I spent Thursday night at the Billy Bishop Legion. And not for the reasons you might think. No I was participating in a canning class put on by Village Vancouver and the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation, thanks to a Neighbourhood Small Grant. We made Dilly Beans and blueberry jam. The […] Read More
A marine biologist explained coral reefs to me when I was on a kayak trip in Belize one year. In a coral colony, millions of tiny jellyfish-like animals called polyps work cooperatively to create the limestone skeletons that are the framework of the coral reef. Corals feed both passively on […] Read More
Caught a clip on TV about a healthy corner store initiative happening in my neck of the woods. The Western Convenience Store Association (WCSA) has launched a collaborative effort to bring healthier food choices to its member convenience stores. While there have been one-offs across Canada, mostly by non-profits, it […] Read More
Evergreen has launched its urban fruit orchard on the Great Northern Way Campus, the home of their regional Vancouver office. They have planted 30 locally adapted apple trees, dozens of strawberries, raspberries, huckleberries and more, all in containers, transforming the mix of industrial buildings, barren concrete and gravel into a […] Read More
We are winding up our composting pilots for the City and the wrap up for Grandview Woodland participants was a composting tour with Fresh Roots Urban Farm. This group of passionate urban farmers is just as passionate about composting and they have a number of productive systems at their various […] Read More
Last night a fellow community garden member and I hauled some dry leaves and straw that I had stashed over to our new community compost bins. The first of the three wood and wire bins is already full. And not full in a good way. It doesn’t matter that I […] Read More
Everyone loves a love story. This one has a healthy twist. A year ago my friend Megan’s daughter enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago. Brooke moved to the windy city and lasted about two weeks there. All that jazz just wasn’t for her. But during that two-week period she […] Read More
In November 2006, I got involved in a fight to save Formosa Nursery, a forty-six acre organic blueberry farm in Maple Ridge. Translink, BC’s transit authority, had decided to put a highway right through the farm, even though there was already a planned and gazetted road nearby, meaning it was […] Read More
In light of the present famine in southern Somalia, and the growing hunger in Kenya and Ethiopia, thought it might be enlightening to look at some of the politics behind food aid. While researching for my latest book, I discovered that food aid in the US today is worth between […] Read More
I am the only person in my family who doesn’t drink and yet I managed to smash a glass and lose my keys at a family wedding on the weekend. Then yesterday, I lost my sunglass clip. Today, I was retracing my steps from my communal garden to the bank […] Read More