Overview
Project Title
Creating a varied landscape within community gardens
Organization Name
Urban Bounty (formerly Richmond Food Security Society)
Related Course Concepts
Food security, Food insecurity, Anti-racism, Decolonization, Indigenous food sovereignty
Organization Information
Organization Name
Mission and Vision of Organization
VISION
Healthy people, community, and environment.
MISSION
Inspiring a robust Richmond food system through education, advocacy, and community-building initiatives.
Guiding Principles + Values
- Authentic Principles: We live the values as identified in the Richmond Food Charter
- Courageous Community Leadership: We engage our community to address challenges.
- Healthy Ambition: We grow community wellness and have fun doing it.
- Sustainable Change: We inspire long-term, tangible, systemic results.
Contact Information
- Primary Contact Person(s): Ian Lai
- Email: director [at] richmondfoodsecurity.org
- Phone: 604.244.7377
- Address: 7611 Ash Street, Richmond, BC, V6Y 2S2
- Website: https://www.richmondfoodsecurity.org/
Preferred Method of Contact
- Best method(s) to contact: Email
- Preferred platform(s) for project meetings: Google Meet
- Best day(s) to contact: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays
- Best time(s) to contact: Afternoons
- Work to happen online or in person: Combination
Project Description
Context: What challenge or issue does the project aim to address?
Richmond currently has 11 community gardens and is growing. Each community garden plot is privately owned by a community member and each garden plot is unique as the owner. We're interested in increasing the diversity of plants surrounding the gardens to help improve urban biodiversity and native pollinators. From case studies, increasing the diversity of plants surrounding a garden will dramatically improve the yield and capacity of gardens.
The project aims to develop a landscape plan and feasibility report on planting native plants around the gardens. We would also like to build off a previous UBC LFS 350 project identifying the Indigenous groups that reside within Richmond. We would like to use the planting as an educational bridge for the Richmond community and Indigenous communities. We would like to incorporate culturally important plants and encourage Indigenous people to join.
Main Project Activities and Expected Deliverable(s)
- Literature review and case studies of similar projects
- Landscape design
- Educational materials such as infographics, signs, and social media posts
Student Assets and Skills (preferred or required)
- Creativity
- Some gardening knowledge
- Research skills
Are there any mandatory attendance dates (e.g. special event)?
- No
Is a criminal record check required?
- No
Related Community Service Opportunities for Students
- Students are encouraged to volunteer with our fruit gleaning program if they are interested. It will only run until mid-late October
Required Reading
Project/Partner Orientation Materials
- Students should familiarize themselves with our organization and principles by reading the Richmond Food Charter and visiting our organization's website
Additional Project/Partner Orientation Materials
- Plant Flowers for Bees (West Coast Seeds resource)
- How to Source Native Plants and Seeds (David Suzuki Foundation source)
- Turner, Nancy J. (2006). Food plants of Coastal First Peoples. Available from UBC Library.
- Working in Good Ways Project (University of Manitoba)
- The First Nations Principles of OCAP
Outcomes
Intended Project Outcome (Short Term Outcomes)
- Connecting with City staff to see how feasible the plan would be
- Creating a landscape plan for 3 or more gardens including plants and where they will be
- Assessing the potential beneficial improvements on plant diversity, increasing pollination, and protecting urban diversity
- Potentially connecting with local Indigenous groups to have their input on native and culturally important plants