The Year So Far in Pictures

There's never a dull moment around here, and lately even less time to pause and reflect on what we do.  Here are picture highlights (some long overdue!) of what we've been up to, from growing food to eating it and helping it decompose.  Another round of pictures is soon to follow, featuring Norquay Orchard, community kitchens, Cheyenne Garden, celebrations, and canning workshops.

Seed bomb demonstration at our annual Seed Swap/Sale.

Learn more about seed bombs and how to make them here.  You will need clay, finished compost, and seeds.  In Vancouver, you can find  inexpensive clay powder at Clayzone Ceramics.

Limax maximum: the giant leopard slug alive and well in our
three bin composter.

Soil delivery mishap at Cheyenne Avenue Community Garden.

Early spring weeding on the Rooftop Garden.

Introduction to permaculture principles workshop with Chris and Jocelyn from  Farm for Life.   As part of the workshop, we watched Tabor and Tilth, a ten minute documentary about growing with permaculture in the City.

We learned about planting in guilds.

We learned about basic permaculture principles that can be applied to food growing and to life in general.

Meanwhile, up on the Roof, critters were nibbling on the radishes.



Making fruit salad with the newcomer Filipino youth group.



Rooftop garden volunteers taking a break from spring planting.

Mapping a garden plan at a Garden Planning Workshop at Renfrew Park Community Centre .



Using the West Coast Seeds catalogue as our textbooks, we learned how to decode seed package descriptions and planting charts in order to plan a garden for year-round harvest.



Weed identification workshop at the Collingwood Community Gardens, facilitated by Julia from The Environmental Youth Alliance.


An especially large plantain leaf.  Plantain is a very common weed and when crushed has medicinal properties (especially for itchy bug bites!).


Chickweed is another common garden weed which is edible and can be eaten like a salad green.


Dandelion greens are very nutritious!  Click here to find out more  about weeds and what they tell us about the soil. 



Making hair tonic out of horsetail.



One of many Community Lunch menus.  Best deal in town, and best kept secret.



Community Lunch team!  (Photo credit: Cassandra Ly)


Team work.  (Photo credit: Cassandra Ly).



Seniors in the Food Skills for Families  cooking class.



Breakfast Program team.



Terrible chronic flooding problem at the Collingwood Community Gardens (photo taken in July!).



Jennifer Phelps from Urban Dames Landscaping taught us how to build a drainage system out of commonly available materials.



As part of our work party potluck, Petrona brought a stack of homemade corn tortillas based on her mother's recipe.  Guatemalan-style black beans were a natural accompaniment.



It was a hot day and we were so grateful for the shade!  And grateful that we were able to finish most of the work in one day.

More photos of spring and summer are soon to come! Community kitchens, orchards, and canning workshops, oh my.