villagevibeNews and views from the heart of Fernwood

April 2014

Relay For Life in FernwoodCanadian Cancer

Society gears

up to celebrate

Relay For Life on

June 7

in this issueGuest Editorial

Solar Fernwood? page 2

Feature

Food saved feeds thousands page 4

Mark Your Calendar

Rainy Days Open House page 7

To get the Vibe digitally, sign up at fernwoodnrg.ca

›› Denise Smith

The Canadian Cancer Society is kicking off preparations to host its second annual Relay For Life

event in Fernwood. Last year, 28 teams and 190 participants raised $36,133! Th is year’s Relay For Life will take place on Saturday June 7th, 2014 from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. at Vic High School.

“Relay is a fun, inspiring and uplifting opportunity to celebrate the lives of those who have survived their cancer battle, to remember those who lost the battle, and to fi ght back to eradicate cancer once and for all,” says Denise Smith, Community Giving Coordinator, Canadian Cancer Society, Vancouver Island.

Th is year’s event is fi lled with incredible music like the Vic High Rhythm and Blues Band and a variety of fun activities for people of all ages. Th ere will be great food, inspiring speakers, dancing and a variety of activities and games. At 9:30 p.m., we will have the luminary ceremony lighting up the sky to honor those who have or are battling cancer. Everyone is welcome! We are so excited to have the involvement of the Fernwood community.

What is Relay For Life?

Relay For Life is an inspirational, non-competitive, 12-hour fundraising event that brings you and your community together to celebrate life and fi ght cancer. Relay has a festival-like atmosphere that your family, friends and co-workers can enjoy regardless of age or fi tness level!

Teams of 10-15 people fundraise individually and as a team to help the Canadian Cancer Society save lives and support those who are facing cancer. Relay

participants make a commitment to raise at least $100 and are supported with the tools to reach their goals.

At Relay, teams gather with cancer survivors at their local track, stadium or sports fi eld and take turns walking laps. Each team keeps at least one member on the track at all times, while all around them the party is in full swing. Teams stay all day in the decorated tent city, united to enjoy music, food, activities and entertainment and to celebrate life. To register a

team, email victoriafernwoodrelay@bc.cancer. ca.

Why We Relay?

The Avengers are a team of super heros appearing at various Relay for Life fundraising events all over Vancouver Island. Each individual has his or her own reasons for relaying. Katie Asplin relays for her sister, “She is the strongest person I know, someone who has bravely battled this horrible disease and keeps fighting

every day. Her courage and bravery inspires me every day.”

Dollars raised by Relay For Life help fund ground-breaking research, leading cancer prevention initiatives and vital cancer support services in our commu-nity.

The Canadian Cancer Society fights cancer by doing everything we can to prevent cancer, save lives and support people living with cancer. For more information, visit cancer.ca.

Relay For Life is back for its second year at the Vic High fi eld in Fernwood. Their goal is to raise $40,000. Photo courtesy of Canadian Cancer Society

Relay is a fun, inspiring and uplifting opportunity to celebrate

the lives of those who have survived their cancer battle, to

remember those who lost the battle, and to fight back to

eradicate cancer once and for all

page 2 villagevibe April 2014 News and views from the heart of Fernwood

You know what they

say about Victoria…

if you don’t like the

weather wait fi ve

minutes

›› Chris Ward

Th e weather can infl uence so many aspects of our day-to-day lives, from how we dress, to the way we plan our recreational activities, our state of mind and even household fi nances.

There certainly isn’t any shortage of weather related information available via the Internet or other electronic media. However these reported conditions are typ-ically compiled from hourly observations made at meteorological stations located at airports, harbours or light houses some considerable distance away and as such may not accurately refl ect the actual conditions outside your front door.

At one time or another most of us have probably wondered exactly how hot (or cold as the case may be) is it? How hard is it raining or, should I be worried about the wind chill?

