on April 15, 2010BAA has been laying the groundwork for a new season of growth. We have some exciting news and a bunch of events lined up for the spring and summer. Read on and come help BAA grow to serve the needs and interests of our community.
News:
- THIS SATURDAY: Free Film screening: Homegrown
- BAA beekeeping bursary announced
- State of the Colonies: Bowen beekeeping update
- VCH grant supports youth and community programs
- Community gardens recognize contributions
Upcoming events:
- April 24: Apple Blossom Festival and Seed Exchange
- May 14-16: Introduction to Beekeeping Course
- May 15: BAA Open Space Forum
- August 14: BowFEAST
Free screening of local food documentary, Homegrown, Saturday April 17
Attend the Bowen Island Film Society Annual General Meeting and enjoy this inspiring documentary on urban homesteading. Cultivating a 1/5 acre city lot in Pasadena, California, the Dervaes family creates 3 tonnes of organic food every year.
Bowen Islander Cathy Buchanan, an organic gardener/farmer, will be the guest speaker for a Q&A after the screening. A mini-farmers market featuring Bowen food products is being coordinated by Michelle Pentz-Glave (947-9267). The list of Bowen-made produce so far includes: asparagus, rhubarb, pickles and preserves, smoked salmon, fresh eggs, shitake mushroom kits, fresh wasabi, watercress, tomato seedlings, and pies.
This is a FREE event open to all members of the public and will include election of film society officers and other fun!
Saturday April 17, 7:30 PM at Collins Hall
See the Bowen Island Film Society website for more details.
Youth beekeeping bursary
As reported on the front page of the March 31 Bowen Island Undercurrent, BAA has succeeded in raising a small amount of grant funding that will, in part, establish a bursary for young Bowen Islanders interested in taking up beekeeping. Island residents born between January 1, 1985 and May 15, 1998 are eligible to apply for a bursary valued at $300 which can be applied towards a May 14-16 beekeeping course and the cost to set up new hives. The goal of the program is to encourage a new generation to explore this fascinating and valuable pursuit. Follow this link for more detailed information. The (extended) application deadline is May 10, 2010.
State of the Colonies: Beekeeping on Bowen
If you know a beekeeper on the island, you may already know that it’s been a rough year for bees. Like parts of Vancouver Island, Bowen’s hive mortality rate was extraordinarily high this winter. What’s behind the losses? Though it’s hard to pinpoint any one cause, weather and a chief pest of the honeybee (varroa mites) are likely contributors. Last year’s prolonged dry summer conditions created a relative scarcity of nectar for bees to collect. Without ample food supplies and good nutrition, honeybees are prone to rear smaller and weaker colonies. In turn they are less capable of protecting themselves from pests and diseases which have become more prevalent throughout the bee world in the last few decades.
What’s being done? In spite of our setbacks, we’ve had few beekeepers throwing in the towel, and have even attracted enough new interest to offer another beginner course in May. Recognizing that the group is still learning the ropes, we are establishing a mentorship program with a North Shore beekeeping veteran who will come to visit Bowen beekeepers and their colonies on a semi-regular basis. We expect this to help develop our management skills and ultimately the confidence and enthusiasm to keep going in spite of the year to year challenges we may face.
Bowen gardeners and farmers can help give Bowen honeybees an edge by planting and encouraging a wide variety of bee-friendly plants that offer the nutrition they need to prosper. Bees will return the favour by pollinating fruit and vegetable crops, as well as producing some delightful local honey unique to Bowen Island!
Grant to support youth and community programs
Vancouver Coastal Health, through its Advancing Urban Agriculture program, has been an active supporter of BAA since its inception in 2009. We are grateful to have some financial help again this year in the form of a $2,000 grant. The grant monies will be applied to a number of different initiatives including youth in agriculture programs (the beekeeping bursary mentioned above and start-up of a 4-H association), experienced mentorship to Bowen’s beekeeping community, and ongoing community agricultural learning and information exchange opportunities (e.g. future open space and skills development workshops). Read more in this post and watch for future updates.
