Late Summer in the Garden

With most of the summer planting done, we at Riley Park have immensely enjoyed meeting fellow community members, listening to the Farmer's Market musicians while working on Saturdays, watering in the evenings in the warm breeze, and seeing the garden really come to life. 

We have lots planned for this Saturday in the Garden: 

10-12:30pm: Garden Work Party- join us as we dig into the garden while making connections with the community!
12:30-3pm: Tomato Festival Celebration!

• 12:30- Tomato varietal presentation and tasting by Earth Apple Organics at the Riley Park Farmer's Market
• 1pm- Tomato potluck (feel free to share a dish- we have fridge space in the fieldhouse if you are coming for the work party beforehand!)

3:30-5pm: Fall/Winter Planting Workshop with Farmer Chris from One Love Farm- come join us as we learn what to plant for the upcoming seasons, how to plant them, zero-waste planting techniques, and more

Farmer Chris Billion of  onelovefarm.ca  offers 20% off tomatoes purchased at this stall for the tomato potluck. Visit One Love Farm at the Riley Park Farmers Market Saturdays 10-2!

UPCOMING EVENTS IN ADDITION TO SATURDAY WORK PARTIES:

• Aug 24:   9-3pm         Economical Insurance Corporate Work Party 
• Aug 26:  12:30-3pm   Tomato Harvest Potluck
                     3:00-5pm    Fall/Winter planting workshop with One Love Farm 
• Aug 30:  9-3pm         Economical Insurance Corporate Work Party
• Sept 2:   10-2pm        Donation Station at the Riley Park Farmers Market                                                               3pm             Mad Hatter Tea Party 
• Sept 16:  12:30pm      Artful Community Reflections 
• Sept 18:   6pm            Soil Science Workshop with Jo from Rootshoot
• Sept 22:  6:30pm       Medicine Wheel Fall Solstice 
• Sept 23:  10-2pm       Apple Harvest Festival:  taste and learn about apples.
• Sept 30:  12:30pm     Garlic Growing Workshop
• Oct 7:      10-2pm       Wild Salmon Caravan Celebration & Three Sisters Lunch
                                            Donation Station at the Riley Park Farmers Market

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Riley Park collaborates with Environmental Youth Alliance (EYA)
Last Saturday we planted several native plants in the garden in partnership with EYA and their Native Plant Corridor project. With help from the rest of the work party, the Rewilders group planted Salal, Snowberry, Oregon Grape, Sword fern and many more! Learn more about the project at http://eya.ca/project-view/native-plant-nursery

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The New Gardener's at Riley Park group has been having a great growing season! In addition to hosting workshops on topics ranging from growing edible flowers to composting, this group is now harvesting salad greens, basil, mint, zucchini and cucumbers. Stay tuned for their summer wrap-up party happening in September!

LATINO WATERING NIGHT COOKOUT & SYRIAN POTLUCK LUNCH

We had a wonderful time this month celebrating the various cultures of our garden bed members. On one watering night, Marta and the rest of the Latino Newcomers group hosted a festive latin-themed cookout featuring live music and barbequed vegetables, which were donated from the Riley Park Farmer's Market during one of our Donation Stations (the first Saturday of every month)! Highlights included handmade empanadas and the Colombian musicians. 

After the Saturday work party on August 12th, garden bed members Silva and the Alhariri family hosted a Syrian potluck lunch in the garden for community members. Dishes included tabbouleh, hummus, spinach pie, fresh figs, and kelp noodle salad from Japanese gardener Amy. The sun was shining and bellies were left full and satisfied! 

Noha Alhariri, Silva and friend- amazing cooks and terrific gardeners!

Make sure to always stay up to date with what's going on in the garden by subscribing to our newsletter + checking out the events calendar on www.rileyparkgarden.org as well as following our Facebook page Riley Park Garden!

Summer Updates from Riley Park!

This summer has been a busy one in the Riley Park Community Garden! Being our inaugural season, there have been many moving parts in developing this project and creating the space. Some highlights from the past couple of months:

·      Our official opening day on June 24th that brought many community members of all backgrounds growing together

·      The tribute to Ed Shum: a lifelong gardener and friend of the garden

·      Enjoying our open-door work parties in the sunshine alongside the Riley Park Farmer’s Market (ice coffee and BC berries within arm’s reach is always a plus!)

·      Building accessible garden beds to ensure that every body is able to work in the garden

·      The Four Corners ceremony led by First Nations Elder Amy and creating a medicine wheel plant circle

·      Watching all our garden member groups grow edible plants, some of which will be donated to people in need

·      Workshops by the Vancouver Meet-Up Group and the New Gardeners Group, teaching everything from planning a food garden, to companion planting, to growing edible flowers!

·      The “Plein Air” art event at the garden, encouraging community members to unleash their creativity while enjoying the outdoors

·      Picnics in the Park: bringing Chinese-speaking senior residents from Little Mountain Court for a picnic and chats in the garden

·      The Latino Watering Night Cookout, which featured a veggie BBQ with donated produce from the Riley Park Farmer’s Market and live music!

·      Our Syrian Newcomer Potluck lunch which gathered Syrian families involved with the garden and their friends, as well as other community members who contributed dishes from several cultures

Stay tuned for further updates via our Facebook page and/or signing up for the newsletter on this website! 

Updates: Garden Meeting Thursday, Working in the Garden Sunday, Festivals and Events

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep updated on our events and activities in Riley Park.  Read our latest newsletter http://mailchi.mp/45621c7e7b1c/riley-park-community-garden-join-us-this-weekend-293999  

Thank You, Applicants. We will be in touch.

As our Garden Coordinator Hannah wraps up her 6-month contract and heads back to UBC Farm full-time, the garden is taking shape and our programming is being planned for the summer; so we are looking to find a new addition to our team!

We are looking to hire a Riley Park Community Outreach Coordinator on contract from June to October 2017 to oversee the marketing, community engagement and outreach for our activities in Riley Park. This includes the Riley Park Community Garden, the Fieldhouse education plan, community events and celebrations. This position will take on a leadership role in outreach: contacting and engaging groups and residents to work in the garden and for them to offer workshops and activities in the fieldhouse. The Coordinator is the main contact person for our activities in Riley Park.

For more information, including how to apply, please see the contract description here or click the image below.