UBC Sustainability Fair: Recollections from February 24th

The UBC Sustainability Ambassadors organized the fair, which took place in the Student Union Building. Groups attending were wide-ranging, including UBC farm, AMS, and others.

Our display illustrated pictures of food, farming, and festivities. We also provided free kale and a game (see below)! Our team spoke with various people about the Orchard Garden, gardening, planting seeds, and sustainability.

Interested students asked us about volunteer opportunities.

We had many say they learned new things with the game, which involved matching tomato, corn, bean, beet, wheat, and lettuce seeds with pictures, and then locating where these crops were originally domesticated.

Job posting - SOYL program

Sustainable Opportunities for Youth Leadership (SOYL) offers Vancouver teenagers engagement opportunities that contribute to personal growth and develop leadership capacity in sustainable food systems.  In the SOYL Year 1 Summer Internship, youth build, manage, and advocate for school gardens across Vancouver while cultivating knowledge and hands-on skills in food production, soil management, planning and construction, food preparation and preservation, environmental leadership, and community engagement. 

SOYL has two staff openings for the SOYL 2014 Year 1 Summer Internship.  Each opening consists of a part-time and full-time position.  Preference will be given to qualified candidates who are available to work both positions.

·        Youth Garden Worker:  Part-time: May 26-July 4, 2014 (6 weeks, 20 hours/week) for a total of 120 hours is a Work Learn position that will prepare staff for a similar full-time position, Youth Garden Education Worker

·       Youth Garden Education Worker: Full-time: July 7-August 29, 2014 (8 weeks, 40 hours/week) for a total of 320 hours (pending funding approval from Canada Summer Jobs)

Due to our funding regulations of Canada Summer Jobs and UBC Work Learn, these positions are open to qualified UBC undergraduate or graduate students who will 15-30 on July 7, 2014.

· Position details: See tinyurl.com/SOYLjob

· To Apply: Send cover letter and resume in a single PDF to landed.learning@ubc.ca.  

o   State your availability for both positions in your cover letter.  

o   Please ensure your name is included in the file name

o   Please ensure the subject line of your email refers to the position.

o   Include a copy of the cover letter in the body of your application email

· Application closing date: Monday, April 14, 5pm

April 4th: Film Fundraiser for Britannia School Garden

The fundraiser starts at 6 pm, and is at Astorino’s Hall, 1739 Venables St. The suggested donation is $10 – $20. The first film starts showing at 7 pm. There will be a silent auction, food for sale, wine and beer.

Films:

A River Changes Course: Winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at Sundance 2013, A River Changes Course tells the story of three families living in contemporary Cambodia as they face hard choices forced by rapid development and struggle to maintain their traditional ways of life as the modern world closes in around them.

Dancing Salmon Home: Winner of the Best Documentary Feature award at the American Indian Film Festival, 2012, Dancing Salmon Home tells the story of the Winnemem First Nation in California who travel to New Zealand to meet their salmon relatives for the first time in generations and return those fish to their rivers of origin that are being un-dammed.

Urban Farmer Field School - Check it out!

Find out more at SPEC's website: http://spec.bc.ca/uffs

The Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC) is running the third season of their Urban Farmer Field School (UFFS). The UFFS is for new and experienced growers who want to receive hands-on training in sustainable urban agriculture. Class topics are wide-ranging, including growing food, gardening, urban foraging, canning, and more. The next class is March 20th, 2014.