Permaculture Workshop at Creekside Commons Co-Housing Community. 2202 Lambert Drive, Courtenay. October 2nd from 9-4. $40 per person. Contact Dan Aire @ 250-897-3804. Instructor is Ron Berezan who currently resides in Powell River. His website is www.theurbanfarmer.ca.
Registration and Payment is required by Sept 25
Come and learn the fundamentals of Permaculture Gardening in this one day workshop to be held @ Creekside Commons Co-Housing Community here in Courtenay. The instructor will be Ron Berezan formerly of Edmonton but now residing in Powell River. Ron has an incredible wealth of experience and knowledge in organic gardening/ edible landscapes/ forest gardening and permaculture. There is a bio of him at the bottom of this letter including his website. Cost of the workshop is $40 for a full day from 9-4. There will be a power point presentation, slides, Q and A, and a tour of the community and it's 9 acres of natural land. Payment and pre-registration are required by September 27th. Please contact me directly at 250-897-3804 for more information or to register. Thanks and we hope to see you there. The workshop will be held on October 2nd
Permaculture is an ecological design system for meeting essential human needs in sustainable ways. This movement has emerged from its earliest roots in tropical and sub-tropical rural environments to have a growing and dynamic impact in the northern hemisphere and in cities around the world. From yard-scale food production to neighborhood revitalization and the creation of resilient communities, cities are fertile ground for the permaculture vision. This workshop will explore key permaculture design principles and strategies for permaculture work in our own yards, communities, towns and cities as well as practical approaches to working with energy, soil, water, plants, animals and people. We will also consider inspiring real life examples of permaculture projects from North America and beyond.

Ron Berezan

Ever since his first “accidental” food garden as a young university student, Ron has been exploring and promoting new possibilities for growing food in urban areas. He has had extensive training in the “Bio-Intensive” organic gardening method and in Permaculture Design (Kootenay Permaculture Institute and Occidental Arts and Ecology Centre). Ron is a Master Gardener and a member of the Society of Organic Urban Land Care Professionals (SOUL). He has been a frequent CBC gardening commentator and has been published in numerous gardening magazines. Currently, Ron operates The Urban Farmer, an organic gardening, edible landscaping and Permaculture design service (www.theurbanfarmer.ca ). When not playing in his own gardens, Ron offers workshops on a variety of organic gardening and permaculture themes throughout Western Canada. Ron now lives in Powell River BC.

Open today for the first time!  Patty pan and scallopini squash, kale, swiss chard and apples.
By donation
We are closed Fri/Sat/Sun but will be open Monday -Thurs
Watch for the Lush Market sign in front of our building.

We all have one - even if we've never thought of it that way.
 Think of everything you ate yesterday, and everything you expect to eat today- where did the ingredients originate?

What do you eat? Not only likes and dislikes- but what cultural, religious or ethical issues shape your diet?
What about food allergies or sensitivities?
What do you eat when you are too tired or too busy to cook? How much a part of your daily diet is fast food, take-out, pizza or deli food, or convenience foods in cans, boxes or frozen?
What are your comfort foods?

Are you feeding kids? Seniors? Other family members? How often do you entertain? Who else do you feed on a regular bases- your children's friends? Tea with your neighbor?

How do you acquire your food?
Do you buy all your food from supermarkets? From farmers markets? From farm stands?
How do you get the food to your home?
What if your car broke down, or you were unable to buy gas? What if the transport trucks couldn't get through and the store shelves were empty?

Do you produce any of your food? Do you grow a garden? Hunt or fish?
Do you know/use any of the edible wild plants in the Valley?
How often do you cook from scratch?
Do you make bread, soup, grow sprouts?
Do you make jam, can or freeze in season?,

If the power went out, what would you eat?
What if the can opener broke?
What if the microwave broke?
What if the freezer defrosted?

 

Please join us on Sat. JULY 24TH, 2010 from 1 – 3 pm at the Lush Valley Hub, [1126 Piercy Ave. in Courtenay] for the official start of this year’s Fruit Tree Program. There will be free refreshments, music and door prises. Learn about the program, meet tree owners, pickers, returning and new volunteers.