Wonder no more because Fernwood now has it’s very own and very local

neighbourhood meteorological station located on the roof above the Cornerstone Building. The station continuously monitors weather and atmospheric conditions like barometric pressure, temperature, wind speed and direction, rain rate, humidity and wind chill factor. Th e measurements are transmitted to a data logger at the remote base station in Victoria VeloTech, processed and then uploaded to the Fernwood NRG website. Th e data

is updated every minute so the observed conditions are virtually in real time. With a little research and some practice, you can even make your own weather predictions using the available data.

You can check out the Fernwood weather feed at fernwoodnrg.ca/weather.

We are now taking applications for a neighbourhood weather person. Looking for experience in weather reports and forecasting the weather. Must have own suit.

›› Ruben Anderson

The Capital Regional District wants to give you several thousand dollars in a new incentive program for installing a solar hot water system. Building on the success of the Solar Colwood pilot project (which is also being extended), incentives are now available across the Capital Region.

Th e solar collectors on Fernwood NRG’s Park Place apartments (1222 Yukon) have been pumping out hot water and lower-ing utility bills since 2008. Th e Corner-stone building was plumbed and wired for solar during its renovations in 2006, and Fernwood NRG is in the process of

obtaining estimates to take advantage of these grants to install solar collectors on the roof of the building. With a hair salon, café, restaurant, and residential suites, this will mean a big reduction in the amount of natural gas used in the building.

British Columbia, and especially sunny Victoria, gets a lot of energy from the sun, even though it may not feel like that when you are turning into a prune in the February rain. But that is only February, most of the year solar is a money maker—the new solar systems are even productive on cloudy days. In fact, Germany has installed about a third of all the solar collectors in the world—which generate

7% of their energy—despite getting less sunshine than B.C.

Th e CRD incentive is a real opportunity to make our neighbourhood more self- reliant. If Fernwoodians are interested, Fernwood NRG wi l l organize an information session later in the spring with a professional solar system designer and installer. Drop a note to solar@ fernwoodnrg.ca and let us know if you would be interested in learning more.

You can read up on the solar hot water program, and the list of Frequently Asked Questions at Solar Colwood’s webpag: http://www.solarcolwood.ca/solar-hot-water.php.

declarationof principles

& values

villagevibePublished by Fernwood

Neighbourhood Resource Group

›› We are committed to creating

a socially, environmentally,

and economically sustainable

neighbourhood;

›› We are committed to ensuring

neighbourhood control or

ownership of neighbourhood

institutions and assets;

›› We are committed to using

our resources prudently

and to becoming fi nancially

self-reliant;

›› We are committed to the creation

and support of neighbourhood

employment;

›› We are committed to engaging the

dreams, resources,

and talents of our neighbours and

to fostering new links between them;

›› We are committed to taking action

in response to neighbourhood issues,

ideas, and initiatives;

›› We are committed to governing

our organization and serving our

neighbourhood democratically

with a maximum of openness,

inclusivity and kindness;

›› We are committed to developing the

skills, capacity, self-worth,

and excellence of our neighbours

and ourselves;

›› We are committed to focusing

on the future while preserving our

neighbourhood’s heritage and

diversity;

›› We are committed to creating

neighbourhood places that are

vibrant, beautiful, healthy, and

alive;

›› and, most of all,

We are committed to having fun!

Editorial Committee

Lee Herrin Matt Takach

Mila Czemerys David Segal

Founding Editor Lisa Helps

Contributors

Denise Smith Ruben Anderson

Chris Ward Kate Wallace

Tom Berkhout David Segal

Margaret Hantiuk Josh Wagler

Javan Bernakevitch Jeremy Caradonna

Marika Smith

Art

Canadian Cancer Society

Alexandra Stephanson Axel

Mila Czemerys Grant Baldwin

Production Mila Czemerys

Contact us

1310 Gladstone Avenue

Victoria, BC V8R 1S1

T 778.410.2497 F 250.381.1509

vibe@fernwoodnrg.ca

www.villagevibe.ca

To enquire about advertising in the Village

Vibe, please contact ads@fernwoodnrg.ca

The views expressed in the Village Vibe

do not necessarily refl ect the views of

Fernwood NRG.

guest editorial:

Solar Fernwood?

buzz:

Th e Weather Report

Fernwood’s weather station can be spotted atop the Cornerstone Building. It provides by the minute

readings of the weather straight from the heart of Fernwood. Photo: Mila Czemerys

www.fernwoodnrg.ca April 2014 villagevibe page 3

Leslie Lee named one

of Canada’s top public

school principals

›› Kate Wallace

Being a school principal is a 24/7 job, one where balancing the duties and responsibilities of the position with the needs of students, parents and educators far outweighs the rewards. Which is why we are especially proud to announce that Leslie Lee, principal of George Jay Elementary School, has been selected as one the top 40 school principals in Canada.

