On October 31st at 10:00 AM, volunteers are gathering at 700 East Hastings and Hawks Avenue in Strathcona to create the raised bed garden boxes necessary to convert five empty asphalt covered lots into an urban garden that will provide food, employment, and training opportunities for inner-city residents.
If you are interested in contributing to the greening of Vancouver’s inner-city we need volunteers and tools and materials, contact Seann Dory of United We Can for the latest list of what we need. Part of this project involves a mural which will include permanent recognition of the groups that made SOLEfood a reality.
This garden raising represents the culmination of months of work by a dedicated subset of the Green Inner-city Cluster. The property belongs to the owner of the Astoria Hotel who is letting us convert it to a garden in exchange for paying the taxes for the next couple years. We need to begin the conversion this month in order to be eligible for lower taxes.
Artist Rendering
Save Our Living Environment is a sister organization to United We Can which was selected to be the lead organization for our first grant application. From there we got the name SOLEfood for our first urban agriculture project. Today’s coverage in the Metro and on Projects In Place’s blog neglected to mention the financial and organizational support of a number of key partners:
- Building Opportunities with Business
- Kristina Welch and the Centre for Sustainability and Social Innovation
- Louise of the Recycling Alternative
- Toby of Eclipse Awards and SBIA
- Potluck Cafe
- VEEES
- Green Inner-city Cluster members
- Participants and organizers of last week’s Ideas Jam
Come out and help us make Vancouver the Greenest City in the World, starting with Hawks and Hastings.
ahamedia said,
October 26, 2009 at 10:31 pm
This is a fantastic, wonderful opportunity to truly Green our spaces in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside! Congrads to everyone at BOB!
I would love to Re-post this on AHA MEDIA
Thanks very much!
April
tobybarazzuol said,
October 27, 2009 at 12:25 am
This is a great project and it’s so exciting to see it come to life in Strathcona! It’s a real testament to a community working together to accomplish something amazing. From the research and groundwork of Muskie and Brian at BOB, to the leadership of Seann at United We Can, to everyone else involved with ideas, energy and experience.
A project like this can only happen when diverse groups come together in collaboration. This is the kind of positive creative model that we need to develop in order to build the resilient communities of tomorrow.
Well done guys! I look forward to working with you this weekend at the garden raising and into the future to develop revenue ideas and support for this new urban farm.
David said,
October 27, 2009 at 7:55 pm
I love how this garden creates opportunity for employment
muskie said,
October 27, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Employment is the focus of this garden, employment and training. We will also grow healthy food which our partner Potluck will use in their business and food distribution efforts. Urban Agriculture was identified by our Green Inner-city Cluster as their number one priority so we hope this is the first of several projects we do.
We still need a lot of support, especially post Saturday. Apparently we’re more well known than we were two weeks ago, but some of the folks involved like Hendrik of VEEES and BOB’s board have been working in training and employment for decades, down here in the DTES.
tobybarazzuol said,
October 28, 2009 at 12:38 am
It’s true…BOB is uniquely positioned to connect inner city economic revitalization with job training and sustainability to develop a new wave of green jobs.
Projects like this are a great example of how important it is to have a connector and catalyst like BOB operating in the DTES, especially as we try to develop the new economy of social enterprises and green jobs.
For more images of green roofs and other urban agriculture projects in Strathcona, visit http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=88680&id=78396697143
uberVU - social comments said,
October 31, 2009 at 12:43 am
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vipsanius said,
December 3, 2009 at 12:08 am
Look, you do realise that this is a $132,000 tax scam by a bunch of slum landlords don’t you? Read the news, guys. While the city is loosing this money it is shutting down ecological treasures like the Bloedel Conservatory. And think about it, there is a huge rat warren under the sidewalk next to your “farm”. You are providing them with ideal winter homes!
I’m sure you mean well, but you know a fraction of that $132,000 dollars would buy a hell of a lot of quality produce from real farmers. Take a look at other projects in this area and contrast the reality with the fine words in your vision statement.
Sorry folks. You are deluding yourself, diverting funds that could be much better used and in the process helping some very undeserving people.