Tour of Banfield Commons and Community Orchard

Posted on July 19, 2018 by

5pm, Thursday, August 16th, 2018

Meet in the Orchard next to the Vic West Community Centre at 521 Craigflower Road

Enjoy a guided tour of Banfield Commons and the Community Orchard with Latifa Pelletier-Ahmed. There are numerous edible and medicinal plants planted around the garden. Some plants are native and others are introduced, but all grow well with minimal support from humans.

All are welcome, suggested donation $5.

The garden will be hosting volunteer hours between 1pm and 7pm. Please feel free to drop by any time to learn more about the community gardens, horticulture, permaculture and native pollinator observation. Stephanie our volunteer coordinator will be happy to help you get involved in the garden. Feel free to contact her: foodgardens@victoriawest.ca

Let us know if you are going on Meetup! or facebook!

Some photos from the Spring Plant Walk:

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Posted in Biodiversity, Community, Gardens, Lekwungen Traditional Territory, Local Food, Orchards, Permaculture, Pollinator habitat, Vic West Park Garden | Leave a comment

Help the plants and trees stay hydrated!

Posted on July 3, 2018 by

Vic West’s Community Garden Volunteer Coordinator is taking a summer break, and help is needed to water the food gardens once a week from July 23-August 3rd, 2018.

Please email foodgardens@victoriawest.ca as soon as possible if you can help so we can orient you with this fun task!

watering team

Posted in Biodiversity, Gardens, Lekwungen Traditional Territory, Local Food, Orchards, Permaculture, Pollinator habitat, Vic West Park Garden, Volunteering, What's growing on | Leave a comment

Community Food Garden Volunteering!

Posted on June 14, 2018 by

Volunteer help is needed! If you enjoy having a local community food forest and orchard in the neighbourhood of Vic West, your help is needed to give back and help with maintenance! There are many benefits to volunteering in the gardens, including getting to know all the plants better, and tasting the berries as they ripen. You can gain and practice skills in horticulture, permaculture and community building!

The Vic West Food Security Collective needs help in all kinds of ways… from weeding, watering, spreading leaf mulch, making signs and posters, and getting the word out to attract more volunteers. These gardens belong to the community, but need more people involved in their stewardship! Please send a message to foodgardens@victoriawest.ca to let us know you want to help!

Drop by the gardens on Thursday afternoons and evenings anytime between 1-7pm to lend a hand.

Invite some friends and family and make it even more fun!20180609_143113_resized20180609_142825_resized20180609_143025_resized20180607_10340920180609_142836_resized.jpg

Posted in Biodiversity, Community, Gardens, Lekwungen Traditional Territory, Local Food, Orchards, Permaculture, Pollinator habitat, Vic West Park Garden, Volunteering | Leave a comment

Today is Leaf Mulching Day!

Posted on June 9, 2018 by

leaf mulch

Saturday, June 9: 11am-3pm

You’re invited to join in for a volunteer gardening work party day…
All are welcome!

Location: Lekwungen Territory – Banfield Commons & Community Orchard, south of the Vic West Community Centre at 521 Craigflower Road

Bring: Work gloves & your own water bottle, any extra wheelbarrows, manure and digging forks, as well as your friends, family & neighbours!

Light snacks will be available for volunteers.

Follow our events on facebook!

Thank you to all of our volunteers who help grow the gardens, they’re looking great!

Throughout the summer, weekly volunteer help is also welcome on Thursday afternoons into the early evening.
Contact Stephanie:  foodgardens@victoriawest.ca to coordinate.

Posted in Community, Gardens, Lekwungen Traditional Territory, Local Food, Orchards, Permaculture, Pollinator habitat, Vic West Park Garden | Leave a comment

Vic West Fest Plant Sale!

Posted on May 24, 2018 by

See you at Vic West Fest 2018: Saturday, May 26th, from 2-9pm, in Banfield Park next to the Community Centre.

Stop by the plant sale between 2-5pm!

Your plant purchases will support the Vic West Food Security Collective’s projects and community gardens! Select from a variety of locally grown herbs and veggies.

tomtaoes.jpg

Posted in Gardens, Local Food, Vic West Park Garden, What's growing on | Leave a comment

Spring Work Parties in Banfield Park

Posted on April 10, 2018 by

Our monthly Community Spring Work Parties are on Saturdays, 11am-3pm

April 14 – Spring Planting, Herbal Tea Walk & Community Snackluck

May 5 – Irrigation Installation Work Party

June 9 – Leaf Mulching Work Party

Location: Lekwungen Territory – Banfield Commons and Community Orchard

All are welcome to help out!

