Permaculture, derived from “Permanent Agriculture”, is a system of sustainable growing that mimics and draws from Nature, creating a self sufficient farm or garden that can thrive without harming the planet. It includes consideration for people and the planet and notes that beneficial plants are not just those that we harvest to eat. By making multifunctional decisions whenever possible and using the zone system to place key features in the best possible place, we can actually save ourselves work because instead of always fighting Nature, we can live more harmoniously within it. Understanding the patterns and laws in Nature will help us to more clearly see the long term effects of our actions. This workshop explores the basics of permaculture and participants will take home some interesting new ideas that they can apply to their own garden design and maintenance.
About the Instructor
Sarah Orlowski has her Permaculture Design Certificate and is also a Master Herbalist. With her husband, she co-runs a permaculture orchard and medicinal herb farm in Grand Forks, BC, where she makes herbal remedies & trains student apprentices. Their organic farm is certified with Kootenay Mountain Grown. She has a private clinical practice, where she gives health consultations and treatments. An experienced instructor, Sarah believes that growing in accordance with Nature will be the sustainable way of the future.
Dr. Sean Smukler’s research program is focused on working with farmers, and other managers of agricultural landscapes to find ways to better monitor, protect and enhance biodiversity and the availability of ecosystem services including food, fiber, fuel and timber production, greenhouse gas mitigation, and water quality and quantity regulation. He and his Sustainable Agriculture Landscape lab are also currently working with CSFS at UBC Farm to better understand the nutrient dynamics of various local amendment options for organic production system.
Dr. Kirsten Hannam
Kirsten Hannam is an Agro-Ecologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Summerland, BC. Kirsten and her team aim to enhance the resilience of the BC tree fruit sector through effective and efficient soil, nutrient and water management practices. In previous lives, she has worked as a soil scientist with the BC Ministry of Forests, and as a policy analyst with Natural Resources Canada.
Dr. Kent Mullinix
Kent Mullinix is the Director of the Institute for Sustainable Food Systems at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU). He oversees all of the Institute’s research projects, and extension projects including. His research and extension work focuses on ecologically sound crop production, agriculture education programming, sustainable bioregional food systems, as a foundational and integral element of sustainable society. Mullinix conceived and led the development of KPUs B.A.Sc. Sustainable Agriculture degree, the Tsawwassen First Nation and Richmond Farm Schools, and is now leading the development and implementation of KPUs Graduate Certificate- Sustainable Food Systems and Security. Mullinix is an Adjunct Professor in The Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia and serves on the Leadership Team and editorial board of the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development.
Serena Black, Moderator
Serena Black (AAg, MSc, BJ) has been working in applied agriculture research and extension in the central and northern interior of BC for the past eight years. Serena’s work is driven by her passion to work on producer-driven applied projects that will enable producers adapt to a changing climatic and strengthen their capacity to develop environmentally and economically sustainable operations. Based in Prince George, BC, works with the University of Northern BC as the Agriculture Extension Specialist, and is the chair of the BC Agricultural Climate Adaptation Research Network.
Participants will do a wild harvest of what will be available, learning correct identification features. They will bring the harvest back to the kitchen to combine with other ingredients for tasting on-site cuisine. Topics covered will include the correct time of year for harvesting different plants, which plant parts are desirable for eating, how to avoid look a likes and how to encourage wild edibles in your own garden patch. Students will also prepare an in-process food product to take home.
About the Instructor
Sarah Orlowski is a Master Herbalist and has her Permaculture Design Certificate. She co-runs a permaculture orchard and medicinal herb farm in Grand Forks, BC, where she makes herbal remedies & trains student apprentices. Their organic farm is certified with Kootenay Mountain Grown. She has a private clinical practice, where she gives health consultations and treatments. An experienced instructor, Sarah believes that growing and living in accordance with Nature is the sustainable way of the future.
Shady garden? Poor soil? Pests, disease, or weed problems? Only have a tiny space? If you think you don’t have the right space to grow your own food, think again! Learn how to troubleshoot and solve garden problems and make the best of your challenging growing situation to produce your own delicious veggies all season long!
