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Welcome to In The Village on False Creek, a unique project inspired by Live@YVR and 365 Days of Dining. Over the coming months it's my mission to draw from the myriad of things that make this new community awesome in order to bring you a weekly scoop. |
A couple of weeks back I brought you a DUCKLING RESCUE, followed by a MORE SERIOUS POST where former City of Vancouver Chief Planner Brent Toderian told me why he feels the Village is "remarkable". This week I'm landing somewhere between fluffy and super serious by showing off some folks who mix a hobby with the issue of food security: the community gardens in Hinge Park!
Hinge Park is the large piece of land on the Western edge of the Village that has the kid's playground, the pond (where the fluffy ducklings now live), the dog park (which I'll share with you one of these weeks soon) and some other features. A non-profit called The Village on False Creek Community Gardening Society (VillageCommunityGardens.com) was incorporated in July of 2011 and their sole purpose is to "manage and operate a community garden for the benefit of owners and residents of the Village on False Creek". Essentially they keep the tools available, the area clean and they carry insurance to make sure everything is covered. For $40 a year residents (and only residents) can lease their own plot in which to grow whatever they please. It's become so popular amongst folks living in the Village that even though there are over 40 plots none are currently available and a waiting list has been made up. A waiting list that I'm about to put my name on!
So in comes Lee-Anne Ekland. Blogger (LeeanneEkland.com), mother, and first-time gardener with a plot in Hinge Park. We got in touch through Twitter (she's @VancouverMommie) and I soon found myself hanging out with her and her son, Sam, as they watered their garden.
Leanne has been chronicling her trials and tribulations as a fledgling gardener in THIS special section of her web site, and over the coming months I'm also going to observe her plot and check in with her from time to time to show you how she's doing. So far so good with the radishes; her and Sam had just polished off these ones below before we met up...
Here's an overview shot of their plot. I'll bring you another look from the same angle in a few weeks...
Learn more at TheVillageOnFalseCreek.com and stay tuned each week as I expose unique elements of our new community.