Not only is Lee one of only six British Columbia school principals named in Canada’s Outstanding Principals awards, she is also the only Vancouver

Island principal honoured in this annual recognition by Th e Learning Partnership, a national charitable organization dedi-cated to supporting excellence in public education.

“Leslie’s vision for the school inspires us all to work hard for our student body,” says Kate Wallace, president of the George Jay Parent Advisory Council. “Her respect for family and community has had a profound effect on student grades and created a willingness to push and learn more. Our school philosophy is ‘ Learning to Care, Caring to Learn’ and Leslie takes that seriously. She is a true trailblazer and we are all better for following her lead.”

George Jay was high on the provincial vulnerability index when Lee took charge in 2009, facing such challenges as a 35% transient rate and a student body of 45%

English Language Learners. But Lee quickly established a safe, caring and inviting learning space by creating community partnerships that ensured students were healthy and well-fed at school, by initiating positive behaviour support programs, and by engaging a youth and family counselor to support at-risk students. The results were impressive—behavioural incidents decreased from 900 per year to 100, and Lee’s school-wide focus on improving writing, math skills and problem-solving increased the number of students meeting provincial grade level expectations from 66% in 2010 to 92% in 2012. As The Learning Partnership notes, “Leslie’s talent for leveraging strategic partnerships has transformed her school into an oasis of inspiration and forward-thinking for her students.” Lee has also pioneered

effective use of enabling technologies at George Jay, with it now being the leading wireless school in SD61. George Jay has also become involved in such empowering activities as the urban- agriculture focused Growing Schools Program, received a remarkable three awards from the 2013 Victoria Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils and recently announced the inclusion of a French Immersion program beginning in September 2014.

Under Lee’s inspiring leadership, George Jay has become an inclusive school focused on the whole child, a place where children and their families can connect to a world of learning and caring. It is a place where our students have an opportunity to learn and develop empathy and understanding in a school community as diverse as our society itself.

Cycling is far more than

a way to get from Point

A to Point B

›› Tom Berkhout

In addition to its many health, economic, community and environmental benefits, the experience of riding a bike can be one of true joy as your body relaxes while you feel, hear, see and smell the world around you.

For anyone who has ever had the good fortune to visit bike friendly cities such as Groningen or Copenhagen, you know that these experiences of joy can and do exist in modern urban places. What these cities do so well is build extensive cycling networks that are safe, accessible and easy to follow for everyone.

In Victoria, the City recently adopted a long-term goal for 25% of all trips within the city to be made by bicycle by 2038. To put this fi gure into context, it is not far from the current level of ridership in places such as Groningen and Copenhagen. However, we have a long way to go before we get

there as bicycles currently account for only 4% of all trips made within Victoria.

With this goal in mind, the City is updating its Cycling Master Plan this spring for the fi rst time in almost 20-years. Getting this plan implemented, though, will require ongoing public and political engagement for years to come. Here are 5 ways you can help:1. Write or phone City Council to

encourage them to develop a Plan that will make cycling safe and accessible for everyone.

2. Visit bikevictoria.ca and sign the petition for safe and accessible cycling.

3. Participate in the upcoming public engagement for the Cycling Master Plan. Tell the City the kind of system it needs to build in order to make cycling safe and accessible for you and your neighbours.

4. Organize with neighbours to make your street safer and more accessible for cyclists of all ages and abilities.

5. Join the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition and help it keep cycling high on the City’s agenda.

