Bird Walk, August 27

Bird Walk, 10 a.m. meet at the Garden entrance of Van Dusen Gardens. Join Jeremy Gordon for a birding exploration in the Garden. Rain or shine. Free for Members or with Garden admission.

Music In the Garden- From Cuba to Denmark, August 14th

MusicFest Vancouver:BMO World at the Garden: From Cuba to Denmark (produced by MusicFest Vancouver) On the Great Lawn at 7 p.m. (gate opens at 5:30 p.m.) Cuban pianist Ernán Lopez-Nussa is one of today’s most remarkable jazz pianists. His deeply sensitive style has its roots in Cuban and Afro-Cuban musical traditions, European classics and contemporary music. Direct from Havana with his Trio, Ernán’s fusion of rhythm and beauty, strength and lyricism, will be unforgettable. Touché Vocal Jazz, a 14-member a cappella ensemble from Copenhagen, is known for big band-like arrangements, awesome swing and tender ballads. Hot and sweet, cool and lyrical, vocal percussion and smoky voices – Touché embraces the best jazz styles and arrangements. Ernán and Touché – it’s the recipe for an unforgettable evening of jazz al fresco in the Garden. The BMO WATG concert is festival seating on the Great Lawn. Seating is not provided. Patrons should bring their own blankets or low (8” max) lawn chairs (seated in the centre section). Full-size lawn chairs will be seated at special section on the sides. Please note that the ground is uneven and could be challenging for people in wheelchairs and walkers. Admission at 5:30 p.m. includes the opportunity to explore the Garden prior to the concert - bring a picnic and make an evening of it. Rain or shine - dress appropriately for sitting outside. Prices: Advance - $37/$32. At the door - $42/$37. Tickets for all concerts are available on the Festival’s web site www.musicfestvancouver.ca or through Ticketmaster (code EFEST 4) at 604.280.3311 www.ticketmaster.ca with service charges. Buy by July 29 and be entered to win a VIP reserved parking spot. More information on these and other MusicFest Vancouver concerts and to enter the contest, visit www.musicfestvancouver.ca

Music In the Garden- Family Day, August 14th

MusicFest Vancouver: Music in the Garden: BMO Family Day: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. on the Great Lawn, presented by Music Fest Vancouver. BMO Family Day is back with even more to entertain children, parents, and even grandparents that love music and nature. Surrounding the Great Lawn you'll find a craft tent, an interactive drumming circle lead by Groove Masters Percussion, and the very popular Tom Lee Instrument Petting Zoo, where kids young and old can get their hands on an array of musical instruments.  MusicFest Stage Performance Schedule: 11:30 a.m. Bobs & LoLo; 12:45 p.m. Will Stroet and the Backyard Band; 2 p.m. Bobs & LoLo. Regular Garden admission charges apply. Children under age two are free. Tickets only available at the gate on the day of the event. For more information contact MusicFest Vancouver www.musicfestvancouver.ca

Orchid Society Orchid and Companion Plant Sale, August 13th

Vancouver Orchid Society Orchid and Companion Plant Sale,Floral Hall, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Information: Wayne Riggs 604.597.5709riggskw@interchange.ubc.ca

Zimsculpt

Zimsculpt - Zimsculpt returns to VanDusen for its third and final year bringing stunning stone sculpture from Zimbabwe. More than 300 pieces by several Zimbabwean sculptors are artistically displayed throughout the Garden. Two artists from Zimbabwe, Passmore Mupindiko and Patrick Sephani, will be in attendance throughout the exhibition and carving on site daily. All pieces are for sale with partial proceeds going to support the VanDusen Botanical Garden Association. This will be your last chance to see and purchase these stunning sculptures.www.zimsculpt.com

