planning Meeting for VV Demo Sustainable Village at Main St. Car Free Day
Kits

Jun 10 - VV Admin Working Group Meeting
Kits

Jun 12 - Responding to Abrupt Climate Change, with Guy McPherson
Heartwood Cafe

Stay Updated on Upcoming Events
The most up-to-date calendar of upcoming events!