The Local General Store1440 Haultain Street (Haultain Corners) | 778-265-6225

9:30am – 6:00pm Monday to Saturday

Organic produce + groceriesSustainable household and gardening supplies Locally-sourced and fair trade cards and gifts

AN OLD-WORLD, 21ST CENTURY GENERAL STORE!

thelocalgeneralstore.ca

buzz:

Cycling Master Plan

Now is the time to share your dreams and ideas for the future of cycling in our capital city. Photo:

Mila Czemerys

george jay:

George Jay principal in top 40 in Canada

page 4 villagevibe April 2014 News and views from the heart of Fernwood

feature:

Local company saves food from landfi ll; Cold Star Freight

Systems Inc. is

transforming food

destined for the landfi ll

into opportunities for

people in need to

access healthy snacks

and meals

›› David Segal

Jennifer Hawes, co-owner of Cold Star, has seized an opportunity to divert healthy, high quality food from being

dumped in the landfi ll and instead have it donated to the kitchens of neighbourhood houses to support their programs. Since 2004, the Community Food Project has been working to reclaim, store and deliver a monthly shipment of fresh produce and high protein foods (such as cheese, dairy and meats) to the Coalition of Neighbourhood Houses.

The Coalition is a group of non-profit community-based organizations, including Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group (Fernwood NRG), that is committed to healthy children, youth, families and individuals. Th eir geographical range of service includes Sooke, Saanich, West Shore, Victoria and Esquimalt. Neighbourhood Houses use these food donations to help create healthy meals and snacks for children, low or no-income parents and families, youth and senior citizens; collectively serving more than 8500 people each month.

We are not talking about food marginally fi t for consumption. Quite to the contrary, the donations are high quality, restaurant grade food, that for a few unfortunate reasons, including over shipment, mislabel-ing, or damaged packaging are destined to the landfi ll were it not for Cold Star’s gen-erosity and initiative. Hawes explains that since the beginning, she’s personally been inspecting all the donated food, ensuring the food meets her own personal standards of freshness and quality, and if the monthly donation requires additional top ups, this bill is paid courtesy of Cold Star.

Perfectly good food dumped in the landfi ll is a pervasive problem not isolated to Southern Vancouver Island. According to Statistics Canada, about 40 per cent of

all the food produced in Canada goes to waste, amounting to almost $27 billion a year. According to a report on food waste in Canada, this amount is greater than the total food purchased by Canadians in restaurants in 2009. The David Suzuki Foundation explains that when we “toss food, all the resources to grow, ship and produce it get chucked, too, including massive volumes of water. In the US alone, the amount of water loss from food waste is like leaving the tap running and pouring 40 trillion liters of water down the drain.” Another staggering fact is the contribution to greenhouse gases caused by rotting food. When food doesn’t make it to our tables and is instead sent to the landfi ll, it contributes to the production of methane gas, an emission that traps more

heat in our atmosphere than carbon dioxide.According to Danielle Stevenson, hired

by the Coalition to make recommendations on how to enhance the community specifi c and collective impact of their Food Security initiatives, Neighborhood Houses are not-ing a dramatic rise in guest attendance at meals and drop-in programs, and program participants telling agency staff they do not have enough money for food and are stressed by the lack of time, equipment, and/or skills to cook healthy food on a limited budget. Th us community need is twofold: For hot meals, snacks and emergency foods, and for support in accessing and cooking healthy foods on a limited budget.

Clearly, reclaiming and diverting food from the landfi ll is of critical importance for social, environmental and economic rea-sons. At a time when neighbourhood houses are seeing increasing need and shrinking budgets why is the Community Food Proj-ect a celebrated anomaly as opposed to an expected norm? Hawes explains that the biggest barrier to donating food is the liabil-ity risk in our highly litigious society. For most companies, the fear of being sued out-weighs the abundant benefi ts of donating their ‘waste’ food. Further, the steps needed to mitigate these risks take time, money, and commitment, and that appears to be asking too much for most organizations.

