Honeybees are dropping like flies. Around the world beekeepers are reporting massive die-offs of these essential pollinators. Colony collapse disorder (CCD) as it is called has been blamed on cell phones, genetics, mites, pathogens, gmos, nutrient-deficiency and pesticides. In British Columbia, bee experts say it is a parasitic mite that […] Read More
A crowd has gathered on Granville Street at Helmcken in front of a vacant store. There is a shopping cart there with large buckets in it. A serving cart holds paper cups, bowls and plastic spoons. There’s juice and water too. Boxes of buns and apples sit on the sidewalk. […] Read More
I was having dinner with Andre. Andre LaRiviere. Former CBC Radio producer. Chef and local food writer. Member of the Vancouver Food Policy Council. And now the executive director of Green Table Network, a non-profit that helps restaurants go green and then certifies them. Andre is also father of Pascale, […] Read More
The Bike Tree grew out of an idea I had when I worked at the Vancouver Compost Demonstration Garden. We shared the building with an environmental group that felt we needed another bike rack. There was already one bike rack in one of only four parking spots and we didn’t […] Read More
My mother’s mother, my grandmother was born in Russia, in a predominantly German town called Strasbourg on the Black Sea. I grew up eating wonderful Russian food. Bidishki were always my favourite: squares of dough wrapped around ground hamburger, liver and onions and then deep-fried. They are sold like hotdogs […] Read More
Lesley Morris and her husband Skip Pendleton moved from the Fraser Valley to their 11-acre farm in Cawston in the spring of 2002. They had not planned on being farmers, although Skip came from prairie farm stock. “It just kind of evolved,” said Lesley, a former nurse. “What is it […] Read More
Arthur Wesley “Wes” Barrett Gardener, teacher, friend, salt of the earth. Born June 12, 1937 Trail, BC. Died suddenly January 14, 2007 in Florida. Aged 69. Anyone who has read my first book will know Wes, the former head gardener at City Farmer. He is one of the main “characters”. […] Read More
The first time I met Assefa Kebede I was with a group of friends from northern California who were in Vancouver visiting their parents. They went to the Nyala Ethiopian Restaurant every time they were in town; it was in my neighbourhood and I’d never been. Ten of us arrived […] Read More
I have been harping on my brother, an Okanagan developer, for a couple decades now about building green. I am sure it has very little to do with my harping, but in his latest development, Sedona Heights, several of the “southwest-style” homes, including his, will have geothermal heating. He is […] Read More
It seems appropriate to start the new year off with seeds. Little parcels of potential. I read this piece on North by Northwest in late February 2005 to herald in the Seedy Saturday season. I have updated and expanded it in my new book on the politics of food, called […] Read More