Community Nursery Youth Apprenticeship

Community Nursery Youth Apprenticeship

Are you 15-18 years of age?
Do you like plants?
Are you interested in building healthier communities?
If so, the Community Nursery Apprenticeship is for you!!!

The Environmental Youth Alliance is looking for 4 youth between 15 – 18 years of age to participate in our Community Nursery this Spring. The Community Nursery is a project to distribute low cost food plants and seeds to residents to improve the social and ecological health of our neighbourhoods. This year we hope to distribute 3000-4000 vegetable starts to people and communities who can use them.

Program Details: 12 weeks long, March 22nd – June 13th; 5 hours/week – 2 on a weekday evening, 3 on the weekend; apprentices will receive $200 at the middle of the apprenticeship and another $200 at completion; hours can be used to satisfy community service requirements for high school graduation; weekly training workshops will be given in topics including (but not limited to): soil, seed and plant health, community engagement, bee keeping, permaculture design, composting, and pest management.

To apply for an apprenticeship please submit your resume and cover letter to Matthew Kemshaw by February 28th. Your cover letter should explain why you want to be involved with the Community Nursery and what you hope to gain from the apprenticeship. You can email or drop off your application to:

Matthew Kemshaw
Community Nursery Coordinator
matthewk@eya.ca
604.689.4446

EYA Office
#517-119 W Pender St, V6B 1S5

UBC Farm: Sowing Seeds for the Future, Application Deadline 12/1/2009

From the Friends of the UBC Farm blog:

The Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm is delighted to offer: Sowing Seeds for the Future, a hands-on, season-long practicum in sustainable agriculture. We are now accepting applications for our 2010 program!

Established in 2008, this part-time (600 hour), eight month practicum offers instruction and daily work experience in small-scale sustainable farming. In a balanced, hands-on learning approach, students work alongside staff in the greenhouse, gardens, fields, and orchard. Students attend complementary lectures, demonstrations, and farm visits, and participate in a variety of practical and reflective educational activities. Direct marketing activities are also a key part of the experience. The practicum has been designed as a beginning point for aspiring growers, educators and agricultural professionals.

Students come from all backgrounds and are expected to be passionate about pursuing a career in sustainable agriculture. A certificate of completion will be issued to students who fulfill the practicum requirements. Further, we support our graduates to make connections within the BC agricultural community, and to seek out mentors to learn with following Sowing Seeds. Please note, Sowing Seeds 2010 is a non-credit course and therefore participants are not eligible for student loans. However, in 2010 we are offering a fee discount for UBC students who register, and successfully earn credits, for a directed studies based on their Sowing Seeds Practicum.

(More Info Here)

APPLICATION DEADLINE: DECEMBER 1, 2009

Course Dates:
March 13 to Nov 6, 2010

Course Hours:
Vary throughout the growing season from 7 to 21 hours per week.

Course Fee:
$3,000

**(UBC Students who register, and successfully earn credits, for a directed studies course based upon their Sowing Seeds Practicum are eligible for a $400 refund)**

Capacity : 10 students
...

For more information, please:

* Visit our Website and download our Program Overview
* View photos from the 2008 practicum
* Watch a short video about the practicum in 2008 (scroll down: “A Unique Urban Agriculture Course at UBC Farm”)

Contact information:

If you can’t find the info you need on our website, please contact Elaine Spearing at: ubcfarm.seeds@gmail.com

What?! Another Post About Bees?

Hopefully, you haven't had enough of these fascinating creatures and that you'll find at least one (or two, or three) of the following links useful, interesting, or perhaps even inspiring:

General Links on Apiculture in B.C.

British Columbia Honey Producers Association
BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands : Apiculture


Beekeeping in Vancouver

[AUDIO]: Urban Youth Learn the Ancient Art of Beekeeping
One of EYA's very own beekeeping apprentices Liz Perkins is interviewed by Redeye Co-Op Radio.

[VIDEO]: Keeping Bees on the Vancouver Convention Centre Roof

Honeybees Create a Rooftop Buzz
The Fairmont Waterfront hotel in Vancouver has a rooftop apiary!


Other Interesting Links

Canadian Honey Council
A wealth of information including anything from pollination, and diseases and pests to additional links on beekeeping in the developing world and in urban areas.

5 Ways Kids Can "Save Our Bees"
A list of simple ways both youth (and adults) can help bees thrive in a shared environment. There's an extensive list of links at the bottom of this page as well!

Bee Moves: Learning to Love Honey Bees
Includes an interesting photo set depicting a home-grown honey harvest.

Resolve to Bee Kind to Bees in 2009
And not just in 2009, too! A partial seasonal list of plants that bees love!

