August 2016 Village Vibe

August 2016

villagevibe News and views from the heart of Fernwood

It’s Pole Painting time!

Let your creativity shine on a telephone pole on Saturday, September 10th

›› Mila Czemerys

T

his September, Fernwood NRG will be hosting its sixth Pole Painting Project. Everyone is welcome to take part, no matter what age or experience level.

Painted telephone poles have become part of the identity of Fernwood. It’s hard to remember how the neighbourhood looked before our telephone poles were painted with artwork. Fortunately, we took some photos before the first event (check out the photos to the right).

Today, Fernwood is decorated with sunflowers, skyscapes, portraits, giraffes, salmon, mermaids, abstract compositions, musical notes, dragons, hearts, spaceships, and more. These coats of paint document a small slice of the personality and imagination of folks that have lived in this place over the past half-decade.

This project has intrigued many from outside the neighbourhood: from photos of painted poles in the New York Times, to a group of organizers visiting from Springfield, Missouri to paint a pole in Fernwood, to a project in Opelika, Alabama (See June 2016 Village Vibe for an article about pole painting in Opelika).

Who could have known that a few coats of paint could inspire neighbourhoods across the continent?

If you would like to participate in this exciting project this year, here is how…

1. Create your design. Draw out your ideas. We also have a How-to video available on our website.

2. Pick-up a free Pole Painting Kit. These will be available on Thursday, August 25th at the Fernwood Night Market in Fernwood Square between 4pm and 8pm. They will also be available outside the Fernwood Community Centre (1240 Gladstone Avenue) on Wednesday, September 7th

Which do you prefer? Bottom: Photos of telephone poles along Fernwood Road in 2011, a month before the first Pole Painting Project. Top: The same poles after being painted by local artists. Photos: Mila Czemerys

& Thursday, September 8th between noon and 9pm.

3. Find the pole you’d like to paint.

Drop the letter we provide in the kit to the neighbours, making sure they would like the pole painted.

4. Prime the pole. We recommend priming your pole with the base colour on Friday, September 9th. This will allow time for the pole to dry before you paint your design.

5. Paint! You are invited to paint your

telephone pole on Saturday, September 10th. Did you know all the paint used in this project has been salvaged from Hartland Landfill?

6. Clean up. Make sure you clean up all your supplies and keep or dispose of them responsibly. Post your wet paint sign on your finished pole.

7. Admire your work and show your friends.

Fernwood NRG would love to see photos of your work! Send photos to

info@ fernwoodnrg.ca and tag images

with #polepaintingproject. Thanks to everyone who takes part of this neighbourhood-based, volunteer-powered project. To learn more about this project, for tips on design, guidelines and inspiration, visit fernwoodnrg.ca/event-directory/ fernwood-pole-painting-project.

If you would prefer a pole to be left blank, you can email us at info@fernwoodnrg.ca and we will send you a sign to post which askes to “Please leave this pole blank”.

in this issue Mark Your Calendar

Feature

Common Corner

Thursday Night Markets in Fernwood Square page 3

Community Weave page 4

Increasing food production in food forests page 7

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

editorial:

villagevibe

With deepest gratitude

Published by Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group Editorial Committee

Lee Herrin Andrew Kerr

Matt Takach Mila Czemerys Founding Editor Lisa Helps

project at 1310

Contributors

Mila Czemerys Lee Herrin Laurie Rubin Mark Dusseault Arielle Moore Jillian Player Ben Clark Margaret Hantiuk Stephanie Enevoldsen Art

Mila Czemerys Emma Skye Axel Beth Threlfall Jillian Player Trevor Bennett Tony Sprackett Megan Spedding Stephanie Enevoldsen Contact us

1310 Gladstone Avenue Victoria, BC V8R 1S1 T 250.381.1552 F 250.381.1509 info@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 reflect the views of Fernwood NRG.

declaration of principles & values ››

We are committed to creating a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable neighbourhood;

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We are committed to ensuring neighbourhood control or ownership of neighbourhood institutions and assets;

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We are committed to using our resources prudently and to becoming financially self-reliant;

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We are committed to the creation and support of neighbourhood employment;

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We are committed to engaging the dreams, resources, and talents of our neighbours and to fostering new links between them;

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We are committed to taking action in response to neighbourhood issues, ideas, and initiatives;

››

Fernwood NRG’s

We are committed to governing

Gladstone Avenue approved unanimously

by Council

›› Lee Herrin On July 14 th, Victoria’s City Council approved Fernwood NRG’s proposal to redevelop 1310 Gladstone Avenue as a mixed use building over three floors. As we have shared a number of times in this space, the building will have a ground floor and main floor with commercial use, and residential apartments or small offices upstairs.