Fernwood NRG’s youth drop-in coordinator Sarah Alpert (above) is at the Fernwood Community

Centre every Monday evening helping out with the Fernwood Family Dinner. Photo: Mila Czemerys

About 40% of all

the food produced

in Canada goes to

waste, amounting

to almost $27

billion a year

www.fernwoodnrg.ca April 2014 villagevibe page 5

feeds thousands

Hawes is no stranger to the importance of food security in creating a healthy com-munity. Having spent ten years as the Family Centre Coordinator at Saanich Neighbourhood Place, she knows very well the strain a family can face during lean times. Subsequently, programming that provides healthy snacks and full meals, in addition to emergency food bank style services, has the ability to radically alter the reality of a family in need. Following the creation of her own food hauling business, it was an easy decision to seize the opportunity to be of service to the wider community. The total donations of 50-60 thousand snacks and 30-50 thousand full meals ( carbohydrate, pro-tein and starch) is estimated to be worth a staggering $97,000 per year. Th is includes the in-kind contribution of storage and delivery on top of the value of food dona-tions and top ups.

Fernwood NRG’s programs certainly owe a lot to the Community Food Project. According to Lee Herrin, Executive Director, the Cold Star food donation almost doubles their food budget. Since June 2013, their newly created Monday evening Fernwood Family Dinner has served 1593 people healthy meals. In total, Fernwood NRG produces about 900 snacks and meals per week, using a mix of purchased and donated food. According to their chef, Judy Swanston, “Having this donation stretches the food dollars so we can support more people and families.”

Th e Community Food Project and its collaborative food recovery model makes sense in what is otherwise a nonsensical commercial food system where perfectly good food is shipped to the landfi ll. Cold Star is certainly setting an example of how thoughtful actions can make a profound diff erence for the better.

1358 GLADSTONE AVE / 250 590 6612 / SOMAVICTORIA.CA

PRIVATE PILATES ACUPUNCTURE

ONLINE BOOKING AVAILABLE!

PHYSIOTHERAPY MASSAGE THERAPY

Having this donation stretches the food

dollars so we can support more people

and families - Judy Swanston, Fernwood NRG Chef

Donations from Cold Star’s Community Food Project fi ll the shelves at the Fernwood Community

Centre and 6 other neighbourhood houses in Southern Vancouver Island. Photo: Mila Czemerys

page 6 villagevibe April 2014 News and views from the heart of Fernwood

Carole James, MLAVICTORIA–BEACON HILL

Honoured to serve you in our community1084 Fort Street Victoria, BC V8V 3K4250-952-4211Carole.James.MLA@leg.bc.cawww.CaroleJamesMLA.ca

›› Javan Bernakevitch

Food forestry is the art and science of modelling natural forests, to create beautiful regenerative landscapes producing food, fuel, fi bre and medicine.

Richard Walker—Canadian food for-ester with 26 years experience—returns to Victoria. On April 18, join us for ‘An Evening with Food Forester Richard Walker: Gardening for 1000 Years’ and discover how food forestry can transform our communities, our health and the future of our planet. Tickets are $15 at the door.

Th en on April 19 and 20, we’ll be host-ing ‘Richard Walker’s Food Forestry - Level 1’. Th is is an exclusive weekend workshop on food forestry, practical herbalism and how to make a living off of both—perma-culture that pays.

Richard Walker is back on May 23 to 25 for his fi rst level 2 workshop ‘Medicine from the Food Forest’. He describes it as “6 months of herbalism compressed into 2 days and an evening.” Learn the mistakes and successes from someone who has not only grown food forests; but used them to heal and help his family, community and clients. Limited spaces available in both workshops; sign up at permaculturebc.com.

mark your calendar:

Richard Walker

commons corner:

Honourable harvesting guidelines ›› Josh Wagler

Th is is an exciting time of year at Spring Ridge Commons… Spring has arrived! As the days lengthen and we begin to harvest nature’s abundance, it is worthwhile to take note of Honourable Harvesting.

Guidelines:

1. Do you need it? Harvest with a purpose or plan in mind, not just for the fun of it.

2. Harvest only as much as you will use and process it as soon as possible. Don’t waste it.

3. One in 20 rule: It’s ok to harvest a

plant if there are 20 others available to maintain the population.

4. Leave Grandmother: Allow the big-gest and best plants to remain so they can continue to propagate the healthiest population.

5. Leave damaged plants or plants with “residents.” Select quality material for your food and medicine. If a critter makes its home there choose another. Harvest a third or less of an individual plant so it can continue to thrive.

