With new goals set for 2010, SOUL Vancouver and its Organic Master Gardeners Volunteer Program continue to increase our membership and expand our reach as a resource to our communities about ecologically responsible land care practices. For a sample of what we’re up to, take a moment to look through the information below.

The next information session for the Organic Master Gardener Certificate course is 7 PM Wednesday, September 8 at Moscrop School, 4433 Moscrop Ave (at Willingdon).

MEETINGS & SPEAKERS

Upcoming September 7th

Jodi Peters is a certified Permaculture designer with an avid interest in urban food production. She began developing backyard scale aquaponics systems at the beginning of this year and is continually learning the ins and outs of combining hydroponic growing with intensive aquaculture. She aims to soon be stocking her own backyard tank with edible fish, and hopes it will become a significant and productive part of her urban CSA farm. In this presentation you will get a whirlwind introduction to the concept of aquaponics and a survey of various practical applications and current projects.

SOUL Vancouver monthly meetings are held on the 1st Tuesday evening of every month (except in August and December) in the Canada Way Education Centre at 5310 Woodsworth St. in Burnaby, BC.

The format for the monthly meetings is as follows:

• 6:30 – 7:30pm: Executive Committee meets to conduct Chapter business. (All SOUL members are welcome to attend this portion of the evening.)
• 7:30 – 8:30pm: Featured Guest Speaker’s Presentation.
• 8:30pm – End: Lending Library opens and Social with tea, coffee and goodies.

Recent Events

• Our guest speaker, Duncan Martin of Backyard Bounty Collective, gave a fantastic presentation on backyard Chickens, or Layers, as the pros call them. Duncan's talk was particularly timely as the new Vancouver bylaw regulating chickens came into effect this month.  We discussed the responsibilities and joys of owning chickens (eggs, feed, behaviours, life expectancy, etc), as well as the specifics of Vancouver's bylaws (coop dimensions, pullets vs chicks, roosters vs hens, etc).  The audience was a great mix of current and hopeful chicken owners, as well as hen-curious.  We will definitely be delighted if Duncan were to return perhaps next year when the feathers settle a bit.
• SOUL and the Recreation Commission of North Vancouver hosted a fabulous plant sale and plant exchange May 21-22 at the Harry Jerome Recreation Centre in North Vancouver. Forty one people brought in plants for exchange on Friday the 21st, and over 250 people attended the plant sale on Saturday the 22nd.  Plants not brought in by the public were grown by the Rec Commission gardener.  And what beautiful plants were grown!  This was truly a fun event to host and to work. Attendees were in their glory choosing from hundreds of plants.  SOUL volunteers were there to help with plant choices, explain the best conditions for particular plants, determine appropriate plants for containers, and, of course, impress upon people the importance of organic landscaping. This was SOUL's first time to host this annual event, and we hope to continue the relationship for years to come.  Next year we will be able to encourage more SOULs to attend the event now that we know how much fun it was!

• Cl élie Murray-Chevrier, a member of the Backyard Bounty Collective, spoke on beekeeping at our May SOUL meeting. Clélie uses low-stress organic hive management techniques that emphasize bee nutrition and health.  This allows the bees to maintain a healthy environment within their hive and to fend off disease.  A lively discussion followed on the specific aspects of bee keeping.
• Martin Harcourt, SOUL Vancouver President, Gaia College instructor and owner of Mainland Landscaping, reviewed organic turf management and fielded questions on turf issues at the April SOUL meeting. Always full of information, Martin shared his extensive knowledge with the crowd and responded to questions on turf, soil, and the environment.

• Glenn Murray, of Frogger's Creek Tree Consultants Ltd, spoke at the November SOUL Vancouver meeting on ecological alternatives when working around trees. Glenn covered a wide spectrum of information from the basics of how trees live, to tree protection zones during construction, to a four year plan for moving large trees.  The interested audience posed a number of questions, which in turn generated more enthusiastic discussion.

