Back in December 2009, I wrote a post on food hubs and floated the idea of resurrecting the Stanley Park Farmyard as a west end food hub, complete with chickens, and an urban farm. The Vancouver Park Board had just cut this popular children’s attraction from its budget, closing it […] Read More
I’m not usually impressed by all the wars being waged in the world. But here’s one I can get behind. This week there was, in fact, very good news on the food recovery front, as reported in the New York Times Green blog. The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) is joining […] Read More
As a vegetarian, I do not usually write about meat. But this week two articles prompted me to break my rule. One of my Facebook friends posted an environmental analysis of proteins by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). With partner CleanMetrics, they did a lifecycle assessment of twenty different items: […] Read More
I’ve been sorting through some old tax files, trying to clear some space in my life. I expected it to be a tedious job, full of boring old tax forms and cheque stubs. What I wasn’t expecting was the life review that would take place. A lot has happened in […] Read More
One of my dearest friends became a senior-ita this week (her joke). To celebrate her milestone birthday, I took her on a bike ride. Kath hadn’t been on a bike for a couple decades at least, and it was on her wish list. I figured she’d be pretty wobbly to […] Read More
During my City Farmer years, I was invited to speak at various gardening and food-related events and conferences around North America, so I got to meet a lot of people, see some of their projects first hand, and expand my little composting world. I began to think more about hunger: […] Read More
After I got back from the Okanagan, I made a giant pot of ratatouille. At the garden the next day, I was telling my fellow gardeners about it. “It was so good, I couldn’t stop eating it,” I said. This was not a boast, it was amazement that I could […] Read More
Summer in the Okanagan. Dinner at the Gasthaus with brother Don and lovely Lelani in Peachland, on the patio, lakeside. Sauerkraut spaetzle never gets old. Morning coffee with Dad. Early run to the lake. Drive to Oliver. Picking organic tomatoes at Covert Farms. Only twenty pounds Mom says. We come home […] Read More
I am having trouble keeping up on all the produce from the three gardens I’m tending this summer. A tiny one on my balcony, the collaborative one at Kits House and the community one at the Pine Street Garden. Even though I am sharing with friends and neighbours, I feel […] Read More