6. Harvest with a clean cut so the plant will heal well and continue to thrive.

7. Avoid polluted areas.8. Off er appreciation and bring positive

energy to your harvest.9. Never put anything in your mouth

unless you are 100 percent sure it is safe to ingest.

Miner’s lettuce, chickweed, clover, cat’s ear, cleavers, cress, dandelion, mint, milk thistle, and red deadnettle are plentiful in this earlier part of spring.

‘Bee in the Garden’ is every Sunday from1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Spring Ridge Commons. All are invited to be in nature, join the conversation, enjoy tea, play an instrument, create art, volunteer in the garden and gather food! For more info about Spring Ridge and how to help, send an email to springridgecommons@gmail.com.

Plant of the Month:

Stinging Nettle, Urtica doicaHere on the west coast we have been

blessed with one of nature’s most cleans-ing greens. Be careful harvesting these nutritious, mineral-rich treats; it’s best to harvest with gloves. Th e underside of the leaves off er a painful sting. Th e leaves have been used as a spring tonic in tea for thousands of years, and they also make a nourishing soup or pesto.

garden gleanings:

Adapting to a changing climate›› Margaret Hantiuk

Adaptation means being flexible and strategically implementing new ways to cope with conditions that are beyond our control. Climate change doesn’t just mean a warming climate; it means more and longer durations of weather extremes: hot sun and more drought, more wind and storms and torrential rains. Here, the erratic jetstream may mean more arctic outflow weather coming up over the Rockies when the polar vortex plunges south. What can we do as gardeners?

For cold and winter crops:

• Look for plant and seed species, varieties/cultivars that are tough.

• Be prepared to protect. Snow is protective—severe weather without it is worse and freezing winds add to cold as wind chill.

• Keep an eye on the tempuratures and the forecasts. When severe cold—below -5°C—or freezing winds are predicted, throw blankets, newspaper, plastic tarps or conifer boughs over winter crops or tender plants.

• Try space blankets as a cover (found at

Canadian Tire) in severe weather.• Grow a variety of crops and test diff er-

ent varieties of each.• When purchasing seeds or plants, pay

attention to bloom times and matura-tion dates to ensure they match our locale.

• Build cold frames—you can use scrap lumber and old windows—to extend growing season.

• Use cloches over delicate plants in early spring or late fall. Th ey can be purchased or made using remay tents, plastic milk jugs with bottoms cut out, etc.

• Buy or build a greenhouse. Th ey are easily built along the south side of a house with plastic and scrap lumber.

• Find warm spots in your yard for early and for winter crops. Look along the south or west side of a house, garage or shed, near edge of south decks, etc.

• Keep records and weather logs to learn about your micro-climate.

• Start with the easy crops—i.e. broccoli is easier to grow than caulifl ower.

• Christmas lights draped around shrubs and over covered crops can help.

• Jugs of water in greenhouses and cold frames slows air freezing.

For summer heat and drought:

• Use grey water from your house— kitchen sink, bath (change to softer soaps).

• Water storage is key in our locale. Collect rainwater off of your roofs. Rain Barrels can be purchased.

• Mulch heavily around plants—at least 2 to 3”. Don’t cover crowns and leave breathing space around stems and trunks.

• In hot weather, when seeding for winter crops, cover with a few layers of newspaper, cardboard, remay, plastic trays, netting, etc. to keep moist, cool.

• Improve the drainage of your soil; compost helps. Build raised beds for plants needing good drainage and/or better soil.

• Dig swales or a pond to collect rainwa-ter to use for irrigation later.

• Drain tiles can be dug in to move water away in low spots.

• Use low-fl ow and drip irrigation sys-tems for water effi ciently.

• Sprinklers and some irrigation systems can be gravity fed from rain barrels.