In preparation for the Public Hearing, Fernwood NRG’s volunteer Board of Directors canvassed neighbours within 200 metres of the village core. In doing so, we had a chance to meet and talk

with hundreds of our neighbours, and we obtained 165 signatures in support of the proposed redevelopment. Many of you also agreed to either write letters in support or to attend the hearing.

At the hearing, more than 15 people attended and spoke very positively about Fernwood NRG and our work in the neighbourhood, whether on revitalizing the Cornerstone Building, or building affordable housing on Yukon Street, or our food security, child care, and other family support work. More people were present and prepared to speak, but it quickly became apparent to everyone that there was no need to repeat what others had already said. It was tremendously heartening to know that so many of you know us and our work, and are supportive of our project. To all those who gave up a beautiful summer evening to come to City Hall and speak, please accept our deepest gratitude.

We will now begin the process of

finalizing the building design on the inside and securing construction financing. We envision commencing construction late in the fall, or, more likely, in the New Year.

We will keep you apprised of any further developments through the Village Vibe and through our website.

Later that same evening, the Council vote to send a proposed redevelopment in Cook Street Village back to the drawing board after hearing from a number of dissatisfied residents and neighbours.

Although all development creates both positive and negative impacts, there was a sharp contrast between Fernwood NRG’s proposal which was overwhelmingly supported by neighbours and the Cook Street Village proposal where the opposite was true.

Fernwood NRG is a neighbourhoodbased organization run by and for residents of Fernwood. We can all be proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish together, and what we are building for the future.

mark your calendar:

Get ready to party at VS POP! ›› Laurie Rubin Yes, it is the popular annual Vining Street PARTY on the PLAZA (VS POP). Mark your calendrer, Sunday, September 11th, noon to 6pm on the grounds of Victoria High School. One and all are invited. It is free family oriented fun.

This year we are honouring our cultural diversity through our entertainment. Join us as Mayor Lisa Helps opens the festivities.

Live entertainment includes: the Songhees and Esquimalt Dancers, Mr.Mojo, Victoria Irish Dancers, BC Fiddle Orchestra, Veselka and Entangados. You will be on your feet dancing.

For the kids and you VS POP presents a Community BBQ, combined with The Great Giffoni, The Sunshine Clowns, hula hoops, bubbles, face painting, animal balloons, cardboard castle, a science and

art fair. There will be loads of fun activities for the kids.

For everyone VS POP stages a Giant Silent Auction with $30,000 worth of auction items ranging from the practical to the eclectic. Then shop at VS POP’s Vendors and Exhibitors Market. You will find everything under the sun.

As you know VS POP is volunteer driven (thanks to the residents of Vining Street).

VS POP receives neither outside nor government funding. VS POP thrives due to your generosity. Net proceeds from VS POP 2016 again will go to the Learning Curve Society ( www.ldasvi.bc.ca ) to support their work with vulnerable children through their reading and writing programs. For more information visit us at facebook.com/Vining.Street.Block.

Party, or at viningstreetparty.com.

Photo: Emma Skye

Contact VS POP Coordinator Laurie Rubin at 250-995-2696 or lrubin@ shaw.ca. Watch for post cards in your mailbox late August. See you all September 11th on the grounds of Vic High.

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;

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We are committed to focusing on the future while preserving our neighbourhood’s heritage and diversity;

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We are committed to creating neighbourhood places that are vibrant, beautiful, healthy, and alive;

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and, most of all, We are committed to having fun!

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villagevibe

August 2016

News and views from the heart of Fernwood

mark your calendar:

mark your calendar:

Mom’s the Word

Summer Night Market in the Square Stroll through the heart of Fernwood on Thursdays in August and check out locally made art, textiles, skin care, jewelry and more

›› Arielle Moore

›› Mark Dusseault From August 9 - 28, the Belfry Theatre will present an all new production of Mom’s the Word - one of Canada’s greatest theatrical exports - a deeply touching and very funny play about the joys and disasters of modern motherhood.