Community Gardens Recognize Contributions
Community gardens provide opportunities to individuals and families without sufficient growing space to grow food on their own. But many community gardeners will tell you that they’re also a great way to build community. Davies Orchard Community Garden coordinator Karen Wristen writes, “Davies Orchard is benefiting greatly from the help of BAA volunteers who’ve been key to getting us soil to fill the beds, moving it there and generally improving the garden. We want to recognize the stellar contributions of Doug Nash in this regard — for building an amazing soil screening device, getting Eddie Weismiller to deliver us a load of good old Bowen dirt, bringing us a load of manure, helping to screen it all and move it into the garden beds, helping rebuild a bed--and Ysa Luz, for help dividing iris and weeding.”
April 24: Apple Blossom Festival
Come out to the first annual Apple Blossom Festival and Earth Day celebration, Saturday April 24, from 10:30 am to 2 pm in Davies Orchard, rain or shine. The event will include a wide range of family-friendly activities including a family painting class in the Orchard. Also watch for Morris dancers from Bowen, Vancouver and Victoria (Tiddley Cove, Black Sheep, Island Thyme and Quicksbottom).
Seed Exchange
Of special interest to gardeners and BAA supporters will be a seed and seedling exchange from 10:30 to Noon at Cottage 20 in the orchard. Have you got awesome heirloom tomatoes, Bowen-adapted herbs and vegetable seeds, or a surplus of already sprouted seedlings? Are you looking for some bee-friendly seeds, some new herb varieties, or perhaps some cover crop material? This is your chance to help protect and expand the living seedbank for our community.
Get the dirt on the Community Composting initiative
Members of the Zero Waste Bowen committee will be on hand to talk about, and get feedback on, community composting. A community composting facility would redirect yard trimmings, kitchen waste, and other materials out of lower mainland landfills (a process that incurs shipping and disposal costs for the island) and turn it into a fertile, community resource.
May 14 -- 16: Introduction to Beekeeping course
Has all the talk about bees piqued your interest? There’s still time to sign up for a beginner’s beekeeping course that runs from a Friday evening (May 14) through Sunday afternoon (May 16). Jaquie Bunse, from the BC Provincial Apiculture program, is a tremendous resource and educator and we are excited to have her back again this year. Click here to get more information and to register.
May 15: BAA Open Space Community Forum
Plans are underway to hold a spring 2010 community forum along the lines of the workshops held in November last year. The overall aim of the forum will be to bring 
together islanders with a mutual interest in food, gardening, livestock, and agriculture. It’s an opportunity to get involved with community initiatives, brainstorm, get input, forge new connections, and get inspiration from fellow community members. The forum will be held from 9am to 1pm on Saturday May 15 at Cates Hill Chapel. We’re pleased to have Bowen Open Space practitioner Carol MacKinnon to facilitate the event. Mark your calendars and look out for more details. Check out the list of initiatives that arose from the November workshops, peruse this list of initiative ideas, or start a new thread on the BAA initiative forum to stimulate dialogue ahead of the event.
August 14: BowFEAST
Last but not least, keep your calendar clear on August 14 for the 2010 edition of BowFEAST, Bowen Island’s premier local food celebration. Year after year, BowFEAST continues to grow in size and enthusiasm. The event does take some effort and its long-term viability depends on community involvement. If you’re interested in having a table or would like to volunteer (promotion, day of event setup/takedown, activities, etc) contact Michelle Pentz-Glave to let her know you’re interested.
Very a fascinating article and reader comments that you have here. I would point out that other people have proposed a varying case, especially in terms of gardening. Have you found good information on the Internet, and would you give me some direction?
Thanks very much for that! My mum recently harvested her garden full of tomatoes , and I find myself the proud owner of two or three buckets worth! Of course I couldnt eat them all like that, but I did find a website full of loads more tomato recipe here. A whole website dedicated the topic!! Crazy what you can find on the internets nowadays!!