Category — Canada

The urban garden is laid out before the National Assembly.

“This sends a message to Quebec, it is a message that is also sent to the world – in general it says ‘yes’ to urban agriculture.”

By Radio Canada
June 13, 2013

Translated into English (Google):

Fruits and vegetables in the beds of the National Assembly

The gardens of Parliament Hill in Quebec shall be fitted with new plants. A garden of 130 varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs will be grown in the front of the Parliament.

These developments are the result of a collaboration between the National Assembly with Urbainculteurs, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of gardening and urban agriculture.

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We had 18 urban farming organizations from across Metro Vancouver participate and work with us to create a baseline landscape of urban farming practices throughout the region with a focus on the City of Vancouver.

Prepared by Zsuzsi Fodor and Shelby Tay
Research Coordinators, Vancouver Urban Farming Society
2013

Excerpt: Executive Summary

Introduction
The second annual Vancouver Urban Farming Forum was hosted under the leadership of the Vancouver Urban Farming Society (VUFS) on November 17, 2012. Building on the much larger 2011 forum, this year’s gathering was much more focused and intimate to launch the Urban Farming Practices Research Project. After consultation with the urban farming community of practice, the following goals for the 2012 Forum Understanding Our Practices from Seed to Scrap were developed:

I. Develop a scan of existing and emerging urban farming practices in Vancouver from seed to scrap.
II. Build on the collective knowledge of what is working, what is not, and where the gaps are.
III. Offer space for meaningful small group dialogue.
IV. Uncover urban farmers’ interests for the research project.

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Click image for larger photo. Photo by Fresh Roots.

Garden built in just four days, June 1-4, 2013

Fresh Roots Urban Farm Society in partnership with VanCity, the Real Estate Foundation of BC, the Vancouver Foundation, the City of Vancouver, and the Vancouver School Board has built two schoolyard market gardens.

Background via VanCity Credit Union:

The story of Fresh Roots is, fittingly, a story of growth. What started as a single backyard urban farm quickly became eight backyard farms, as well as a half-acre farm in Richmond, which supplies weekly food boxes to families and residents in East Vancouver, and is the home base for Fresh Roots’ young-farmer training program. The farm in Richmond also facilitates the growth of women farming entrepreneurs.

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Paul Hughes stands in the centre of the tilled portion of the plot. Photos by Josh Naud.

Grow Calgary breaks ground on urban farm. Volunteers get their hands dirty to grow fresh produce for the food bank

By Maureen McNamee
Fast Forward Weekly
May 30, 2013

Excerpt:

A Transportation Utility Corridor (TUC) west of Canada Olympic Park is now being put to good use as an urban farm and food justice project that will donate its harvest to the Calgary Food Bank.

Grow Calgary recently received permission to access the 11-acre field of agricultural land beside the TransCanada Highway just west of Canada Olympic Park, and has already tilled it in preparation for growing potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes and much, much more.

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The LIVINGbridge is an urban garden located atop an abandoned rail bridge in downtown Edmonton. It was inspired by urban designs that encourage a sense of community ownership and enjoyment of public green space.

CBC News
Jun 2, 2013

Excerpt:

Dozens of volunteers from around the city braved the grey and wet weather on Sunday to help beautify the 97th Street Bridge.

The decommissioned CN Rail bridge has been turned into a green space, complete with flower beds, berry plants and a vegetable garden.

Organizers are calling the project “The Living Bridge.”

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Up and running for over a year, Hendrick Farm last fall saw 12 volunteers plant 4,000 garlic bulbs in two hours. The same farm produced enough parsnips to provide a 1,000-pound donation to the local food bank. All of this on a seven-acre parcel of land. Photo by Mark Cullen.

The idea is to create a plan for a subdivision that mirrors that of a residential golf course community, only using a community farm instead of a golf course.

By Mark Cullen
The Star
May 31 2013

Excerpt:

Imagine a typical residential neighbourhood that is carved out of existing farmland. Only this one is not typical at all. House sizes range between 1,500 and 2,200 sq ft., they are all two storeys (for environmental reasons), and they are built in clusters of 10 or 12. Each cluster is designed around a common green space that is connected to a natural playground (no plastic slides) and an organic farm.

The organic farm is the “gathering place” at the centre of this new community. Already 76 neighbours have bought into a community-supported agriculture program where crops are delivered to patrons weekly.

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Victor Guerin from Musqueam sang blessing song at new community garden in Tsleilwaututh – means a place to grow food. By Gabriel Edge George.

People of the Inlet – We have inhabited the lands and waters of our traditional territory since time immemorial.