Written in 1993 by Vancouver theatre artists Linda A. Carson, Jill Daum, Alison Kelly, Robin Nichol, Barbara Pollard and Deborah Williams, Mom’s the Word has been produced in 19 countries, in 14 languages, delighting anyone who’s ever been or ever had a mother.

This brand new production, directed by Belfry Artistic Director Michael Shamata, stars performer / moms Trish Cooper (Alison), Sarah Donald (Jill), Yumi Ogawa (Linda), Jennifer Paterson (Deborah), and Lisa Ravensbergen (Robin).

Back in 1993, Linda, Jill, Alison, Robin, Barbara and Deborah would get together every Saturday to talk and write about their new lives as mothers. Those Saturdays were cathartic - each woman revealing their hopes and fears and the pandemonium they were experiencing. Vancouver’s Women in View Festival asked the six moms to put together a one-off performance of their writing.

Their unbridled tales of parenting struck a chord and before long they were delight-

www.fernwoodnrg.ca

“Get ready for the screams, laughter, tears and gasps of recognition…

[Mom’s the Word] is funny and brilliantly executed… a theatrical first.”

Vancouver Sun ing audiences across Canada. Their first presentation at the Belfry was in 1995 and two years later the show was being produced in Australia, Scotland, Chicago and in London’s West End. The moms went on to write a second show, Mom’s the Word: Unhinged, as their children became teenagers, and that too, became a worldwide hit.

The Belfry’s all new production of the original show is the first time in Canada the show has been done with a new cast.

Trish and Yumi are making their Belfry debuts in Mom’s the Word. At the Belfry, Jennifer starred in Homechild, Sarah in One Last Kiss and The Life Inside, and Lisa in the acclaimed production of The Rez Sisters.

Night markets are coming to Fernwood Square this summer! For three Thursday nights in August, Picot will be filling the square with local creative vendors and a small selection of delicious food and drink stands.

The goal for these evenings is to build connections in our community and celebrate both established and budding creative businesses. With four more businesses opening up in the coming months: a kids consignment shop, metaphysical store, stick & poke tattoo studio, and a photography studio, we want to take this opportunity to not only bring our neighbours together but draw people from the rest of the city into Fernwood to celebrate and share our amazing community.

There is no shortage of creativity in this town, and although we have done our best to curate the shop for our vision, the market is an opportunity for us to share artists’

work that we love and open the space up to other local artists! We’re keeping it simple, with around 30 vendors in the square each night, and it won’t be the same each week!

The assortment of vendors features a great variety of talents; ceramics, paintings, prints, candles, macramé, skin care, textiles, vintage, jewelry, clothes, embroidery… the list goes on. There will be a few rotating artists who will be playing acoustic music in the gazebo that night too.

For the opening market, which is expected to be on August 11 th, we are excited to finish off the evening with a fun sunset Intro to Acro Yoga with Katie Thacker & Brandon Sherbrook on the Vic High field, by donation. Very beginner friendly and you can come with a friend or come solo and get partnered up! If you are looking for something more on the theatrical side of things, the Belfry’s production of Mom’s The Word is running every night in August at 7:30pm.

Come meet the creators behind these businesses, catch up with your neighbours, and create some new friendships. There will be a different assortment of vendors and music each night, so be sure to make a habit of attending! We look forward to seeing you there. Catch the Fernwood Night Markets from 4:00-8:00pm on Tursdays in August.

For final dates and a detailed list of vendors, visit picotcollective.com/pages/picotpop-up-market.

Keeping Fernwood Community Healthy Physiotherapy/IMS Naturopathy Acupuncture Chiropractor Pelvic Floor Health Vestibular Rehab Stress Management Workshops Pilates & Yoga* RMT Massage *Therapeutic one-on-one or small group session available

Ph: 250-381-7473 *referrals not required

www.risehealth.ca

1275 Bay Street

*online booking available

(at Fernwood Rd) *free parking

RISE TO IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH

August 2016

villagevibe

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feature:

Community Weave ›› Mila Czemerys

T

he Community Weave Art Project is an artistic endeavor conceived for FernFest by local artist Beth Threlfall and Fernwood NRG. The weave consists of plain cotton t-shirts and was created over a span of roughly 14 hours by over a hundred people in Fernwood.

