F R I DAY, A P R I L 2 4 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER
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Rosalind Sadowski, Fresh Roots’ community coordinator (foreground), and Grade 12 students Jessica Fang and Joseph Nan, at David Thompson secondary school. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET
Volunteers help the garden grow
Deanna Cheng
Dmwcheng7@gmail.com
For the volunteers who came out April 12 to prepare the garden beds at David Thompson secondary school, it was about supporting environmental causes in any way they could. Volunteer Barbara Bradbury said there’s a huge need for individuals to help out. “The Vancouver Park Board doesn’t have enough money,” she said. “They can’t hire enough people to do it and it’s labour intensive.” Bradbury said she’s always been gardening. Growing up on a farm in Mill Bay, she has witnessed changes in the climate and ecosystem and believes the Earth needs as much support as it can get. “The natural environment is declining from all the [industrial, commercial and residential] development,” she said. The David Thompson garden beds are a two-year-old initiative between Fresh Roots and
the Vancouver School Board in a push for fresher produce in the cafeteria and food literacy skills in the students. Beside the gardens are an outdoor classroom with logs positioned around a chalkboard like an amphitheatre and a group of green picnic tables underneath shady trees. Lower Mainland Green Team organizer Lyda Salatian said her organization wants to help the public and empower volunteers. “People want to help the environment but don’t know what to do or don’t see the opportunities. I want to change that,” she said. “We want to put it back into their hands and make an impact instead letting them feel they can’t do anything.” Salatian sees her group as a gateway to opportunities for Vancouverites and counts it a success if people create or join established environmental groups within their own neighbourhoods. Consistency is important, she said. Seven able-bodied helpers
were digging into the earth and removing clumps of grass from the beds so they didn’t compete for nutrients in the soil April 8. The day was cloudy, and the threat of rain might have kept others from attending. Fresh Roots community coordinator Rosalind Sadowski said kids engage in weekly garden clubs and are empowered to eat better in their daily lives because they know where their food comes from. “It takes a community to feed a community,” she said. “It’s not just a corporation.” Sadowski said the gardens also changed the face of the school by animating the space. She said gardens didn’t thrive before because of a variety of reasons. Teachers who were in charge would move to a different school, some were intimidated by their lack of knowledge, and sometimes no one was available to care for the gardens during the summer. “It takes a lot of dedicated work.”
Fresh Roots and the Lower Mainland Green Team stepped in to help out. At the moment, Fresh Roots has gardens at Vancouver Technical secondary and David Thompson. Neil Xing Chan, the youngest helper of the day, would like to see a garden at his school, Eric Hamber secondary. “It’s somewhat hard work but it’s manageable,” he said. It was the 15-year-old’s first time volunteering with the Green Team, an opportunity his mother suggested to him while he was looking for volunteer hours to fulfill his high school graduation requirement. He plans to continue volunteering because he feels he’s making a contribution to the community and is learning from Sadowski. Bradbury said the younger generations are not working outside enough. “They don’t know what’s a weed, what’s not. They don’t recognize invasive species.” twitter.com/writerly_dee
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Midwestern town where he strives to break the townsfolk of their conservatism by shaking things up with the help of rock music and dancing. All while avoiding the pressure of the town’s minister Shaw Moore. The show will run from May 6–9 at 7:30 p.m. with matinees from May 6–7 at 12 p.m. and will be presented at Notre Dame Regional Secondary School, 2880 Venables St. Tickets are $15 with special prices for seniors and students.
Event Guide APRIL-MAY 2015 Grandview Woodland
Get your dancing shoes on, grab your tickets and “cut loose” to Notre Dame Regional Secondary School’s musical version of the ’80s movie Footloose. Staying true to the movie’s storyline, the play follows Chicago-based Ren McCormack’s move to a small
Burnaby
Registration is open for Vancouver women interested in joining this women-only charity obstacle adventure race. Woman2Warrior is back for its third year where women from across the city can join the five-kilometre race and tackle more than a dozen obstacles to test strength, power, agility and determination. The event is a fundraiser to send 800 children and young adults with disabilities throughout B.C. to one of three Easter Seals B.C. Camps located in the province. The race is May 24 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Burnaby Central Park’s Swangard Stadium, 3883 Imperial
Notre Dame Regional secondary school’s production of Footloose runs May 6 to 9. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET
St. Registration is $35. For more information, visit woman2warrior.ca.
Chinatown
Those who have recently moved to Canada and are interested in building their resume and interview skills with plans to pursue a career in IT or business can join a mentorship program presented by SUCCESS in partnership with Acenture. SUCCESS is a non-profit group that aims to support new Canadians in overcoming barriers at all different stages of the immigration process. Participants should have intermediate to advanced English levels and have lived in Canada for less than five years. The Career Start Program will be held Saturdays on April 25, May 2 and May 9 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 28 West Pender St. If interested, email your resume to careerstart@success.bc.ca or call Dyingying Tang at 604-558-4909 ext. 127.
Hastings Sunrise
Anyone wishing to celebrate their mothers with a unique gift this Mother’s Day can do so by attending Got Craft? Vancouver’s 17th annual largest indie craft fair show. The fair is returning to East Village where the first 50 people through the door each day can walk away with a bag of goodies from vendors and sponsors. Craft lovers can enjoy checking out vendors’ art such as Salt Spring Island Co.’s vintage-inspired soy wax candles and popular workshops like hand lettering with sign painter John Lennig of Big Top Sign Arts. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 2 and 3 at Maritime Labour Centre, 1880 Triumph St. Tickets are $3 at the door and free for children 10 and under.
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Summer Camp Fun for Everyone!
RAINCITY GRILL Rain, a walk and a hockey helmet on a parking meter mark a slice of life on Columbia near Powell. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET
Weekly themed camps run all summer long. Register today! Thanks to our partners:
6501 Deer Lake Ave | 604-297-4565 | burnabyvillagemuseum.ca
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