“Neighborhood Food Growing, Sharing, and Preparedness 2010″ Workshop Series
Green Millennium Foundation, VillageVancouver, and West End Residents Association are proud to present Robin Wheeler, author of Food Security for the Faint of Heart, and Gardening for the Faint of Heart, and founder of a local organic growers group (onestraw.ca) and founder of the Sustainable Living Arts School (slas.ca) in a series of workshops on the food-secure household, gardening, food growing, and community organization, targeted especially for residents of the West End. The workshops will be held on one Sunday and two Saturdays at the West End Community Centre in Vancouver. Registration opens at 9 am on March 15. Details below.
April 11 (Sun)
10:00 -11: 30 am
The Food Secure Household
City dwellers will feel more resilient through both short term (earthquake) and long term (for instance, droughts in our farm lands) food interruptions if they have a plan. This class is a starting point for identifying vulnerable areas and creating a personal map to a more food secure footing.
April 11 (Sun)
11:45 – 1:30 am
Apartment Gardening
This class will cover the problems of tiny gardens and will address some cures. We will talk about the best plants for small gardens and how to get the biggest, healthiest harvest possible.
May 1 (Sat)
9:15 – 10:30 am
Food Directed Emergency Preparedness
Tremors could leave us without electricity for extended periods. We will discuss tips for stockpiling, food lists, saving freezer foods, quick cooking tips and much more.
May 1 (Sat)
10:45 am – 12:15 pm
Seed Saving in the City
City folk may think they cannot be part of the seed saving system, but it is important that we have a collective of trained individuals in place should we ever need to draw on their skills. We will talk about the politics of seed saving, learn basic seed saving skills, and discuss the creation of collectives throughout Vancouver both for convenience as well as emergency preparedness.
June 5 (Sat)
9:15 – 10:45 am
Food Preservation
In times of rising food prices, it is great to have skills in taking advantage of sales and seasonal plenty and preserving it for future times. We will cover the Top Ten preservation techniques and how get confident in their use.
June 5 (Sat)
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Intentional Community – Shapes in Sharing
City dwellers have many skills and resources all around them, but may not have a mechanism for organizing and drawing on those skills in times of trouble. This class will look at the different shapes in sharing that take place so easily in rural communities and may need a boost in the city. We will talk about building trust and safeguarding our precious possessions while opening up to a wider community and its valuable support.
About Robin Wheeler
Robin Wheeler teaches traditional skills, sustenance gardening and medicinals at Edible Landscapes (www.ediblelandscapes.ca), a nursery and teaching garden in Roberts Creek, British Columbia.
Sponsors
Green Millennium Foundation (www.greenmillennium.org)
Village Vancouver (www.villagevancouver.ca)
West End Residents Association (www.wera.bc.ca)
Price
$15 per workshop. Anyone who registers for all six workshops will receive a bonus gift of their choice of either of Robin’s books.
Registration
West End Community Centre:
Register online (www.westendcc.ca), in person, or by calling (604-257-8333).
You can download the Spring 2010 Guide. See page 22!
