A friend put me on to Kelsi Nagy who is blogging about cows during her world travels. It’s called World Cow Girl. I was particularly interested in her post about the cows eating garbage during her stay in Mysore, India. There is a long tradition in that country of cows […] Read More
Look what I found walking along 4th Avenue. My Kitsilano neighbourhood is so full of surprises. The guy and gal are walking ads for Icebreaker, a relative newcomer to the retail scene on 4th and the ever-growing number of chain stores. Even though I knew this was a gimmick, I […] Read More
One of the things we have struggled with in my food network, is determining what is a real need in the community and what is simply a nicety. Because we are not a funded group, we tend to go by gut feel, what comes up around the table, or what […] Read More
We are having a referendum in BC on a controversial sales tax imposed by the provincial government last year. According to the government web site, the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) “will keep B.C. competitive – helping to create jobs and attract investment.” They have a list of “facts” – purported […] Read More
I was at a Vancouver Food Policy Council (VFPC) event last Wednesday night at the gorgeous new Creekside Community Centre in the Olympic Village. The VFPC was launching the Food Secure Vancouver study, a baseline report of the state of food security in our city. They kicked off the evening by […] Read More
It’s that time again – time to start putting my mind to the SFU Applications Course, part of the Sustainable Community Development Certificate Program. This year our three day field class will be only two days. Don’t worry, the course will still be jam-packed with engaging models of sustainability. The […] Read More
I’m all about compost again these days. Decided it might be time to do a little review on the basics of composting. First of all, the bin. If you’re using a plastic one, make it more rodent resistant by placing a sheet of hardware cloth under the bin to keep […] Read More
I was speaking in Duncan last night and spent today with friends enjoying the Cowichan Valley. We didn’t have time to visit all the many farms featured in the Cowichan Green Community Food Map. So we picked the top one on my list: Providence Farm. They call themselves a therapeutic […] Read More
I swore I wasn’t going to become an organizer at my community garden. I would attend the monthly work parties, but that would be it. I just wanted to garden, have my own compost bin, mind my own beeswax. That lasted about a week. I noticed on the day I […] Read More
I’m speaking in Duncan on Vancouver Island next Tuesday night. It’s the annual general meeting (AGM) for the Cowichan Green Community, an environmental group with a food security focus. At first I thought I’d haul out my current talk: Feeding Ourselves: How Do We Fare? I have a handout that […] Read More