Category: News

The Good Food Gathering

December 18, 2025

Here at the Compost Education Centre, we see composting as essential for the cultivation of good food. Yet compost is just one ingredient in the recipe for good food – we also need growers, distributors, chefs, teachers, elders, researchers, and youth.

On November 27^th, I was grateful to be able to attend the 10^th Annual Good Food Gathering (GFG), where I was able to learn about the work of many folks involved in these various roles throughout the Capital Region District. The Good Food Network exists to support and connect us, which is facilitated by CRFAIR.

As a relative newcomer to the “food system” scene, I was particularly excited for this event. As I stepped into the spacious upper hall of the Gorge Pavillion, with a beautiful view of the Gorge waterway, the room was abuzz with reunions, new connections, fruitful discussions – and of course, delicious food. Though I was feeling a bit shy in this busy room, throughout the day many people introduced themselves to me and made me feel welcome and shared a bit about their work with me.

The day began with an overview of the current context surrounding food systems – how recent years have seen skyrocketing grocery prices but stagnating farmer incomes and increasing food insecurity, especially among equity-denied groups. Despite these growing concerns, many folks have made large strides in our region’s food system over the past 10 years, from Flourish!’s school food programs to Pauquachin First Nation’s clam garden restoration to the development of regional FoodHubs, there is much to celebrate.

After this (and my favourite part of the day), 10 individuals shared stories about their work, their successes and challenges. During these stories, I was especially excited by the work of Ariel at Iyé Creative, where they have done significant research into increasing community capacity to grow culturally relevant food crops. Importantly, a key learning from the Good Food Gathering was that we still have a lot of work to do in our region around supporting the cultivation of cultural foods and prioritizing Indigenous food systems. For those of us engaged (or wanting to engage!) with our local food systems, it is of the utmost importance that we envision food that feeds not only our bodies, but our minds and spirits, and serve everyone equally  – and this is what I took away from this awesome day.

Though there was much more that occurred at the GFG, such as an afternoon of group discussions and a yummy lunch, I will leave it there. For myself (and I think others) this was a day to look back, celebrate our successes, name our challenges and shortcomings, and look to the future, energized and focused!

Posted in Blog, Events, Food Security, News

Compost Education Centre Public Art Efforts – Community Feedback

September 11, 2025

The Compost Education Centre (CEC), with financial support from the City of Victoria’s My Great Neighbourhood Grant and a micro-grant from the Fernwood Neighbourhood House, has hired an artist (Taylor Pannell) to beautify the exterior fencing of the demonstration site at 1216 North Park Street, to paint a new picnic table for all to enjoy, and to paint a mural on the street surface near the entrance to the CEC demonstration site. We’re working to create a warm, welcoming, and approachable environment for all City residents to come and spend time relaxing in the gardens or learning about hands on regenerative soil practices.

There are three main elements to these efforts: 

1. Fence beautification: To beautify the chain link fence while also bringing together community, community members are welcome to paint metal or wooden Flora and Fauna representative of the work we do at the CEC to attach them to the fence. Timeline: October community event 

2. Picnic Table art: There is a need for additional seating within the demonstration & allotment gardens at the CEC. In partnership with ReWood we will build a new picnic table, to replace a near fallen apart picnic table to create seating area for people to dwell longer in the gardens The CEC has some milled Eucalyptus wood from a tree that was cut down because of a neighbouring development that will be used as the material. The Artist in Residence will paint a design on top of the table. Timeline: November painting.

 3. Street Mural on North Park Street: To create a colourful and welcoming approach for our new neighbours at the Caledonia development and to make the entrance of the CEC & Chambers Community Allotment Garden more noticeable, the Artist will paint a road top mural featuring elements of plants, healthy soil, community cohesion. Timeline: end of April/early May for street mural painting, with a community celebration and garden party to celebrate the mural in the following weeks. 

Sign up for our newsletter here to ensure you stay in the loop about the elements of this project or leave your email address in the form below to ensure you’re in the loop.

Posted in Blog, News

Calling all local BIPOC & Queer Artists!