Located in North Vancouver, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s garden program is focused on providing access to hands-on gardening and food programming for the community. The garden will provide a space for community members to grow traditional food and medicines, and learn about healthy food choices.

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An urban greenhouse in Saskatoon. The large raised beds are old City of Saskatoon garbage bins!

Wally Satzewich and Gail Vandersteen, SPIN farming creators, opened their home to show off their massive backyard garden

By Franny Rawlyk
Nature City Review
MAy 26, 2013

Excerpts:

Another stop was at a local woman’s house to see her backyard chicken coop. I grew up with chickens, but on an acreage outside of the city, so I was curious to see this set-up, especially because it was on quite a small lot. Unfortunately, due to city bylaw troubles, the chickens weren’t actually there, but she had a great set up. The coop was winterized and she had mulch all over the yard and a composting system for the nitrogen-rich excrement. It didn’t seem like too much work and she gets her very own, locally grown, organic, free-range eggs daily! I could get into that (if only her yard was big enough for also having a produce garden). I remember the city bylaws about chickens being a big issue in the media a little while ago. She claims that none of her neighbours even mind, so I wonder where all the opposition is coming from? Many other cities have allowed urban farming, so why is the City of Saskatoon still behind the times on this issue?

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Our aquaponic systems are completely off-grid, 100% organic, and entirely sustainable

By Nivaldo do ALAMO
Founder of Revolutionary Gardens
Environment – Toronto, Ontario, Canada

We, Revolutionary Gardens and OASIS Project Development Group, are building a fully off-grid, solar heated, thermal-bubble insulated greenhouse, to produce fresh, organic fruits, vegetables and fish all year round. Beyond just growing food, we would like to educate and showcase to everyone how they can sustainably produce nutritious and yummy food for themselves.

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Fresh Roots Urban Farm, Vancouver, BC., via their website.

Cities have become incubators for the farmers of tomorrow.

By Ngaio Hotte
President of the Vancouver Urban Farming Society
Vancouver Sun
May 28, 2013

Excerpt:

Vancouver is home to around 30 “urban farms” – small businesses that grow food for sale within city limits. A census of urban farms by urban agriculture researcher Mark Schutzbank found that in 2011, Vancouver’s 10 urban farms sold $170,000 worth of produce. Two years later, more than three times that number of farming businesses are operating around the city.

Also in 2011, Statistics Canada found that there were 205,730 farms across the country, 10.3 per cent fewer than there had been five years earlier.

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Click on image to enlarge.

64 community garden beds (2 wheelchair accessible beds & 4 kid-friendly height beds)

By Chris Reid
Shifting Growth
April 28, 2013

Shifting Growth and The Foothills at Burke Mountain proudly unveiled the new Burke Mountain Community Garden this Sunday April 28, 2013. The garden is a growing space for the community with a goal to build healthy, resilient, and welcoming communities in and around the garden.

The garden was created as a temporary garden. The long-term future last use will be evaluated at a later date, allowing an opportunity to create a temporary community garden for residents of Burke Mountain. All infrastructure and garden beds were filled off site and simply placed pre-assembled on-site.

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Community gardens, like this one on DeLair Road in Abbotsford, are thriving and there’s a waiting list for garden plots. Photograph by: John Van Putten.

Reimer Middle School plants a garden for the nearby community

By Christina Toth
The Abottsford Times
April 25, 2013

Excerpt:

Five years ago, there were maybe 10 from Langley to Agassiz, and now there are 28 and counting, but that’s not a surprise to community garden crusader Kayla Feenstra.

People crave to feel the soil, to be in the fresh air, and to fuss over tender green things. While growing one’s own grub is important, there is also a social component for those who yearn for green thumb fellowship, especially for those who are retired and have downsized into an apartment, said Feenstra.

“They don’t have land anymore but are itching to get their hands into the dirt,” she said.

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Click on image to link to larger image.

Sustainable Simon Fraser University (SFU) Learning Garden

By Chris Reid
Shifting Growth
April 2013

Shifting Growth was awarded the Request for Proposal to undertake the community consultation, design, and garden installation of the ‘Sustainable SFU Learning Garden’ – a temporary garden on a vacant, under-utilized piece of land in the heart of SFU’s Burnaby Campus. The Sustainable SFU Learning Garden is a new garden facility near SFU Burnaby’s Convocation Mall. This new garden is a student-centered education and social space. Members will learn how to grow, eat, and share campus-grown food while making SFU Burnaby a more sustainable community.

All garden features are atop of shipping pallets, allowing the Sustainable SFU a 3-year agreement for the land to utilize as a temporary growing space. Constructed with BC cedar and black hinges, the garden beds sit at varies height.

