400 People on Waiting-list Prompt Developer to Build Second Garden.

Onni opened its second garden in late September under sunny skies. Earlier this year, Mike Clark talked to us as the developer was about to open its first community garden. Once again he provides us with details about the second site, which is located adjacent to the first one.

Just 3 weeks ago, the downtown Vancouver city block was covered in buildings. They were removed and new garden beds, paths and an irrigation system were installed. This has to be a ‘Guinness Book of Records’ record for the development of a new community garden.

Onni’s Community Gardens Viewed from the Neighbouring Bridge

Onni Community Gardens Viewed from the Bridge from Michael Levenston on Vimeo.
Also see alternative HD High Definition version on YouTube.

Photos of Onni Gardens

New Onni garden September 28, 2008. See larger photo here.


First Onni garden begun earlier this year.
See larger photo here.

Link to earlier City Farmer video ‘Developer Creates Community Garden’ from the beginning of this year.

Onni’s web site here.

Photo by Michael Levenston. Link to larger photo here.

Up five floors at the YWCA in downtown Vancouver, amongst skyscrapers, is a spectacular rooftop food garden. Our two videos feature an interview with Ted Cathcart, Operations Manager and Rooftop Food Gardener at the YWCA.

Email Contact: tcathcart@ywcavan.org

Link to YWCA Vancouver Rooftop Food Garden website.

Downtown Deck Turned Into Fruit-and-vegetable Patch to Feed Needy

Andy Ivens, The Province
Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Stand on any street corner in downtown Vancouver and it’s easy to spot a BlackBerry.

But you need to take an elevator to the roof of the YWCA Health plus Fitness Centre to spy blackberries — the fruit that grows on bushes, not the hightech cellphones glued to so many ears — in a patch with raspberries, strawberries and blueberries.

Surrounded by skyscrapers, a handful of hardy volunteers till the soil and cultivate an organic rooftop garden to feed families in Canada’s poorest neighbourhood.

Ted Cathcart, YWCA’s facilities manager, got the idea to turn the decorative flower garden on the roof of the Hornby Street edifice into a more productive enterprise.

“When Bentall Five [the office building immediately to the west of the YWCA] was completed, it became less interesting to be up here,” Cathcart said yesterday as he showed off his cornucopia amidst the concrete.

So, in his spare time, he began turning the flower beds into vegetable gardens.

In 2006, the first year of the conversion to a food garden, Cathcart and crew harvested 150 kilograms of produce.

Last year, as more beds were added, that haul ballooned to 450 kilograms.

“The goal is to grow one tonne of food. That’s my ‘one-tonne challenge,’ ” said Cathcart.

“That could take another three to five years.

“What we’re looking at is rotational crops — things that can be grown quickly, then get it out of there so we can plant something else in the space.”

Cathcart has been loading the produce into his car and driving it the 14 blocks to the YWCA’s Crabtree Corner community kitchen on East Hastings Street, where the staff turned it into nutritious meals for deserving families five days a week.

Yesterday marked the inaugural run using a specially designed bicycle and cart donated to the cause by PEDAL, a non-profit organization.

“The YWCA supports the garden by providing a budget, if we need to buy anything,” said Cathcart.

“But we’ve been very lucky so far. We’ve had a lot of our plants and seeds donated by various companies,” said Cathcart.

“And we’ve had support from the University of British Columbia and the Environmental Youth Alliance.”

Cathcart said there are 15 to 18 volunteers who do the planting, watering and harvesting of the garden, but unlike a normal community garden, no one takes home the produce.

Link to article here.

Seven years ago Sharon, Head Gardener, brought a small Wasabi plant at a local nursery and tucked it away in a back corner of our City Farmer Demonstration Garden. This spring I noticed how beautiful its leaves looked and thought – wouldn’t it be great if this was more than just a decorative plant. But is it anything like the Wasabi we eat with our sushi at Japanese restaurants?

Maria takes the taste test. Watch the video above.

Learn more about Wasabi here.

Preet is our Punjabi host.

Hong speaks Mandarin

And Patrick, Cantonese, in these scripted videos.

Many Vancouver residents want to compost but cannot speak English, so we’ve made three instructional videos, which are available on the Web.

Even though shooting outside in the garden would seem more logical, we filmed inside our greenhouse office because the sound quality is far superior.

To link to larger videos, as well as text materials in Chinese and Punjabi describing how to make and use compost, see:
Chinese page.
Punjabi page.

Panjabi video.

Mandarin video.

Cantonese video.

Massive urban development features “urban agriculture” on signage.

Presently in development in downtown Vancouver, the SEFC site comprises 32 hectares (80 acres). It will eventually be the home to 12,000 to 16,000 people. When fully developed, SEFC will have 6 million square feet of development. This will include: more than 5000 residential units; a full-size community centre and non-motorized boating facility; three to five licensed childcare facilities; two out-of-school care facilities; an elementary school; restoration of five heritage buildings; interfaith spiritual centre and 10 hectares of park.

SEFC will be a model of sustainable development. Unique features include: urban agriculture; a rainwater management system; green roofs; and a neighbourhood energy system.

The first phase of SEFC will be temporarily transformed into Vancouver’s Olympic Village during the Winter Games in February 2010.

Read more by following these links:

Southeast False Creek and Olympic Village.

Designing Urban Agriculture Opportunities for Southeast False Creek, Vancouver, BC
Prepared for the City of Vancouver, Southeast False Creek Project Office
By Holland Barrs Planning Group
March 2007
(74 page PDF, 2.8 MB)
“Develop design considerations and guidelines, technical considerations, and management strategies for effectively integrating urban agriculture (UA) into a high density neighbourhood. The report focuses on how UA is an innovative tool for urban design and can play a key role in building community around food. Topics covered in the report include: perspectives on food security, design principles for UA, a UA space typology, design ideas and considerations for UA in the public and private realms, technical considerations and support systems necessary for UA, and management strategies for endurance of the UA program over time.”

Southeast False Creek Urban Agriculture Strategy
Prepared for City of Vancouver
By Holland Barrs Planning Group In association with Lees + Associates
Sustainability Ventures Group
November, 2002
(large file, 207 page PDF, 3MB)

Sustainable Urban Food Production in the City of Vancouver: An Analytical and Strategy Framework for Planners and Decision-Makers
Written and researched by
Robert Barrs
School of Community & Regional Planning, UBC

“This report is being written because there appears to be a genuine desire, at the municipal level, to move towards a sustainable community. The City of Vancouver’s Environmental Policy, adopted by Council on May 28th, 1996, states that “the City of Vancouver is committed to protecting and improving its natural environment by adhering to and promoting the principles of sustainability.” Council has also resolved to make South-East False Creek a model sustainable community for 4000-6000 people. This raises many questions about what sustainability means for this site and how food production might be a part of that.

“This report makes recommendations that may contribute towards a municipal urban agriculture policy and could guide planners in the selection and encouragement of different approaches, methods and initiatives for South-East Fasle Creek. It is intended to be both an educational document for planners and decision-makers and a discussion document that will promote useful dialogue around the important question of food production in the City.