Plug for CityFarmBoy
Nick Read at the Vancouver Sun wrote a lovely piece on Ward Teulon, aka CityFarmBoy, who as it turns out lives about 6 blocks from me. Ward responded to my emails last winter and we had chat in my yard. He gave me a few tips on fertilizing, which I heeded and the flower beds and lawn have never looked better.
Ward is on the cutting edge of what I think is a trend toward more urban agriculture. I think many of us would cherish the opportunity to add to the food supply through a humble patch in our yard. Ward is making this his mission. Best of luck!
August 20, 2007 @ 6:19 am
That was a great article, but researching it brought to my attention something equally, if not more, worthy (and very topical): The Vancouver Fruit Tree Project (http://www.vcn.bc.ca/fruit/home.html), which brings together folks with extra fruit on their trees with pickers who will pick it and community groups who use the fruit. Their peak harvesting season is upon us, so if you can get the word out to anyone you know who has fruit trees? This is a very worthy cause, and related to urban farming. -Natalie
August 20, 2007 @ 8:11 am
Thanks, Natalie, for info on the Fruit Tree Project.
I remember traveling to Seville just after university and noting the orange trees that line the streets of that Andalusian city. When I asked about the fruit, it was explained to me that it was harvested for the city’s poor.
The City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Park Board could support a similar program here. Provided we get volunteers to help with the harvest, why not take more opportunities to plant fruit trees in public spaces?
August 21, 2007 @ 6:09 am
You know, I overheard someone talking on the bus about how you could call the City and they would send someone to harvest the fruit on your private property and pass it on to service agencies, but I looked for any sign of the service when I was writing my blog post about urban farming, and couldn’t find anything. I wondered if it had actually been TVFP they’d been thinking of but got the details wrong. I know that the City is planting more and more fruit trees on boulevards etc, in part for compost, but I wonder if they have something in place to harvest the bounty?
August 21, 2007 @ 6:56 am
Good question. I’ll make some inquiries this fall through my work as a Vancouver City Planning Commissioner and post it here.
September 3, 2007 @ 9:49 am
Hey Michael, have you heard of 24 Hours for Darfur? They seem to be getting remarkably little promo, and their deadline is looming. Here’s their website, and a youtube video about them: http://www.24hoursfordarfur.org/main.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzf2flWM0WI