Seedy Events and Projects

Join EYA at our annual seed exchange this Saturday (April 17th) from 10am to 1pm at the Strathcona Eco-Pavilion! Bring your favourite seeds to swap with fellow gardeners from across the city. No seed? No problem, there's lots for everyone! Check out the Facebook event! Questions? Please email info@eya.ca.


EYA is still recruiting urban seedkeepers for the 2010 growing season! To sign up, please email Georgia at georgia@eya.ca. The orientation will be held the following Saturday (April 24th) from 10am to 12pm at the Strathcona Eco-Pavilion. A blurb about the Urban Seedkeepers program:

EYA is recruiting 20 individuals or families with growing space to plant, grow and save one variety of heritage, organic seeds. Urban seedkeepers will learn how to grow crops for seed, properly collect, and store these seeds. In exchange, the seeds will be donated back to EYA for our community nursery project, where we will use them in urban greening projects and free education programs around the city to raise awareness and grow healthy food. As well as contributing to EYA’s community nursery project, this project will contribute to biodiversity and our city’s seed security in terms of varietal availability, human capacity and knowledge.

Agreement: EYA will provide all necessary training and support as well as initial seeds for approx 20 plants of one seed variety. Number of plants and variety of seed will be determined along with the seedkeeper depending on amount of space, quality of soil and existing infrastructure. (Trellis’, planter boxes etc.)

The seedkeeper will commit to planting the seeds and caring for them throughout the season in such a way to ensure purity of the strain (this will be covered in the April orientation session), troubleshooting with EYA if necessary regarding concerns around plant health. The seedkeeper will commit to growing out 1/2 of the entire harvest to seeds that will be returned to EYA as a donation. 1/2 of the crop is ear marked for the seedkeepers eating pleasure!

And, don't forget about our plant and seed exchange project! Currently, the Vancouver Plant and Seed Exchange Network (VPSEN) has over 60 members with more being added daily. We still need your help in generating activity and discussion, however! If you are interested in this project, please visit http://vanseedtrade.theforum.name/ where you can find out more about the network as well as view members' trading lists. Even if you don't have your own seeds or plants to offer others, we still encourage you to sign up! Direct exchanges of seeds and plants are most ideal to keep this as grass roots as possible, but monetary exchanges are certainly more than acceptable. If you have any suggestions as a member or non-member about the project (e.g., things that can be improved) please contact Amy. Happy trading!

Growing Kids 2010 Spring Season

Growing Kids Volunteer Educator

Growing Kids 2010 Spring Season

The Environmental Youth Alliance is looking for committed community members to help deliver hands on workshops in Elementary School classrooms and food gardens. Workshops will be co-facilitated by trained Volunteer Educators and the Growing Kids Program Coordinator to enable garden work to be done in small, hands on groups.

Throughout March and April we will be presenting our Indoor Seedling Workshop. Educators in this workshop will work in Grade 2-3 classrooms to teach about: food security, seed diversity, and how to grow vegetables from seed. Much of our time will be spent working in small groups planting seeds to be grown on the classroom windowsill.

Throughout May and June we will be presenting our follow up Outdoor Planting Workshop. Educators in this workshop will work with Grade 2-3 students to teach about: interdependence, stewardship and how to care for organic food gardens. Much of our time will be spent working in small groups caring for the school garden’s soil and planting a variety of useful and interesting plants into it.

Growing Kids emphasizes a learner directed education style that is non-hierarchical. Having the support of a team of Volunteer Educators enables us to work primarily in small groups of 6-7 students, ensuring that education can be adapted to fit the learners interest and ability. Through the integration of hands on work and brief interactive presentations, our workshops create a dynamic, engaging learning environment in which everyone learns from one another.

Your support in creating this environment in fundamental to the success of many school garden projects!

To get involved and be trained as a Volunteer Educator contact:

Matthew Kemshaw
matthewk@eya.ca
604 689 4446

Volunteer Educator Training Sessions will be ~2 hours long and will be held the last week of February – the first week of March.

New Bloggers!

A big thank you to everyone who came out to the Blogger Orientation last Thursday. It looks like we were able to gather a group of very enthusiastic and bright people. Stay tuned for their first postings where you'll get to know a little bit about them!

EYA Bloggers Orientation this Thursday!

Come out to the EYA Office (517-119 Pender St.) this Thursday from 5:30-6:30pm to learn more about our blog and how you can contribute to it.

Please contact Samantha (samantha@eya.ca) for more information.

Hope to see you there!

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

Crow's Point Community Garden

(Originally posted December 26, 2009; Edited January 16, 2010)

An exciting new project is in the works for 2010!



Crow's Point Community Garden

Briefly:

The History
The City of Vancouver has chosen EYA to turn the triangular lot on the corner of East 24th Avenue and Vanness Avenue into a community garden.

The Plan
This space will be comprised of approximately 1/2 a native plant habitat and 1/2 community garden plots. In the native plant area, we are planning to grow berry bushes and medicinal herbs. There will be 30 plots in total with 1/3-1/2 set aside for young people and youth organizations.

The Cost
Plots will cost $10 a year, and a garden membership will cost an additional $10 per year. Plots to youth and youth groups will be free.

Volunteering
All garden members will be required to put in volunteer time to work on the common areas of the garden - this will allow us to keep plot costs down! Contributing to maintenance of common areas will be a mandatory part of garden membership.

Recruitment
We are also recruiting two garden coordinators to start this spring! This is a volunteer position with an honorarium at the end of the growing season of approximately $500 per person.