About the Instructor
Mik Turje has been working in community food and agriculture for over a decade. First as a small-scale organic farmer on Vancouver Island and in Richmond where they grew a variety of veggies for farmers markets, CSA’s and high-end grocery stores. Then as a community development worker in the Food and Urban Agriculture movement. Mik was the Urban Agriculture Coordinator at The Stop Community Food Centre in Toronto for many years, where they taught a full slate of gardening workshops and mentored new gardeners. Mik now runs a small food security organization in Renfrew-Collingwood
Date and Time
Wednesday, June 24| 5:30 – 7:30 pm (2 hours)
Location
Online via Zoom (appropriate links will be sent within 1-3 business days of transaction)
Building Resilient Food Systems During COVID-19 and Beyond
Webinar: Decolonizing the Land and Food System: Indigenous Resilience in Times of Crisis
The compounded crises of climate change and COVID-19 have widened the inequalities that exist in our already unequal food system. Decolonizing the land and food system is thus a critical strategy for putting economies of solidarity into action. Join Dawn Morrison, Founder, Chair, and Coordinator of the Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty (WGIFS), Wilson Mendes, LFS PhD Candidate, Media Director of the WGIFS, and xʷc̓ic̓əsəm Garden Coordinator, Angela McIntyre, CSFS Postdoctoral Fellow, and Alannah Young, former CSFS, LFS, and IRP Postdoctoral Fellow, for a panel and discussion on Indigenous food sovereignty and resiliency – during COVID-19 and beyond.
About the Presenters
Dawn Morrison
Dawn Morrison is of Secwepemc ancestry and is the Founder/Curator of the Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty. Since 1983 Dawn has worked and studied horticulture, ethno-botany, adult education, and restoration of natural systems in formal institutions as well as through her own personal healing and learning journey. Following the years she spent teaching Aboriginal Adult Basic Education, Dawn has been dedicating her time and energy to land based healing and learning which led her to her life’s work of realizing herself more fully as a developing spirit aligned leader in the Indigenous food sovereignty movement. Dawn has consistently organized and held the space over the last 14 years for decolonizing food systems discourse in community, regional and international networks and has become internationally recognized as a published author. Dawn’s work on the Decolonizing Research and Relationships is focused on creating a critical pathway of consciousness, that shines a light on the cross-cultural interface where Indigenous Food Sovereignty meets, social justice, climate change and regenerative food systems research, action and policy, planning and governance. Some of the projects Dawn is curating include: Wild Salmon Caravan, Indigenous Food and Freedom School and, Dismantling Structural Racism in the Food System.
Wilson Mendes
Wilson Mendes is an Indigenous Afro-Brazilian Indigenous community planner, visual artist, and Indigenous land-based researcher living on the unceded Territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlí̓lwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-waututh) Nations. His work focuses on collaborative community-based approaches toward Indigenous community resilience and wellness through Indigenous food sovereignty and regenerative land-based practices. He is currently the media director of the Working Group of Indigenous Food Sovereignty working alongside the founder and research curator Dawn Morrison. Wilson has a master’s degree in planning with a focus on Indigenous community planning and is currently a Ph.D. candidate with the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia. His research focuses on Indigenous land-based pedagogies and Indigenous food sovereignty for urban Indigenous youth.
Angela McIntyre’s postdoctoral research explores health, wellness and food sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples. Before coming to UBC in 2019, she worked as a health promotion specialist for BC First Nations. From 1993 to 2015, Angela was a civilian peacekeeper, a program officer, policy researcher in the areas of post-conflict peace-building and reconciliation, global health and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. Angela is of Cree, Scottish and German heritage, living on the traditional territories of Quw’utsun (Cowichan), SȾÁUTW̱ (Tsawout) and W̱SÁNEĆ (Saanich) Peoples (Salt Spring Island).
Join us for a guided walk through the Garden with Katolen Yardley, Medical Herbalist, where we will identify some local and non-local flowers, herbs, and common weeds, and discuss some of their medicinal properties and ways to apply these plants for common first aid and general health care.