The loom—inspired by similar projects found on Pinterest—measures four by six feet and is hand-made from sturdy 4x4s, with 31⁄2 inch screws every half-inch.

There are 132 screws on each vertical beam, and 91 on the horizontal beams.

The t-shirts were donated by the Women in Need Society (WIN), artsREACH, and a few generous community members. The weaving process involved slicing the t-shirts into long horizontal strips, knotting them together, stringing them on the loom as the vertical warp, and then weaving into the horizontal weft—back and forth, back and forth, until the end of each line was reached and knotted off. The final rug measures an impressive 3.5x5 feet.

But what started at FernFest actually grew well beyond that one memorable Saturday afternoon, which saw about five of the overall 14 weaving hours occur. In order to finish the project, people young and old wove over the next three weeks during a garage sale, a teenager’s backyard party, neighbours dropping in, and whenever a few minutes could be found during the days, evenings and weekends.

“One of the most common comments I heard was how it brought back memories of

This Community Weave was started at FernFest in June and was worked on by countless community members and took about 14 hours to complete.

Photos: Mila Czemerys and Beth Threlfall

“One of the most common comments I heard was how it brought back memories of people weaving with their grandmothers,” says Beth. “It seemed to allow for a lot of personal moments.

People also seemed grateful for the opportunity to participate in the project. Before I could even say thanks for participating, they would thank me for having the chance to weave.”

MARGARET HANTIUK GARDEN SERVICE SUSTAINABLE GARDENING Pruning. Bedwork. Designs. Consults.

Senior-friendly

Email: mmhantiuk@shaw.ca Phone: 250.595.1684 Cell: 250.882.1929

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villagevibe

August 2016

people weaving with their grandmothers,” says Beth. “It seemed to allow for a lot of personal moments. People also seemed grateful for the opportunity to participate in the project. Before I could even say thanks for participating, they would thank me for having the chance to weave.”

The beauty of the finished Community Weave speaks for itself and serves as a strong visual metaphor for the strength, diversity and resourcefulness of our community.

Beth recalled how “everyone was really surprised by the complimentary colour combinations that were occurring, and how the pattern just seemed to naturally come together.” She also expressed how

“people just really enjoyed touching it!”

Now that the loom is built and the pilot weave successfully completed, just imagine what could be done with future community weaving projects: What if the same T-shirt method was used with all the shirts tie-dyed? What if they were alternating black-and-white? What if it was woven in rainbow Pride colours? The possibilities are endless!

You will be able to see the Community Weave in the Cornerstone Cafe this September. We will be taking suggestions of what the neighbourhood thinks should be done will the final piece. Thanks to everyone who participated in this project!

News and views from the heart of Fernwood

artist’s aside:

Tony Sprackett: Art activist advocate

Tony Sprackett in front of a few of his photographs. Photo: Jillian Player

Photographer Tony Sprackett has been around the neighbourhood for a very long time

›› Jillian Player In the early 80s, he worked at the Prancing Pony Restaurant before becoming part-owner, turning it into the Soho Village Bistro. Additionally, he is a longtime resident at Spring Ridge Housing Co-op, the president of the Fernwood Community Association (a position he’s held for 10 years), the financial and official agent of the NDP, and is even an advocate for the Together Against Poverty Society.

To say Tony is active in the community is an understatement. You will see him walking our streets, camera in hand, seeking compelling subjects for photography.

Since retiring, Tony has immersed himself in his passion for photography.

Documenting Fernwood’s street parties, celebrations, festivals, protests, and nature are amongst his varied portfolio.

He is the event photographer for the Victoria Labour Council, documenting their rallies and events. You will find his photos in Robin Stevenson’s book Pride

www.fernwoodnrg.ca

- Celebrating Diversity in Community and Vic High School has a large piece of his covering an entire wall. He also has done promotional photos for the Belfry Theatre.

On the topic of photography, Tony expresses that, “I look at the world with different eyes since getting serious with it, and I now look for beauty in the mundane.

