Community Garden Club wins People’s Choice Award!
Big congrats to the Community Garden Club who won the People’s Choice Award yesterday for the Nourishing Innovation contest! The contest is hosted by the BC Collaborative for Social Infrastructure (more info below) to engage students in taking leadership on creating and implementing solutions to improve nutrition and food security on campus.
The Garden Club won a $500 prize for each of the People’s Choice Award and for being a finalist for the next phase of the contest. Next up they will pitch their idea to a panel of judges on June 28 from 1-3 over zoom. Anyone is welcome to attend as an audience member, if you would like to support you can sign up here.
To learn more about Community Garden Club’s idea, you can watch their video.
Native Edible Plan Garden - Nourishing Innovation Contest Submission:
Our solution to food security challenges on the Vancouver Island University (VIU) campus is to create a native edible plant garden. This will be implemented in a designated space within the established VIU Community Peace Garden, located on the unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw peoples. This project will educate students about the importance of native plants and how to grow their own gardens while simultaneously offering a source of nutritious food.
One way we will do this is by organizing workshops taught by Indigenous leaders. These will showcase Indigenous knowledge and stewardship while teaching students about local ecosystems. Students will be able to apply this to their own gardens and local parks.
This garden also acts as a safe and accessible space for students. Here, students can collect food from our plants and fruit trees without shame or stigma. This funding will support us in buying native plants and supplies for the garden, as well as creating signage in English and Hul’qumi’num.
With your support, the VIU Community Peace Garden can grow from its roots to become a more inclusive space that celebrates Indigenous knowledge and will continue to benefit students in the future.
The BC Collaborative for Social Infrastructure (BCCSI) is a joint project between BCIT, UNBC, SFU, and VIU funded by the McConnell Foundation to advance and scale BC higher education social infrastructure to strengthen communities while sharing knowledge. Food was used and continues to be used as a means of colonialism that has resulted in intergenerational trauma and harm to our Indigenous relations. Through working collaboratively, we hope to bring back the healing, spiritual, and cultural importance of food as a start to walking the path of reconciliation with our Indigenous relations.
