Eid Ramadan Celebration

We want to share the significance of the celebration and what it means to have Ramadan; all ages and cultures will be invited to learn about Ramadan and celebrate.  Saturday, May 29 2pm by Zoom

RSVP to Silva silva_abkarian@lmnhs.bc.ca and she will send the zoom link 

Ten (10) participants will receive a container planter as shown in our how-to make your own clip and PDF guide.   

Our zoom call includes: 

• A tour of the Riley Park Community Garden with our Arabic Settlement Worker, Silva, as she shows the produce we are growing that is commonly used in Arabic dishes including swiss chard and mint.  

• A how-to clip to make your own container planter. Watch and follow along with our Master Gardener, Selina Pope, as she walks through the steps to plant and grow your own produce in a small space. A step-by-step guide with instructions is also available.  

• Cooking together and sharing recipes.  Follow along as we cook three recipes prepared to celebrate Eid. We will be cooking Chard Fatayer, Dolma (middle eastern stuffed vegetables) and Baklava using pistachios.  We invite all participants to share stories of their favourite recipes. 

Activities invite all the community to connect, engage, learn and build relationships by understanding and ethno-cultural diversity.

Thank you to TD Parks People grant to support this important celebration.

World Bee Day May 20

Tune into CBC 3:45pm Thursday, May 20 and listen to Lori Weidenhammer, our Madame Beespeaker. She takes our listeners on a walk of the garden as she talks about our pollinators and the importance of bees. Check our Learning Resources Pollinator page for our seasonal pollinator maps, bingo cards and other self-guided resources to the garden. Coming this June for Pollinator Week, funded by TD Parks People, is a Follow The Swallowtail video and a Butterfly map.

Helmer's Potato Patch is Planted

Potatoes donated by Helmer’s Organic Potatoes in Pemberton were 48 chitted potatoes - 16 of each variety:

• Warba - early season

• Sieglinde - mid

• Red Chief - mid to late

Selina, our Green Team Lead and Master Gardener, started the ‘eyes’ by placing the potato plants in egg cartons and leaving them in a cool dark place. Another option is to put them beside onions. A side note is that to avoid food waste, do not put onions and potatoes in the same bin or they will sprout ‘eyes’. 

The potato patch was planted in the garden by the Brock Ecoliteracy Program participants with support from Art Bomke. Sharlene Singh, the SPEC School Gardens Program Coordinator tells us, “What a beautiful day! We were able to finish planting the potato bed! The students had a fun time engaging with Art.  Students were fascinated by the eyes and the chitting process and also had no idea that potatoes don't originate from Canada.” Do you know the origins of potatoes in Canada?

 We look forward to harvesting the potatoes. Thank you Helmers Organic Potatoes. Be sure to visit their farm stand when we are allowed to travel and support them at the winter Riley Park Farmers Market.

Donation Station Thank You Shoppers!

May 1 at the Riley Park Farmers Market, shoppers donated over $208 to support our food distribution program. We appreciate the support of the shoppers and the farmers who donate produce. Thank you to our great volunteers pictured here who garden in the Riley Park Community Garden tending the Japanese Families bed.

Last year Little Mountain Neighbourhood House provided food support for

• 1,978 households

• 1,752 food hampers

• 158 meals for seniors

• 5,836 people fed.

Donate to the LMNH and support those in the community who need extra help at this time. Consider being a sustaining donor.

It's Compost Week!

It’s Neighbourhood House Week and also Compost Week. Thank you to Net Zero Waste Abbotsford for donating compost to our Garden and Yard Gardens. They’ve donated compost for the past three years that has allowed us to provide culturally appropriate produce for our newcomers and our food programs at the Neighbourhood House.