Fall Compost Workshop from 11:30 - 12:30pm in the Riley Park Community Garden (30th and Ontario)
Read moreApple Festival in Riley Park Community Garden!
Saturday, October 20. 12:30-3pm.
Taste, Show and Tell: 12 types of apples to sample. Stay for lunch featuring apples and dishes from the various cultural groups we have in the community and in the garden. Try your hand at apple cider pressing.
Everyone is welcome! Join us in the Garden (30th/Ontario) beside the Riley Park Farmers Market.
What's On at the Garden: Saturday, Sept. 29
Growing Great Garlic Workshop with Master Gardener Selina Pope. Everyone Welcome!
What's On at the Garden: Saturday, September 22
This Saturday, head down to the garden for our usual work party (10:00 am - 12:00 pm), drop some donations off at the donation station (10:00 am - 2:00 pm) and settle into the Three Sisters Potluck lunch (12:30 pm - 3:00 pm). Everyone welcome!
Don't miss out on other garden events. Check out our events calendar here.
What's On at the Garden: Thursday, September 13
This Thursday, come down to the garden and bring a dish from your culture using potatoes. Over dinner and fresh tea, we'll discuss how neighbourhood small grants from the Vancouver Foundation have helped us grow connection in our community. Everyone welcome!
Wondering what else is on at the garden this month? Check out our events calendar, here.
What's On at the Garden: Saturday, September 1
This Saturday, skip down to the garden for our annual Mad Hatter Tea Party from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm. We'll be serving up garden-inspired teas, snacks and curiously crafty activities.
Don't forget to check out our other events here.
What's On at the Garden: Saturday, August 25
This Saturday, mosey over to the garden for the morning work party (10:00 am - 12:00 pm) before tucking into a tasty tomato potluck (be sure to bring a dish!). Shirlene from Earth Apple Farm will also lead attendees through a tomato tasting, revealing the rich tomato varieties grown in the region. Everyone welcome!
Curious about our other upcoming events? Check out the event calendar here.
What's On at the Garden: Saturday, August 18
This Saturday, the garden will host its usual work party from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, followed by a Chinese lunch (catered by the Little Mountain Neighbourhood House line dancers) and informational walk through the garden. Led by our master gardeners, Selina Pope and Tamara Litke, and illustrated by graphic designer Masahiro Kojima, the event will teach old and young about our garden's unique ecological identity.
Don't forget to stop by the donation station from 10AM-2PM too! All proceeds this month go to Little Mountain Neighbourhood House's preteen youth program participants.
Don't forget to check out our other upcoming events here.
Calling all creative types!
On beautiful sunny July 14th, Lori Snyder, guided us throughout Riley Park Garden to introduce us to some of the native plants growing here. Thank you Lori for sharing your native plant stories, as well as your deep sense of connectedness with these plants! As we learned from Lori and the plants, we were inspired to illustrate the plants we observed. Many of the drawings will become a part of a Native Plants of Riley Park Garden Map.
We hope to gather more native plant drawings from community members of all ages! Our Native Plants of Riley Park Garden Artful Mapping Project is continuing throughout the summer and if you are interested in contributing please do. We will have art supplies and easels for you at the garden during our work parties and on Saturdays 10:00 am - 12:00 pm. Perhaps you have native plants growing near your home? The Native Plant Society of BC has put together a list of resources, including field guides that could inspire drawings and further exploration.
https://npsbc.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/native_plant_gardening_resources.pdf
For a list of which plants have yet to be drawn please email Anya: anyachase@yahoo.ca
Or feel free to illustrate whichever plant you are drawn to!
We have about 70 native plants in the garden and we are presently compiling a list.
Here are some of them.
What's On at the Garden: Saturday, August 11
This Saturday, mosey on down to the garden to pitch in at the work party (10:00 am - 12:00 pm) and stay for a corn boil potluck (12:30 pm - 2:00 pm)! Bring a dish from your culture that celebrates zucchini and we'll provide the corn (and butter). Sit back and relax until 3:00 pm when Chris from One Love Farm will lead volunteers in planting a bed for our (soon to be) new neighbours at the Little Mountain temporary modular housing development.
Check out our other events here.
General Garden Meeting this Thursday, July 26
Our next general garden meeting will be held on Thursday, July 26. Open to all community members, we’ll discuss garden decision making and decision makers. Come provide your input and help shape the future of Riley Park Community Garden!
When: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm | Thursday, July 26
Where: Room 320 | Hillcrest Community Centre
What's On at the Garden: Wednesday, July 25
Dance, dine and help water the garden with the Latinx community this Wednesday, July 25. You won't want to miss out on the empanadas and live music so come on down and bring the kids. See you there!
Check out our other upcoming events here.
What's On at the Garden: Saturday, July 21
This Saturday, the day starts off with a work party from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm. From there, wander over to the Farmer's Market and drop off a donation at the donation station (running until 2:00 pm). This month, goods are going to Syrian drop-in program participants at Little Mountain Neighbourhood House.