Urban Beekeepers, Send Us Your Photos!
Examples of urban beekeeping with links to videos by filmmaker Liza de Gula - "Brooklyn's Urban Beekeepers: Breaking The Law For The Planet" and "'Watch Out Ladies' Honey Harvest."

[PHOTO]: Bees in Paris
Photos by Franco Zecchin.

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Upcoming Events
(Remember, these can be found on the right side bar as well!)

{{TONIGHT! 8PM}} Youth Environmental Film Screening
Come out and watch 3 short films created by participants in EYA's youth summer film intensive at the Strathcona Eco-Pavilion (Hawks and Prior Streets). Space is limited. RSVP to samantha@eya.ca

Sept. 19th, 11-2PM, Urban Seedkeeper Get-Together and Heirloom Tasting
Back in April of this year, EYA recruited approximately 20 people to help plant, grow and save one variety of heritage, organic seeds for EYA's community nursery project. As we approach "the end" of the main growing season, the urban seedkeepers (along with other interested individuals from our affiliated community garden groups) will meet to share the seeds we've harvested. This will include a walk around the Strathcona and Cottonwood Gardens to identify and collect samples and a potluck lunch and heirloom vegetable tasting. Please RSVP to samantha@eya.ca

Sept. 22nd, Living Wall Community Installation and Celebration
Come and assist with the installation of a living wall in Blood Alley and join in on the festivities as well! RSVP to rhianna@eya.ca

Sept. 26th, 11-4PM, Harvest Festival
Come out to the Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House (Prince Albert and Broadway) for an afternoon of community fun! EYA will be there to hand out garlic and to chat about our activities!

Recap of Sunday's BEE Event

If you didn't make it out to the Means of Production Garden on Sunday to take in the greenery and the the buzzing company, here's a photo recap of what was an informative, fun, and inspiring series of mini-lectures and demonstrations thanks to the EYA beekeeping apprentices.

Interested in learning more about these lovely pollinators? Beekeeping in Vancouver? More information to come in the next blog post!

Community Bee Education & Celebration Day this SUNDAY!

This Sunday (August 23rd), join EYA's Sustainable Beekeeping Apprentices for a day of fun, workshops, prizes, and more! The event will take place at the Means of Production Garden (E. 6th & St. Catherines) from 10am to 1pm.

A Visit with the Bees

My first serious (and scholarly) glimpse into the importance of bees arrived in the form of a most fascinating lecture by Apiculture Specialist Paul van Westerndorp entitled, "What is Killing Our Bees?" It was back in late April of this year in the warm UBC Botanical Reception Centre where I would find myself taking notes on colony collapse disorder, Israel acute paralysis virus, Nosema apis, Kashmir bee virus, and an host of other diseases relating to the peril of our beloved winged friend. Unfortunately for me, the dual effect of this lecture having landed a few days after EYA's deadline for the Beekeeping Apprenticeship Program, and my own indecisiveness meant that I had little to no chance of even applying for said program.

So, how could I resist the wonderful opportunity to visit the bee keeping apprentices at the Means of Production garden this Saturday? Conditions were perfect for examining the hive: in the calm sunshine during the late-morning, bees busying themselves with foraging are typically more even-tempered, I learned.

Alex lifting the top cover of the hive /

Ariella using the smoker to calm the bees.

Every Saturday, the apprentices examine each of the frames contained within the hive, conscientiously recording data such as overall bee population, brood patterns, and any abnormalities pertaining to disease, (varroa) mites, and swarm cells. Regularly inspecting the hive is also necessary in monitoring the ongoing health of the elusive queen bee; since she is often difficult to identify, the apprentices must look for evidence of her presence in the hive: eggs.

Master Beekeeper Brian Campbell and the apprentices examine a frame.

Close up!

After using the hive tool to separate the frames from each other,
the apprentice gently pulls up the frame.

Check out the brood pattern!

John and Bryan have a closer look.

Although the queen wasn't identified during the day's inspection, traces of her activity (eggs) could be seen and the group concluded that theirs was a fairly content and healthy hive. A big thank you to Brian, Ariella, Bryan, Alex, and John for allowing me to observe and snap away. Oh, if only I'd applied for the apprenticeship! Next year, next year.

Watch out for more news about the bee keeping apprenticeship in the EYA newsletter coming out later this month! To subscribe to the newsletter, please email samantha@eya.ca.

Bzz.

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The ‘Community Hive’ is a collaborative effort between the Environmental Youth Alliance (EYA), the Means of Production Artist Raw Resources Collective (MOPARRC), and Master Beekeeper Brian Campbell. The ‘Community Hive’ seeks to mentor and support youth in the apiculture industry and to engage Vancouver residents in the importance of the issues facing bees across North America.