About the Instructor
Katolen Yardley, MNIMH, RH (AHG) is a medical herbalist and nature knower with over 20 years of clinical and herbal medicine making experience in private practice in Vancouver, BC. She enjoys providing people with tools for optimal health through inspiration and education. She is the author of the “Good Living Guide to Natural and Herbal Remedies” (August 2016) and current president of the Canadian Herbalist’s Association of British Columbia. She is a clinic supervisor at Dominion Herbal College and adjunct faculty at Boucher Naturopathic College and offers seminars to the general public.
Let’s learn how to make the delicious Japanese sweet snack, Daifuku! This sticky rice mochi snack is filled with sweet azuki anko red bean paste. As Daifuku and tea are the perfect combination, we will also learn about and taste a couple beautiful Japanese teas.
On the Menu to Learn About, Make, and Taste:
Traditional Daifuku
Strawberry Daifuku
Auzki Anko Paste
Green Tea
About the Instructor
Kimiko Suzuki loves sharing her passion for locally sourced, simple and delicious dishes. Born and raised in Wakayama, Japan, she enjoyed the freshness, sweetness and richness of vegetables picked from her grandfather’s garden plot and learned true home-style Japanese cooking techniques in her mother’s kitchen. Kimiko teaches at Cook Culture and Well Fed Studio in North Vancouver and has been published in edible Vancouver Wine and Country 2019 Fall Edition as well contribute food writer for Vancouver Shinpo, local Japanese newspaper.
BioLab Business Feature: Researchers probe the complexities of crop resiliency
The Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at the UBC Farm is on the cutting edge of climate adaptation and resiliency in agriculture, according to a recent feature by BioLab Business.
From measuring Greenhouse Gas Emissions among various crops to identifying soil microbes that can boost plant resiliency, the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at the UBC Farm supports a plethora of research projects that are working to build a sustainable and resilient food system.
Think you don’t have the right space to grow your own food? Think again! Whether your space is small, shady, on a balcony, or has poor soil and weeds galore, you’ll learn how to make the best of your challenging growing situation and produce your own delicious veggies all season long!
About the Instructor
Mik Turje has been working in community food and agriculture for over a decade. First as a small-scale organic farmer on Vancouver Island and in Richmond where they grew a variety of veggies for farmers markets, CSA’s and high-end grocery stores. Then as a community development worker in the Food and Urban Agriculture movement. Mik was the Urban Agriculture Coordinator at The Stop Community Food Centre in Toronto for many years, where they taught a full slate of gardening workshops and mentored new gardeners. Mik now runs a small food security organization in Renfrew-Collingwood.
Building Resilient Food Systems During COVID-19 and Beyond
Webinar: What’s a food system anyway? Unpacking the global and local food system.
Join Navin Ramankutty, Professor, Faculty of Arts, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA) and Faculty of Science, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability & Will Valley, Senior Instructor in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems and Academic Director of the Land, Food and Community Series as they teach you the fundamentals of what comprises a food system and what factors influence it. This will be a great primer for future talks in our series, so be sure to register for this and the whole series below.
About the Presenter
Dr. Ramankutty (Left) & Dr. Will Valley (Right)
Navin Ramankutty’s research program aims to understand how humans use and modify the Earth’s land surface for agriculture and its implications for the global environment. Using global Earth observations and numerical ecosystem models, his research aims to find solutions to the problem of feeding humanity with minimal global environmental footprint. Ramankutty has given multiple lectures on Sustainable Farming and Food Systems affiliated with CSFS and instrumental in Global Sustainable Food System Research and Policy at UBC Farm.
Will Valley is a senior instructor in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems and the academic director of the core curricula in the faculty, the Land, Food, and Community Series. His research focuses on sustainable food system education, K-12 food systems, food literacy development, urban agriculture, and community-engaged scholarship. He is also co-director of Inner City Farms, an urban farming non-profit in Vancouver, BC. Will’s dedication to food system thinking being taught at UBC makes him an asset and key collaborator of CSFS.
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