I try to bring that beauty out for others through photography.” He likes to give himself a challenge, like capturing a water droplet in a particular light or focusing on night photography. Visual art is an interesting art form for Tony because he has a type of colour-blindness in which he sees the world in muted colour tones. His photos have a high light intensity which give them an acute glow and contrast.

A socially minded person, he feels responsible to give back to the world.

Even though he continues to do that through his social activism, he is also giving back to our community through his photographs; documenting our Fernwood community in all its flavours. You can see Tony’s work on his public Facebook site: Tony Sprackett Photos, through email at tonyphotos@shaw.ca, or on Twitter at @tsprackett. I also encourage you to check out his cards, which can be found at The Trounce Alley Gallery.

Check out a few ofTony’s photos of FernFest on the back page of this issue.

August 2016

villagevibe

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common corner:

Increasing food production in Fernwood’s Food Forests ›› Stephanie Enevoldsen

There are already many trees, shrubs, and plants producing edible berries and fruits at Spring Ridge Common. The size of this food forest is approximately a third of an acre, and there is lots of potential.

An irrigation system helped established plants and trees on site, but is not currently functioning. Once we meet our fundraising targets, we will renew the irrigation system and install rain gardens that allow for deep water infiltration. This will improve the health of the soil, retaining more moisture and contributing to an increase in fertility as we mulch and add compostable layers.

Mycelium networks channel nutrients to plants, shrubs and trees, improving food production. To increase mycelial activity, the largest alder tree growing in the south west corner of Spring Ridge Common is going to be re-purposed for the Growing Mushrooms in Your Garden Workshop, being held on Sunday, September 18th.

The plan is to cut down the tree in August, 2016, utilizing a chainsaw and a wood chipper. There will be noise from such activity for a good part of the day.

The workshop will be using large rounds of the tree for plug spawn inoculation, which participants can take home and harvest from

The City of Victoria’s Community Garden Volunteer Coordinators are tasked with increasing food production in each community garden. This includes commons gardens, allotment gardens, and community orchards. Since March this year, I have coordinated with volunteers involved in Spring Ridge Commons (SRC) and the Fernwood Neighbourhood Orchard, collectively identifying ways to increase food production in an urban public setting.

These are what we are currently focused on: • Diversifying ways to maintain hydration on site, such as fundraising to renew and improve the irrigation system, planning for rain garden installations • Increasing soil fertility, mycelial & healthy biological activity • Removing non-food trees that are shading food-producing trees and shrubs • Grafting more productive varieties onto less productive fruit trees • Increasing the diversity of food producing plants and beneficial insectary plants

FERNWOOD NRG FALL PROGRAMS SEPTEMBER - DECEMBER 2016 (Reg) Registration Required

Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing

5:00pm – 7:00pm 7:00pm – 10:00pm 6:00pm – 7:30pm

Ongoing Starts Oct 1 Starts Sept 20 Ongoing

9:30am – 11:30am 6:00pm – 7:00pm 7:00pm – 10:00pm 7:00pm – 8:30pm

Ongoing Bi-weekly Ongoing Ongoing

11:30am – 2:30pm 1:00pm – 8:00pm 6:00pm – 7:30pm 8:00pm – 10:00pm

Ongoing Ongoing Starts Oct 3 Starts Oct 3 Ongoing Ongoing

9:30am – 11:30am 11:30am – 2:30pm 6:00pm – 7:00pm 7:00pm – 10:00pm 7:00pm – 8:00pm 7:00pm – 8:00pm

Ongoing Ongoing 2nd Friday/month

12:00pm – 2:30pm 7:30pm – 8:30pm 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Ongoing Last Sat/month

9:00am – 11:00am 2:00pm – 5:00pm

Ongoing

10:00am – 12:00pm

TUESDAY Family Resource Program (DI) Bootcamp (Reg/DI) VSSC Dodgeball (Preregister) Bi-Polar Babes: 25+ female peer support (DI)

WEDNESDAY Best Babies (Reg) Good Food Box Pick-up Ko Bang Ki Gong (Reg & DI) Kyudo (Reg)

THURSDAY Family Resource Program (DI) Best Babies (Reg) Bootcamp (Reg/DI) VSSC Dodgeball (Preregister) Karma Yoga Class (DI) LGBTQ NA (DI)

FRIDAY Seniors’ Lunch, 55+ (DI) She Surrenders Women’s NA (DI) Metaphysical Meetup Group (DI)

SATURDAY Male Caregivers (DI) Fernwood Urban Village Community Meeting

SUNDAY Deeper Life Bible Church

Holiday closures September 5, October 10, November 11, and December 24 – January 2.