• Choose drought tolerant seed varieties that don’t bolt in heat.

www.fernwoodnrg.ca April 2014 villagevibe page 7

MARGARET HANTIUKGARDEN SERVICESUSTAINABLE GARDENING

Pruning. Bedwork. Designs. Consults.Senior-friendly

Email: mmhantiuk@shaw.caPhone: 250.595.1684Cell: 250.882.1929

›› Jeremy Caradonna

Fernwood is a state of mind. This is a neighbourhood for people who believe in sustainable living and self-reliance. It’s a place full of “neo-locals”—folks who care about local organic food, a low-consump-tion lifestyle, and artistic creativity. So when my wife and I bought a house in Fernwood last year, we got into the spirit and decided to go full homesteading. First we sold our gas-powered car and bought a diesel so that we could run it on biodiesel. We joined the local biodiesel co-op, set up a barrel for deliveries, and started running our car on the fuel. Th en we got chickens. We built a coop with our renters, bought all the gear, and tracked down six hens. It was, and is, our fi rst time taking care of farm animals. And gardening, of course! We had big plans for the garden. When we bought the house, it had a cedrus deodara in the front yard that had been viciously topped. After some ado, we decided to cut it down and sheet-mulch the whole front yard, with its south-facing exposure. Over the past few years I’ve immersed myself in permaculture gardening techniques, but hitherto all my knowledge had been more textbookish than practical.

As you might imagine, things haven’t always gone according to plan. Th e bio-

diesel barrel sprang some leaks and remains fi nicky. Th ree days after taking the hens home, the one at the bottom of the pecking order—aff ectionately known as hen #6—unceremoniously gave up the ghost, due to the stress of moving to a new location. And my permaculture experience, while rewarding and enlightening, hasn’t been without its challenges. For instance, I accidentally put hay on the top of my sheet-mulch. But then I realized it was full of grass seed and ripped it out. So then I replaced it with straw, which turned out to be equally stuff ed with grass seeds. “Didn’t your garden used to have straw on it,” a passerby asked me the other day. “It’s a long story,” I replied.

One rainy day, when I was feeling frustrated with the garden—What’s my soil’s PH? Is this sandy loam or loamy sand? Why is my kale so pathetic?—the sun suddenly broke and I was visited by Geoff Johnson, the local patron saint / wizard / guru of permaculture and an area resident of near legendary status. He brought me back down to earth with his simple wisdom. “It’s a process,” he said, “and your sheet-mulch looks really great.” “It does?,” I said. “I’ve sort of been agoniz-ing over it.”

Homesteading and all that. It’s a process.

Saturday, April 12

10am - 3pm

Compost Ed. Centre,

1216 North Park St

›› Marika Smith

If the rainy days of early spring are getting you down, try thinking about rainwater as your friend and ally in the garden!

In Victoria, we receive an average of 2 feet of rainfall each year. Most of the rain that hits our properties and streets is fl ushed away through a complex stormwater collection infrastructure and pours into harbours, lakes and river systems, often taking harmful pollutants and heavy metals with it. By collecting and storing rainwater in your property, you can help prevent these pollutants from entering our waterways and treat rainwater as the precious resource it is.

Rainwater collected from a rooftop can be a high quality water source, as it contains none of the chlorine found in centralized water supplies and is the perfect temperature for plants, which makes it ideal for use in the garden. Stored rainwater provides an ideal source of readily

available water, particularly during long dry summers or in locations facing declining groundwater levels.

Rain gardens, permeable paving, green roofs, rain barrels, cisterns and infi ltration chambers are all examples of rainwater management methods. Th ey can create and enhance natural, beautiful landscapes and public spaces.

Join us in our fabulous demonstration gardens to learn more about rainwater harvesting systems and practices in your community. In partnership with the CRD, we’ll be bringing together community and municipal groups involved in rainwater management, as well as hosting two free one hour workshops about stormwater education, rainwater harvesting, and choos-ing the right systems. You will be entered to win a free rain barrel too! Register for one of our free rainwater harvesting workshops at composteducation.eventbrite.ca.

buzz:

Homesteading and All Th at

Jeremy Caradonna (above), local sustainability enthusiast, has been giving homesteading a try over

the past year. Here’s his experience... Photo: Alexandra Stephanson

mark your calendar:

Rainy Days

In Victoria, we

receive an

average of 2 feet

of rainfall each

year

Scene in Fernwood : Gardeners