• Wendy, from Botanus Inc., gave an engaging presentation on designing with bulbs at the October SOUL Vancouver meeting. Wendy shared how she finds inspiration in textiles, paintings, and nature for her bulb groupings.  Wendy also told us the nitty gritty of successful planting.  After a stimulating slide presentation and talk, the whole Botanus gang (Elke and Pamela too) was available for bulb buying and discussion.

• Once again, SOUL joined forces with Gaia College and the Burnaby School Board to host a table at the annual CanWest Show in September. Always a great opportunity to spread the organic word and meet friends new and old.  As expected, the organic movement is growing and the SOUL table was kept busy.

• Lisa Atkins gave a presentation on Ecological Garden Design at the Salmon Friendly Gardens Seminar, held in Langley in March. The focus of the Seminar was on exploring eco-friendly gardening techniques aimed at making neighbourhoods better, healthier places for both humans and salmon.


• Martin Harcourt, Chair of SOUL Vancouver, was the featured speaker at the South Coast Conservation Program, held at the Great Blue Heron Reserve in Chilliwack in March.


• SOUL Vancouver hosted an educational table representing Gaia College and SOUL at the 32nd Annual BC Parks and Grounds Spring Training Conference. The 2009 event was held Feb. 10 – 11 in Langley and featured guest speakers and workshops on topics such as Rainwater Management, Community Gardens and The Strategic Role of the Landscape in Sustainable Communities.

• We have just completed our first year of participation in the Vancouver-area Farmers Markets, but plans are already underway for SOUL Vancouver and its OMG program to continue hosting Information Tables throughout next year’s Summer/Fall season. This year, we hosted five Information Tables in total at Trout Lake, Riley Park, Kits and the West End. If you would like to recommend additional Farmers Market venues for our participation in 2009, please contact the OMG Committee at VancouverOMG@organiclandcare.org.


• The Wildlife Garden Project is a collaborative effort of SOUL Vancouver, its OMG program, and the Wildlife Rescue Association in Burnaby. This is an ongoing effort to reclaim and rejuvenate the Rescue Center’s Wildlife Garden by utilizing the skills and elbow grease of our volunteers in helping to turn the Wildlife Garden’s ‘wishlist’ into reality. For more information, or to find out how to participate, we encourage SOULers to contact our Coordinators for this project, Irmgard and Donna, at WildlifeGardenProject@organiclandcare.org.


• SOUL Vancouver hosted a display table at the Agassiz Social Justice Film Festival this past October. It was the first event of its kind for the film festival organizers whose goal is to raise awareness about local and global concerns. ‘Hijacked Future’ and ‘Thirst’ were among the films featured at the event which was well-attended and offered festival-goers several opportunities to become more informed not just about the looming crises of food, water and other local and global concerns, but raising awareness about solutions.

• We continue to be involved with the Canadian Cancer Foundation branches of the Fraser Valley, working on getting municipal governments to adopt pesticide bans in their communities. Part of this dialogue with the Cancer Foundation involves educating the public about how to make the change to Organic practices, so we are trying to organize “Introduction to Organic Land Care” mini-seminars in local municipalities. We will also be speaking at school board and council meetings. For updates on these events, please look under our Upcoming Events section for new listings as they are confirmed.

.SOUL Vancouver Lending Library (Catalog in PDF format, updated monthly

At our monthly meetings, members are now able to check out books and DVDs from our Lending Library for a month at a time. Simply look through what’s available and make your choice, then take it home to read or view at your leisure until the following monthly meeting.

Click on the Catalog link above for a complete list of titles currently available. The list of books is alphabetized by author; the list of DVDs by title. If a title is checked out, the due date for that item will be posted so that members can plan ahead. To further help with selections, information included with each title will include whether or not it has been reviewed and when that review was published in the SOUL Vancouver Newsletter.

As the Lending Library grows, new books and DVDs will be added to the list so be sure to check back regularly for updates.

SOUL Vancouver Newsletters (all in PDF Format)

2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009

2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 July 2008

Member Forms (all in PDF format)

SOUL Vancouver Informational Event form
SOUL Vancouver Q&A form