For more information & to register contact:

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villagevibe

Fernwood Community Centre 1240 Gladstone Avenue, Victoria, BC V8T 1G6 T 250.381.1552 info@fernwoodnrg.ca

August 2016

As SRC has grown towards a mature food forest, many trees that are not food producing have self-seeded and grown, primarily Maples and European Ash. With these trees we will continue to re-purpose them where we can. Already we have used two European Ash trees for the posts of a grape trellis.

An educational evening all about Food Forestry with Richard Walker will inspire more possibilities for increasing food production. It takes place Wednesday, September 14th from 6:30-8:30pm, at the Fernwood Community Centre.

For hands-on learning, we invite you to volunteer at one of our work parties: Bee in the Garden; Sunday afternoons from 1:30-4pm at Spring Ridge Commons. Volunteers are also needed this summer to help with regular hand-watering.

Please email foodsecurity@ fernwoodnrg.ca to contribute to Fernwood’s Food Forests and join our email list. Donations to our fundraising efforts are always welcome, and donors can get a tax receipt.

(DI) Drop In

MONDAY Fernwood Family Dinner (DI) Nuu Chah Nulth Drumming (Closed) Ko Bang Ki Gong (Reg & DI)

for years if kept moist. Chipped branches will stay on site for an in-ground inoculation of king stropharia. The alder tree is significantly shading what could be a productive apple tree, as well as two Sorbus hybrid trees that may be grafted. A few other fruit trees have also grown self-seeded and, since they are already established, these can be used as rootstock and grafted, transforming into productive varieties. Apples, pears and shipova can be grafted onto the hawthorns and existing apple trees, and new varieties can be added to stone fruits such as plums and cherries.

Some of the advantages to grafting are that multiple varieties can grow on one type of tree, cross pollinating with fruit ripening at different points throughout the growing season. Some grafting has already been done, with scion wood donated from the Welland Orchard, which has an amazing diversity of heritage varieties of apples. As the trees in the Fernwood Neighbourhood Orchard grow more, we can also utilize them for collecting scion wood.

oaklands:

The squirrel said to the raccoon... ›› Ben Clark Early one morning Squirrel woke up and stretched out her arms and legs.

She looked up at the sun rising over the horizon and felt a rumble in her tummy, so she climbed down from the branch she was sleeping on and squeezed under the roots of the oak tree where she had stored some breakfast.

It was the middle of summer and all around the tree and through the meadow there were flowers and berries and all sorts of delicious food growing. Squirrel hopped across the park to the raccoon den to see what her friend was doing on this fine morning.

Raccoon came scurrying out of his den with a beautiful bunch of herbs and gave them to Squirrel. “Here you go, my dear Squirrel”, said Raccoon. “I grew these right here outside my den and there are loads for all to enjoy.”

“Why thank you!” said Squirrel. Just

then a young crow came swooping down and landed beside the other two animals.

“Cr-cr-cr-craaan I have some of your cr-crowsmary, Mr. Raccoon?” asked the little crow in a high-pitched voice.

“Of course you can!” said Raccoon. “I planted these weird and wonderful plants in front of my den so that everyone can enjoy them. There is a bounty of edible treats growing in front of all of our homes!

Next time you’re by the oak tree try some of Squirrel’s yummy acorns.”

“Please do!” said Squirrel. “I love sharing food with other animals.”

Then the three friends hopped, scurried, and flew off towards the creek together for a swim.

If you also have the desire to enjoy a delicious bounty of food with some of your neighbouring friends then be sure to hop over to the Oaklands Sunset Market. It runs every Wednesday evening from 4:30pm to 8:30pm at Oaklands Elementary School until August 24th, 2016. See you there!

News and views from the heart of Fernwood

mark your calendar:

Course mixes nature & design

garden gleanings:

Bring on the boulevard gardening

›› Paint Box School of Art Roxanne van Gemert often feels like she lives two lives. In one, she is relentlessly pursuing the outdoors, exploring every corner of the island that she now calls home. On the other, she is actively creative, enthralled by design and its ability to bring imaginative ideas to life. And Roxanne knows she’s not alone! That’s why she created My Wildhood.