Poetry In A Chinese Garden, August 11th

Cedar Lecture: Poetry in a Chinese Garden, with noted Sinologist Dr. Jan Walls and calligrapher Yim Tse. Floral Hall at 7:30 p.m. Tonight’s presentation celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden; the only full-size classical Ming Dynasty Chinese garden outside of China. Dr. Jan Walls explores how poetry is used in classical Chinese gardens to examine nature and garden elements. Dr. Walls’ presentation is followed by a demonstration of the Chinese art of calligraphy by Yim Tse. Tickets: in advance from the Administration Office or, subject to availability, at the door on the night of the lecture. Individual tickets: Members $10 and non-members $15. Trio Pack: includes three tickets which can be used on any three lectures in 2011 - Members: $25 (for 3), Non-members: $40 (for 3). Information: educate@vandusen.org

Urban Permaculture Design Course

Urban Permaculture Design Course

With Erin Innes and Grant Watson 

Dates: Sep 9 - Oct 28, 2011 (Wednesdays 10 to 5:30 plus a weekend retreat Sep 30-Oct 2)
Registration: call Langara College at 604 323 5322 - course # 70849

Creating abundant urban communities that don't just sustain themselves, but heal the ecology around them and the people who live in them, is the frontline of sustainability activism; Permaculture gives us the tools to do it. Through 72 hours of experiential learning, earn your internationally recognized Permaculture Designer Certificate and learn what sustainable living really looks like in both urban and rural settings, as well as how they interact and support each other. Growing food in the city, ecological restoration and remediation, green building, community leadership, and sustainable settlement design are just some of the skills you'll learn in this demanding and inspiring course which will take you from urban farms and community gardens to the Fraser Valley, Sunshine Coast, and your own backyard.

In the field: A portion of course material will be delivered onsite at the following locations and will include hands-on activities:

• Langara Community Garden
• Farmers on 57^th, George Pearson Hospital, Vancouver
• Glen Valley Organic Farm, Abbotsford
• Rolling Earth Farm, Roberts Creek
• Deer Crossing at the Art Farm, Gibsons
• Other venues may be added

For more information contact Leslie Kemp at Langara College: 604 323 5981

Course fee: $1100 (additional cost for weekend field trip, approximately $150). Some scholarships may be available; Langara college credits applicable.

Trafalgar School Garden Work Party

What: Trafalgar School Garden Work Party part 2
When: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 1:00 PM

Where: Trafalgar Elementary School
4170 Trafalgar Street
Vancouver, BC V5K 0A1

C ome and help the teachers, parents and other volunteers at Trafalgar Elementary School to implement the second phase of their permaculture school garden.  We will be sheet mulching and planting a cover crop around the 11 subirrigated planters that were built during the first work party (the green and pink areas in the diagram).  These areas will eventually become fertility beds (green) and host a wide diversity of nectary plants to attract and keep beneficial insects in the garden (pink).

The sheet mulch will be used as a soil remediation technique (the garden is being planted on a gravel field) in combination with soil loosening and ground cover planting.

The work party will be from 1pm to 5pm at the school.  Stay as long or short as you like.

We are also looking for the following tools and materials to build the sheet mulch and condition the soil.  If you have a tool or materials from the list below and would like to come help out, please bring it along!

Tools/Materials we need to build the sheet mulch:

- cardboard (especially from large boxes)

- newspaper

- utility knives

- garden forks

- work gloves 

Hastings Sunrise Garden Tou

*2011 Garden Tour*

The Summer of Sustainability Garden Tour
Date: July 23rd
Time: 10 am – 4 pm
Location: All over Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood!

http://sunrisecommons.org/garden-tour/

ALSO

Also, an article about US farm subsidies that may provide some clarity as to why agriculture has been going the way it has may be of interest...

http://www.ewg.org/agmag/2011/06/top-10-things-you-should-know-about-the-farm-bill/?utm_source=foodweek3b&utm_medium=email&utm_content=first-link&utm_campaign=farm

Going Beyond Green: A Permaculture Primer

Going Beyond Green: A Permaculture Primer will happen on Wednesday, July 6, 2011
When: Where:  
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
7:00 PM lower level, side door
Longhouse
Vancouver, BC