Garden coordinators will be expected to spend about 10 hours a month from April to Sept. Coordinators could easily put in more time, if they have the time and energy. However, the expectation would be about 10 hours per month (outside of anything related to their personal plot and their role as a regular garden member.) What a fun way to make a little bit of extra money! Preference will be given to interested individuals under 30.

To apply, please e-mail a brief write up to Samantha Charlton indicating the following:

1) Why you are interested in being a garden coordinator.
2) What is your experience with community organizing.
3) What is your relevant gardening or horticultural experience.
4) What you see as the main benefits of creating a community garden in this neighbourhood.
5) If you are under 30.
6) If you are able to commit about 10 hours per week from the beginning of April through to the end of September.

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Join us for an upcoming consultation meeting!

Crow’s Point Garden Community Consultation
January 20th, 2010 at 7:45pm
Kensington Library
1428 Cedar Cottage Mews

For more information, please contact
Samantha Charlton

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To find out about more volunteer opportunities with EYA, please check out the volunteering page on EYA's main website. There are many ways to get involved!

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

Interested in Contributing to the EYA Blog?

We figure it's time for an expansion in blog content -- in order to do this, however, we need your help! If you enjoy writing, taking photographs, and attending community events, then blogging may just be your thing. Please contact Samantha by email at samantha@eya.ca or call 604-689-4446 if you'd like to contribute.

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EYA is featured in the New Internationalist Magazine!
Backyard Beehives
They’re booming on Canada’s west coast with everyone from high-end hotels to apartment dwellers joining in. Hadani Ditmars reports from Vancouver.

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THE FIRST ANNUAL SUSTENANCE FESTIVAL
October 1st - 16th, 2009
The Roundhouse in Yaletown


Featuring everything from live music, workshops, presentations, theatre, and visual art, this festival is sure to be a hit with anyone who has an appreciation for local eating, food security, cooking, art, culture, sustainability, and the environment. Most of the activities take place at the Roundhouse, but there are also several "Satellite Activities" worth checking out and participating in. Visit the SUSTENANCE FESTIVAL website for much more information.

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FEEDING THE FUTURE

Michael Ableman, celebrated author of "Fields of Plenty", is coming to Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver on Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 7:30pm

Food may become the dominant issue of our time. The industrial system that brings it to us is unraveling, and the cost of that system,ecologically, socially, and personally is enormous. While Ableman will touch on this crisis, he will leave us with a deeper sense of how we can participate in the solutions; on our farms and in our gardens, in our kitchens and at the dining room table, and in the broader communities where we live.

Michael will inspire us with his stories and powerful photographic images of individuals who are using community land, backyard gardens as well as
urban farms for creating socially and ecologically responsible ways of growing food.

Tickets: $10, available from the Centennial Theatre Box Office at 604-984-4484 or www.centennialtheatre.com

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!

EYA at the UBC Farm Market this Saturday!

That's right, EYA will be selling winter gardening seedlings at the UBC Farm Market on Saturday, July 18th! Stop by to say "hi," buy a seedling or two, and check out all the great produce and other items on offer. For directions to the last working farm in Vancouver, please visit the UBC Farm contact or visit us page.

EYA members, if you'd like to volunteer at this event, please contact Rhianna!

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.

Film Making Program

Have you ever wanted to make a film?



Film making summer intensive for youth (14-29 years)
Weekdays 10 am - 5 pm
Thursday, Aug 13th - Friday, Aug 28th

FREE!

This August, the Environmental Youth Alliance (EYA) and film maker Stephen Rosenberg are offering a 2.5 week training. We are currently recruiting:

• 3 aspiring producers
• 3 aspiring directors
• 3 aspiring camera people
• 3 aspiring editors

LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE

Application deadline: * Thursday July 16th, 2009 *

Youth Film-Making Summer Intensive Application
Please copy and paste this application into a Word document and return it to EYA.

This 2.5 week program is being offered free of charge in
partnership between the Environmental Youth Alliance and
filmmaker Steven Rosenberg. We encourage everyone to apply!
Preference is given to applicants with “barriers to employment”
defined as people who: have not completed high school, single
parents, aboriginal youth, people with disabilities or new
immigrants.

*NOTE: If you feel uncomfortable filling out this application, please
get in touch in person at our office or on the phone. There are
other possible ways to apply.

Name: ________________________________________

E-mail: _______________________________________

Phone number: ________________________

Best time(s) to contact: __________________

1. Please explain why you would like to participate in this program.
2. Have you previously participated in a youth skill-building program? If yes, please describe it.
3. Tell us about any interest or experience you have in environmental issues.
4. Please briefly tell us about any experience (volunteer or paid) that you have with filmmaking.
5. Please indicate your top three picks for your position on a film team (1 being your ideal position, 3 being your least favourite)

Editor
Producer
Camera person
Director


6. Do you have access to a video camera? Please indicate Yes or No and what type.
7. Are you available weekdays from August 13th - 28th between 10 and 5 pm? (circle one) Yes / No
8. Are you between the ages of 14 and 29? (circle one) Yes / No
9. Are you willing to put in some extra time during evenings and weekends if necessary? (circle one) Yes / No

Thank you for taking the time to fill out this application!

Please e-mail completed application to samantha@eya.ca, fax to 604-689-4242 or drop off at 517-119 W. Pender St. Vancouver, B.C.

We’ll be in touch shortly :-)