My Wildhood facilitates project-based workshops for youth ages 8-13 that each blend arts-based outdoor exploration with basic graphic design. My Wildhood’s workshops are scheduled to begin September 22nd, 2016 out of the Paint Box School of Art in Fernwood. The goal of My Wildhood is for youth to be creative, and to gain confidence to explore the outdoors independently.

My Wildhood’s workshops will take place once a week over the course of ten weeks.

Students will first find themselves outside exploring the inner workings of their own community, drawing and taking photographs. In the latter half of the workshop, students will translate the images and designs they’ve created outside onto the computer using Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. The remaining lessons will give students the tools they need to enhance, reproduce, or recreate their artwork digitally. At the end of the workshop, students will have the opportunity to share what they’ve created with their friends, family, and community through a My Wildhood Art Exhibit. They hope that through their workshops, youth will gain the confidence to be creative and try new things, both inside and out.

Three workshops will be offered this fall including photography, drawing and surf photography. To learn more and register, visit mywildhood.com/workshops/.

www.fernwoodnrg.ca

Boulevard gardens use the public space between a property line and the street. Photo: Mila Czemerys

›› Margaret Hantiuk Mike Large, a Fairfield boulevard gardener, gave a workshop at a recent Victoria Horticultural Society meeting (vichortsociety. org) on how to use your boulevard as a garden. What exactly is a boulevard? It’s the public space between a property line and the street. Boulevards are usually covered in grass and are maintained by City of Victoria workers, with the owner being taxed $2.50/ m² for mowing, watering, and fertilizing.

Property owners can opt out of this tax, block by block, with the commitment to maintain the boulevard themselves.

You may garden on the boulevard without a special permit, but the City does expect the boulevard garden to be maintained to a reasonable standard (watered and weeded). This may mean having someone else look after it should you be away (it is expected that the garden will be maintained for multiple seasons).

Tenants should have the written permission of their landlord, and strata/condos should have written permission of their council or other owners. While permanent structures (e.g. in ground irrigation systems) are not allowed, items such as plastic deer fencing, drip irrigation systems, raised beds and

stakes/hoops to support plants are fine.

Guidelines (e.g. setbacks, maximum plant heights, clearances to power poles and fire hydrants, etc.) are available on the City of Victoria website.

Law enforcement is mostly complaint driven. For example, if there are three or more written complaints in one year, the City will check up and provide a written order as to what needs to be done, providing 30 days to comply. If there is no improvement, the City will remove the garden and reseed the lawn at the owner’s expense.

In exchange for using the boulevard, the gardener assumes any liability for property damage or bodily injury. This means that your boulevard garden should be free of hazards to the public: do not leave tools or hoses around where people can trip on them. Plantings should not impede sightlines for traffic (remember that drivers are lower than a standing person), especially on busy streets or near corners.

So i l o n b u s y s t re e t s m a y h a ve contaminants. To remedy this, Royal Roads has teamed up with the Compost Education Centre for the Healing City Soils testing project, with funding from the City.

If your boulevard soil is contaminated, you

may consider using raised beds with your own soil or planting ornamentals only.

Boulevards with trees may be too shaded for food crops anyway, and shade tolerant perennials would be a better fit.

Why garden on the boulevard? For one, it will provide more foraging for birds, bees and butterflies! It also helps enhance the food security in our region. Other than that, these beds can make a neighbourhood more interesting and enjoyable. Anyone heading along Fernwood between Kings and Bay, or along Haultain, can attest to this: it feels good to see flowers and veggies growing along the road! It fosters a greater sense of community; you’ll often see people outside visiting with one another. It helps maintain happier, healthier, and safer neighbourhoods!

Before digging, remember to contact BC One Call (1-800-474-6886) to locate gas pipelines, telecommunications cables, electrical cables, and water and sewage lines; this service is always free! For more info on urban gardening, go to streetgreens.com and urbanagriculturehub.ca. And if you decide to take the plunge yourself and you do decide to garden on your boulevard, contact the City at parks@victoria.ca.

Happy gardening!

August 2016

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Scene in Fernwood : FernFest 2016