Bonus points if you donate lettuce!
Check out our other events, here.
What's On at the Garden: Saturday, July 14
It's nearly mid-July and the garden is lush! This Saturday, get a little dirt under your fingernails at the work party (10:00 am - 12:00 pm), lunch and learn with the Syrian community from 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm, and tap into your creative side with Indigenous Herbalist and Educator, Lori Snyder, as we map the garden from 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm. Don't forget to bring the kids!
Be sure to check out our other upcoming events at our Events Calendar.
What's On at the Garden: Tuesday, July 10
Put on your dancing shoes! Every Tuesday morning through July and August, the garden will host Seniors Line Dancing. Bring a hat, water and come socialize with other active community members while our talented volunteer leads you through the steps.
All seniors are welcome!
When: 9:00 am - 10:30 am | every Tuesday in July and August
Where: E 30th Ave. at Ontario Street | Riley Park Community Garden
What's On at the Garden: Saturday, July 7
This Saturday promises to be another busy day at the Riley Park Community Garden. Pop by in the morning to help with the work party (10:00 am - 12:00 pm), lunch and learn with the Syrian community from 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm, and dig into the secrets of composting at a workshop led by Master Composter, Angela Hoy in the early afternoon (1:00 pm - 2:00 pm).
Be sure to check out our Event Calendar for other garden happenings.
Partnerships Feed Our Community
The Riley Park Farmers Market provides Little Mountain Neighbourhood House with a Donation Station in the market every month. The farmers and shoppers donate produce and funds to support our community kitchen and cooking programs for vulnerable populations served by the House.
On June 23, donations supported the Newcomers Community Kitchen. With an estimated 15 lbs of produce, our Kitchen Facilitator, Marta Ramos, and her group cooked soups, vegetable pakoras and salads for this community. The 15 people participating in the kitchen were immigrants and newcomers from China, Korea, Mexico, Indonesia, Chile, Peru and Spain, all amazed at how flavourful and tasty the dishes were as, for some, it was their first time eating organic produce.
Our next donation station is Saturday, July 21. Feel free to stop by our booth and learn more about how the garden and Little Mountain Neighbourhood House works to support immigrant and newcomer communities.
Minister of Justice Drops By for Garden Day at Riley Park Community Garden
Riley Park Community Garden’s first Garden Day celebration was a big hit! Volunteers started off the day by digging elbows-deep into general garden maintenance before being rewarded by a tasty honey potluck. From baklava to pancakes, community members used the honey theme to show off dishes from their home countries, while the Honey Shoppe provided a honey tasting.
Park Board Commissioner Michael Wiebe and Minister of Justice (and enthusiastic garden supporter) Jody Wilson-Raybould were among those who partook in the lunch, with the latter receiving a Riley Park bouquet from our resident Master Gardener afterward. The day wound down with kids and adults alike coming together to build a pollinator hotel, thanks to guidance from Hayley Trachsel of Climate Guides, which will eventually host a community of mason bees.
A jam-packed day, it was a great way to kick off a summer full of events! Find out what we have planned for the coming weeks by checking out our event calendar and signing up for the newsletter.
Welcome to our summer garden coordinators!
Riley Park Community Garden is happy to introduce our two new garden coordinators, Wendee Lang and Henry Campbell. You’ll see the two of them around the field house and at events throughout the season – be sure to say hello!
A little bit about them:
Wendee is a UBC student currently pursuing a Master of Community and Regional Planning. A nature enthusiast, she’s delighted to join the garden and to support its work in the community.
Henry is a Vancouver Technical grad living in the heart of East Van. Passionate about the environment and its relation to humans, he is excited to work with the garden and to help it grow.
Come to Garden Day this Saturday in Riley Park!
Schedule:
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Work Party
10:00 am – 2:00 pm Donation Station in the Farmers Market
10:00 am – 2:00 pm Scavenger Hunt in the Market for Kids
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm 'Honey Lunch' - Honey-themed potluck (other dishes not made with honey welcome)
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Honey Shoppe Honey Tasting
1:30 pm – 3:00 pm Build the "Pollinator Hotel" with Climate Guides and SPEC
A collaborative event between the Riley Park Community Garden and the Riley Park Famers Market, Garden Day in Riley Park is a time to visit and share your knowledge and passion for gardening and learning more about where our food comes from and who grows it.
Join our Riley Park Community Garden Work Party, the Riley Park Farmers Market and our Scavenger Hunt for Kids (featuring a demo bee hive), Pollinator Workshop and more. Garden Day in Riley Park will have you learning, growing and sharing about the community's gardens and farmers market culture and history.
Member of Parliament and garden supporter, Jody Wilson-Rabould, will also be in attendance from 12-2 to check out our many pollinator-friendly activities.
Bee there!
