Victoria’s Food Eco District is encouraging residents to go green this holiday season. They’re creating garden kits designed for high-productivity, small-space growing, perfect for all skill levels. These are designed to be small enough to fit on a balcony while still allowing you to grow anything from herbs to cut flowers to your favourite veggies.
Brianna Stewart, Program Manager, tells YAM “we decided to launch a short holiday fundraiser in an effort to raise some funds to support our ongoing programming. We have been using these planters (both geotextile and caja self-watering planters) over the course of the last year and love the ease and portability they offer! The goal is to get more people growing food at home while also supporting a cause that brings local food systems to the forefront of our City.”
100% of the proceeds from each kit goes towards urban agriculture initiatives such as Street to Sky, the Urban Learning Garden and My FED Farm.
FED is a sustainable dining district covering several blocks in downtown Victoria. Its 14 restaurant and café members focus on eco-friendly practices and cultivating a growing number of edible gardens around their neighbourhoods.
The society provides consultation on creating and maintaining multiple types of edible gardens and converts under-utilized urban areas into green spaces.
They’ve partnered with LifeCycles Project Society to create an Urban Learning Garden in the courtyard of the downtown library where anybody will be able to learn more about growing in urban spaces.
My FED Farm distributes garden kits to Greater Victoria residents facing barriers to healthy, affordable food.
Their Street to Sky program connects developers, landowners, strata corporations, and urban food growers to the unique benefits associated with growing food in Victoria, with guides that lay out best practices and opportunities for transforming underutilized areas around the city (think rooftops and courtyards) into food oases.
Each Holiday Fundraiser garden kit features a FED Caja planter and/or geotextile grow bags and includes seeds. Garden kits can be purchased through their website with an option for delivery or pick-up from West Coast Refill (1319 Broad Street). Sales end December 15th, 2021.