4. Museum of Vancouver (ACAM)

Organization Information

Organization Name

Museum of Vancouver

Mission and Vision of Organization

VISION

To inspire a socially connected, civically engaged city.

MISSION

To achieve a deeper understanding of Vancouver through stories, objects and shared experiences.

Guiding Principles + Values

As a civic organization, we are committed to deepening our collective understanding of the City through our common stories, objects and experiences. MOV conceptualizes this through our engagement priorities, which have been focused into 4 broad areas that we have deemed our pillars. These include:

• Redress and Decolonization
• Immigration and Diversity
• Environment and Sustainability
• Urban and Contemporary Issues

Contact Information

• Primary Contact Person(s): Viviane Gosselin, Wei Yan Yeong
• Email: [[1]]  ; [[2]]
• Phone: 604.600.2860
• Address: 1100 Chestnut St, Vancouver, BC V6J 3J9
• Website: https://museumofvancouver.ca/

Preferred Method of Contact

• Best method(s) to contact: Email
• Best day(s) to contact: Email for availability
• Best time(s) to contact: Mornings, Afternoons

Preferred Platform(s) for Remote Collaboration

• Zoom

Project Description

Context: What challenge or issue does the project aim to address?

MOV’s Backyard Garden: Situated on the unceded homelands of the Coast Salish peoples–Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations, the MOV Backyard Garden Project celebrates the multicultural and diverse backyard gardens kept by local residents in Metro Vancouver. For many, a garden is a place of retreat for the mind, body and soul. Many migrant families keep personal gardens that are used to grow food familiar to their cultural foodways. A notable example is the Chinese “kitchen garden”—a backyard garden kept by early Chinese immigrants when traditional Chinese crops were not readily available at the markets.

The garden space encourages us to explore and reflect on the roles of backyard gardens at the intersections of cultural heritage and our local food system. The MOV Backyard Garden produces a variety of harvest such as fuzzy melons, bottle gourds, bitter melons, eggplants, tomatoes, bok choy, kabocha squash; the veggies are grown in the garden space as an educational piece to the public and served as a teaser to the A Seat at the Table exhibit prior to its launching. Now, the produce is usually given to garden and museum staff. However, there is potential to plan food literacy workshops such as canning, fermentation and other preservation workshops that tie to traditional methods of food preservation through the winter season.

Main Project Activities and Deliverable(s)

• Research different ways of preserving food using different ingredients that could be grown at the garden to represent the diverse and multicultural backyard gardens in Lower Mainland
• Ideate a potential program plan for the implementation of food preservation workshop and activities If possible, students can work on implementing these activities/workshops as an educational event at the museum (virtual or in-person)

Will the project work for the students be online, in person, or a combination?

• In person

Student Assets and Skills (preferred or required)

• Strong creativity and interest in museum work
• Knowledge or interest in food preservation
• Experience or interest in connecting with the public in an educational setting

Are there any mandatory attendance dates (e.g. special event)?

• In-person orientation: 22nd September, 1-4pm at MOV

Is a criminal record search (CRS) required?

• No

Preferred Days of Week and Hours

• Flexible

Related Community Service Opportunities for Students

• Depending on individual/group performances throughout the course, students might be offered a paid internship position to work with UBC’s INSTRCC organization on community engagement programs, including possible internships with various local organizations

Required Reading

Project/Partner Orientation Materials

Suggested references to past and current work @ MOV:

• Backyard Garden MOV Backyard Garden
• Past garden projects
• Garden Harvest Event
• Back to the Roots Garden Workshop
• Cooking Workshop

Additional Project/Partner Orientation Materials

• https://www.fnha.ca/about/news-and-events/news/new-canning-guide-offers-info-on-a-favourite-food-preservation-method
• https://www.bernardin.ca/
• The National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia

• Be available for in-person orientation & field tour @MOV on 22 September 1pm - 4pm