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Unveils urban agriculture food charter and action plan

On April 18, 2013, the City of Côte Saint-Luc unveiled its food charter and action plan to transform the mostly residential suburb into an urban agriculture leader in Quebec. Urban agriculture is the practice of growing food in or around a city. The Côte Saint-Luc Grown urban agriculture action plan announced at a press conference at City Hall includes the creation of a demonstration garden behind the City Hall/Library complex to teach gardening skills to adults and children, edible landscaping on city property, new community gardens, a farmers’ market, and the distribution of food boxes.

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Consumers are encouraged to start their own juice carton herb gardens by cutting off the bottom portion of their Happy Planet 1.89 L juice carton and planting seeds.

Win a year’s worth of fresh organic produce delivery service

Press Release: Happy Planet Launches Grow For Good Campaign to inspire the urban farmers of tomorrow. On Earth Day, April 22, Happy Planet is launching the “Grow For Good” campaign and online photo contest. The contest is designed to encourage consumers to ‘grow’ a greater appreciation for fresh food and for the younger generation to develop a curiosity about where food comes from – by starting their own Happy Planet juice carton herb garden.

“We are looking to inspire younger generations to ask questions about what they eat and where it comes from,” said Happy Planet founder Randal Ius. “Creating a ‘Grow for Good’ juice carton herb garden is a fun and creative activity that will also help foster an enthusiasm for fresh food; inspiring both the urban farmers – and consumers – of tomorrow.”

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Tim Alford, Al Mastroianni. Photo By Julia Chapman/CBC.

They can produce 350 to 450 pounds of fish per week, as well as 200 to 300 heads of lettuce or other leafy greens per day.

CBC News
April 14, 2013

Excerpt:

Tim Alford, along with high school friend Al Mastroianni, operate A&M Aquaponics. It farms tilapia and uses the fish waste to fertilize the various plants.

“There has never been a 12-month organic procedure before in Canada,” said Alford, describing the eco-friendly approach the company has taken with its urban farm.

Aquaponics is a system that combines aquaculture — raising of aquatic animals — and hydroponics — raising plants in water.

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Interview begins at minute 14:20

Interview about ‘Sharing Backyards’ in Vancouver BC

By Jodie Martinson
Monocle – The Urbanist about the cities we live in
Episode 75
21 Mar 2013

Jodie Martinson speaks with gardener Stephanie Hodges about her experiences with shared garden space. Sharing Backyards Vancouver is a City Farmer project.

This Urbanist episode: “Share deal: a special episode looking at car sharing, office sharing, table sharing, and mingling in cities around the world.”

Listen to the show here. Go to minute 14:20 for the sharing gardens interview.

Tina Ksor, left, Jenny Ro’mah and Susan Siu are excited to start their community garden at Moberly elementary school. Photo by Richard Lam.

Back in Vietnam, these young refugees would be living off the land like their forebears

By Darah Hansen
Vancouver Sun
March 23, 2013

Excerpt:

“Here it is school, home, sleep, eat. In Vietnam it is farming all day long, every day.”

The garden has the potential to balance both worlds.

Set to break ground April 2 at Moberly, with funding from the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Foundation, it promises to yield fruits and vegetables enough to help feed several families.

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Children involved with the North End Community Health Centre project, Hope Blooms, display their produce in 2011. Current participants in the project have been invited to take part in the CBC entrepreneurial show Dragons’ Den. Photo by Eric Wynne.

Funds needed to get kids to Dragons’ Den

By Michael Lightstone
Herald News
March 20, 2013

Excerpt:

They want to enter the Dragons’ Den, but first a resourceful group of Halifax kids is counting on the kindness of strangers to help get them to a CBC television studio in Toronto.

The children are part of the Hope Blooms enterprise that grew out of a Halifax community garden project the North End Community Health Centre launched around 2007.

After a successful audition in February for the business-promoting TV show, the youngsters have been invited to tape an episode for the next television season. Seven children and three adults are planning to go to Toronto for the April 27 taping.

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Josée Duplessis is a member of Montreal’s executive committee responsible for environmental issues and green spaces.
Photograph by Graham Hughes.

The 20-member working group will meet several times a year to discuss issues such as financing of community gardens, zoning and bylaws

By Michelle Lalonde
The Gazette
March 21, 2013

Excerpt:

MONTREAL — After holding a year of public consultations on urban agriculture, the city has announced a permanent working committee to ensure those hearings produce some concrete results.

“Today, Montrealers are taking another step … mobilizing to further develop their community gardens, green roofs, and to inspire the boroughs and neighbourhoods to favour the local and affordable production of foods,” said Josée Duplessis, member of the executive committee responsible for environmental issues and green spaces.

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