Generating a Cookbook to Preserve

the Wisdom of Elders for Future Generations

LUSH VALLEY FOOD ACTION SOCIETY

 

Those involved will not only determine the content of the cook book, but also help cook and test the recipes in LUSH's commercial kitchen.  Youth with a passion for food will partner with the elders for the testing, and will be tapped for the computer savvy resources they can bring to the project. The end result will be the production of a cook book and a Power Point presentation to share with the community.  Projected completion date for this is fall 2010.

 

A meeting for all those interested in this project  will be held on Saturday, June 5th 1 pm at the LUSH Valley Hub at 1126B Piercy Avenue in Courtenay.  Please contact Bunny Shannon at bunny5779@aol.com or 250-335-2003 to RSVP and for further information.

For those interested in all aspects of food security, local foods, local agriculture and the like, please join LUSH Valley Food Action Society at its Annual General Meeting and Pot Luck on Thursday, May 13th from 6- 8 pm.

The featured guest presenter will be Jean DuGal, Courtenay resident, columnist for the Word, and founder of LUSH Valley.  Jean, a frugal living maven known for her dry wit, will entertain us with a Food Trivia contest, testing our local food smarts. There will be prizes for correct answers!

The pot luck portion will begin promptly at 6 pm.  Everyone attending is asked to provide a dish featuring local foods.  Please bring a card with the ingredients listed; a prize will be given to the most creative dish using local ingredients!  Beverages will be provided. The business of the AGM will take place at 6:30 pm, followed by dessert and the trivia contest.

LUSH Valley welcomes those who wish to volunteer, especially those who wish to invest their time and  skills to serve on the board of directors,  thereby helping us to shape the future of food security in the Comox Valley. For further information on board opportunities, please contact Bunny Shannon at 250.335.2003 or bunny5779@aol.com

LUSH (“Let Us Share the Harvest”) Valley has been working to achieve greater food security in the Comox Valley since 1999.  Currently LUSH Valley’s home provides a commercial kitchen, an information Hub for North Island as designated by the Vancouver Island Health Authority, and a variety of educational workshops and programs.  Our motto is “Less about charity, more about self-reliance.” 

 

LUSH Valley is located at 1126 Piercy Avenue in Courtenay.  Please RSVP to jegrt@telus.net or phone board member Judy Goldschmidt at 250.337.8033.

April 19th, 2010
At the LUSH Hub

In collaboration with Comox Valley Literacy Now, LUSH Valley brought in the formidable Vivian Cruise to secure some FoodSafe certifications.

Vivian Cruise, Chef Instructor, FoodSafe Instructor and Cookbook Author
Vivian attained her "Red Seal" - chef's papers in 1984 and has been involved in cooking since she was 5 years old, but professionally since 1977. Vivian worked at various restaurants in the Lower Mainland such as the Lazy Gourmet, Kettle of Fish, and Hy's Mansion and was Sous Chef at the SFU faculty club before spending 4 years teaching cooking and baking at 2 Vancouver Secondary Schools. Since moving to the Comox Valley in 1989, she was the chef for CYMC in the early 90's for 5 years, worked at Anderton Nursery, had her own catering business, worked at the Sid Williams Theatre, developed a cookbook and taught cooking for the towboating industry and teaches cooking and FoodSafe Level One (Basic) whenever and where ever it is needed for various organizations and colleges. Her new direction in life is to promote food security, support local farmers and food safety at all levels.
When Viv was a child if they didn't kill it or grow it they didn't eat it. Viv's favourite bumper sticker is: NO Farms, NO Food.

Summary of the FoodSafe course:
FoodSafe Level 1 is a somewhat comprehensive look at why we should be food safe at work(and at home), microbiology and how pathogens(disease causing microorganisms) are spread, the proper receiving, storage, handling, preparation, cooking and serving of foods, which foods are potentially hazardous, the effects of time and temperature on microbial growth, cleaning dishes and equipment and  Hand Washing. Part of the course also deals with work safety, injuries at work and how to prevent them. Vivian teaches the course using a workbook, lecture, 6 movies, 112 slides and class discussions. The exam will be marked before the students leave the classroom. Certificates will be issued within 3 weeks of successful completion of the exam.

Viv's favourite FoodSafe rule:  Wash your hands!