Tea & light snacks will be provided for volunteers.29351530_1975884889329231_6680002043606044562_o20180324_131726_resized

Posted in Biodiversity, Community, Gardens, Lekwungen Traditional Territory, Local Food, Orchards, Permaculture, Pollinator habitat, Vic West Park Garden, Volunteering, What's growing on | Leave a comment

Herb Walk & Snackluck Work Party

Posted on April 10, 2018 by

Join in for a fun spring gardening work party day, with a Herbal Tea Walk at 11am, and a Community and family friendly Snackluck at 1pm!

Herbal Tea Walk 11AM
Enjoy a short walk in the garden discussing some of medicinal properties of common aromatic plants. This is a hands-on sensory exploration of plants that will delight children as well as adults. We will harvest from a few plants to make herbal tea.

Latifa Pelletier-Ahmed is an instructor of Phytotherapy (evidence-based herbal medicine) at Pacific Rim College in Victoria, BC. She is qualified with a Master’s of Science in Herbal Medicine from London, UK and a Bachelor of Science in Botany from the University of Calgary. She is particularly interested in reconnecting people to nature to create well-being in individuals and communities. More info: www.latifasherbs.com

Spring Planting Work Party 11AM-3PM
Work party activities will include planting potatoes, transplanting, weeding and seeding.  All are welcome to help out!

Community Snackluck 1PM
Light snacks & beverages will be shared amongst volunteers.

Location: Lekwungen Territory – Banfield Commons and Community Orchard, south of the Victoria West Community Centre at 521 Craigflower Road.

Bring: Work gloves, water bottle, garden snips, and a healthy snack to share at 1pm!20180410_165337

Posted in Biodiversity, Community, Gardens, Lekwungen Traditional Territory, Local Food, Orchards, Permaculture, Pollinator habitat, Vic West Park Garden, Volunteering, What's growing on | Leave a comment

Happy Spring 2018!

Posted on March 22, 2018 by
Join in as we take care of the fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, flowers and native plants at the next monthly Community Work Parties!
Saturdays, 11am-3pm
March 24 – Spring Cleaning & Planting Work Party
April 14 – Spring Planting & Community ‘Snackluck’
May 5 – Irrigation Installation Work Party 
June 9 – Leaf Mulching Work Party
Complimentary beverages and snacks for volunteers!
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Location: Lekwungen Territory – Banfield Commons & Community Orchard, south of the Vic West Community Centre at 521 Craigflower Road
Posted in Biodiversity, Community, Gardens, Lekwungen Traditional Territory, Local Food, Orchards, Permaculture, Pollinator habitat, Vic West Park Garden, Volunteering | 1 Comment

Spring Cleaning & Planting Work Party!

Posted on March 20, 2018 by

The Vic West Food Security Collective acknowledges that the City of Victoria is located on the traditional territory of the Lekwungen Nation.

The Songhees and Esquimalt Nations are part of the Coast Salish family and are descendants of the Lekwungen family groups. They hunted and gathered here for thousands of years before European settlement, carefully managing the land through controlled burning and food cultivation.

Just a few days after the Spring Equinox, volunteers are invited to help the community gardens look their best, and establish a few new beneficial native plants! Activities will include weeding, planting, transplanting, deadheading, seeding and holistic spraying. All are welcome to help out, and tea & light snacks will be provided for volunteers.

11am-3pm, Saturday, March 24th

Location: Lekwungen Territory – Banfield Commons and Community Orchard, south of the Victoria West Community Centre at 521 Craigflower Road.

Bring: Work gloves, water bottle, digging forks, friends, family & neighbours!

Volunteers are also welcome to help out in the gardens on Thursday afternoons. We have a fun group of helpers starting at 1:15pm and the more the merrier! Contact foodgardens [at] victoriawest [dot] ca for more information.

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Strawberry tree new leaves, yellow croci, st. johns wort, nettles!

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Sea buckthorn, goumi buds, crocus in bloom, young lovage!

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Colourful Croci!

Posted in Biodiversity, Community, Gardens, Lekwungen Traditional Territory, Local Food, Orchards, Permaculture, Pollinator habitat, Vic West Park Garden, Volunteering, What's growing on | Leave a comment

Holistic Fruit Tree Spraying Work Party

Posted on February 8, 2018 by

Tim Windle from Hatchet & Seed Edible Landscapes will be providing work party participants with the information needed to care for fruit trees with holistic sprays. If you’re curious to know more about compost teas, organic fertilizers, and when to apply them to fruit trees for best results, join us in Banfield Orchard on Saturday, February 24th starting at 11am!

Bring: Work gloves & your own water bottle

Snacks for volunteers will be provided!

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Posted in Biodiversity, Community, Gardens, Local Food, Orchards, Permaculture, Pollinator habitat, Vic West Park Garden, Volunteering, What's growing on | Leave a comment