Permaculturalists around the world are making a bold statement about our collective future: Sustainability is not enough. Our habitat is threatened by climate change, oil spills, nuclear accidents. Our consumer culture alienates us from each other, and creates oppression and violence around the world as wealth is transferred from the global majority to a rich few. We need to go beyond sustainability and work to meet the needs of everyone on the planet with strategies that don't just do no harm to our environment and the people we share it with, but that actually regenerate our planet's ability to support us, and our ability to support each other. Permaculture design can show us how.
Come join Permaculture designers and educators Erin Innes and Jill Whitelaw to hear about some of the ways we can meet our needs with systems that also heal our climate, our water, our soil, and ourselves.
Presented by Jill Whitelaw/ Cascadia Permaculture and Erin Innes/ Passionate Permaculture
http://www.passionatepermaculture.ca/

Permaculture Tea Meetup- Compost Tea Party

Announcing a new Meetup for The Vancouver Permaculture Meetup Group!
What: Learn to brew aerated compost tea while sipping herbal tea
When: Thursday, June 30, 2011 11:00 AM
Where: Strathcona Community Garden - Garden House
Hawks @ Prior
Vancouver, BC
Garden Brews Learn to brew aerated compost tea for your garden while you sip fresh herbal teas you harvested yourself. Suggested Donation $12 More info, including other great workshops: http://www.eya.ca/urban-ease.html
Check it out!

Cob Workshops

There are a number of cob workshops up on the Natural Building
Vancouver meetup site.  The first of which is tomorrow.
http://www.meetup.com/Natural-Building-Vancouver/
The workshops will be hands-on, with a project using mostly local
dirt, and salvage as construction materials.  The pizza oven is in a
backyard, and intended for group meals and bulk cooking/baking.  (And
Yogurt!)

Green Job Forum

Vancouver is set to be the world's Greenest City by 2020. How can you and your business help make this vision a reality?
Join the David Suzuki Foundation, The City of Vancouver, and The Vancouver Economic Development Commission at the Fairmont Waterfront for an exciting Green Café focusing on green jobs. Learn about the City's Vision of a Green Capital from City Councillor Andrea Reimer and plans for creating it from the VEDC.
Hear from three innovative local businesses (SHIFT Delivery Co-op, The Vancouver Tool Library and debrand) that are creating green jobs in market niches. Participate in group discussions regarding green jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities in Vancouver leading up to 2020.
For:Open to the public including members of employee green teams, business owners and all individuals committed to sustainable workplace practice!
Date:Monday, June 27th, 6 - 8PM (registration at 5:30)
Location:Fairmont Waterfront Hotel, Malaspina Room
900 Canada Place Way

Invitees must RSVP and a $10 fee per participant is required.

Queen of the Sun

Queen of the Sun is a documentary about the vanishing bee populations.  It's now Playing at the Denman Cinema in Vancouver.  Check Cinema Clock for available showtimes.

Movie synopsis: In 2006, beekeepers around the world began reporting a strange and troubling phenomenon -- the population of their hives was shrinking dramatically, with the insects disappearing for reasons unknown to their minders, and in time close to a third of the world's honeybee population had seemingly vanished. While this was of great concern to people who produced honey for market, they were not the only ones worried; bees help pollinate many major cash crops, including a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans, and what's come to be known as Colony Collapse Disorder has far-reaching consequences for the international agricultural community. With bees involved in the growth of forty percent of the world's food, restoring the global bee population is of crucial importance, and filmmaker Taggard Siegel examines the role of bees in agriculture and the ecosystem, leading theories about CCD, possible solutions, and the theories of Rudolph Steiner in the documentary Queen Of The Sun. In the 1920s, Steiner was a leading biologist who believed crossbreeding of honeybees could lead to the doom of the species; over eighty years later, are Steiner's notions becoming reality? Queen Of The Sun was an official selection at the 2010 Seattle International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi Hide