June 14, 2025

The CEC is looking to hire a BIPOC and/or queer artist to beautify the exterior fencing of the demonstration site, design and paint an image on a picnic tabletop, and a design and paint a road surface mural near the entrance to the demonstration site. In alignment with our goal of community building, the project includes community consultation and an engagement with volunteers on all three of the project components. The ultimate goal of this project is to create a warm, welcoming, approachable environment for all City residents to come and spend time relaxing in the CEC demonstration gardens or to learn about hands-on regenerative soil practices.

This project will be funded by the City of Victoria’s My Great Neighbourhood Grant and an artist fee of approximately $4225 is available, materials are separate and will also be covered by the grant. 

Please see the artist package through the link in our bio to learn how to apply. We invite you to visit our site at 1216 North Park St. and our website (www.compost.bc.ca) to get a feel for the space and where the artwork will be going. Feel free to contact Kayla with any questions you have, ksiefried@compost.bc.ca or 250-386-9676

Deadline for submissions is July 1 at 11:59pm.

Posted in Announcement, Blog, Featured, NewsTagged announcement, news, opportunity

Survey for Garden St. Food Forest

February 12, 2025

A group of interested neighbours on Garden Street, with the support of the Compost Education Centre are making efforts to have 2518 Garden Street listed officially as a community garden and obtain an official license of occupation with the city of Victoria. We are conducting a survey to ensure that the community is consulted. 

The vision for the Garden Street Food Forest, which currently is an existing unique garden space that is managed by neighbours, is to improve upon this already well established urban oasis green space, with a magic “secret garden” ambiance as a powerful and alluring quality of the unique space for immediate neighbours and the broader community (of human and non-human beings, think birds and bees) to come together for relaxation, sanctuary, education, food security, and to build social connection and community.

If you have any questions about this project, please reach out to Kayla at the Compost Education Centre at 250-386-9676. Thank you for your input, it’s appreciated. 

Posted in Announcement, Blog, Civic Engagement, Featured, News, Organic GardeningTagged announcement, food forest, opportunity, organic gardening

Meet Bowen Macy!

December 4, 2024

Hey Wormies!

We’re thrilled to introduce Bowen Macy, one of the newest members of the Compost Education Centre’s board of directors! With a wealth of experience in sustainability, community engagement, and event organizing, Bowen brings a dynamic and creative perspective to the team. His passion for sustainability and building connections in local communities aligns perfectly with the CEC’s mission. We sat down with Bowen to learn more about his journey, his love for composting, and his vision for the future of the Centre.

How did you first hear about the CEC?

Walking by (and being nosey!) I moved to town about 3 years ago and live just down the road. I saw the CEC while en route to Little June, popped in, and proceeded to ask one million questions! 

What is your favourite thing about the CEC?

I love how they bring people together to both learn practical skills such as making kimchi or canning jam while also learning about environmental justice and building a connection to the land. 

What made you want to join the board?

I love what the CEC does and wanted to help out! I’m excited to support the CEC as they continue providing such important programming. I’m also looking forward to seeing the CEC continue to be a place where folks can gather in a green and welcoming environment. More coffees and tea in the garden!

Oh, and also the board meetings always have really good snacks so that is another reason 🙂

What are you currently reading and listening to?

A friend gave me Red Deal: Indigenous Actions to Save our Earth, which I just started and am on a speed run to finish. Indigenous folks have been such caring stewards of this land for so long it’s really just a no-brainer to be following their lead.

I’ve been listening to a bunch of my mom’s old CDs. She gave me a big binder of them from the early 2000s. There’s everything from Massive Attack to Rage Against the Machine to PJ Harvey to Angélique Kidjo to Grace Jones. I’m planning to start mixing them into my CFUV radio show (insert shameless plug about Third Place Radio on 101.9FM Thursdays at 3pm here!). 

Who’s someone that made a big impact on your life?

Well, that would be my mom. Besides helping shape my taste in music she showed me what it looks like to live with integrity and authenticity. From before I could walk, she would bring me along with her to pick tomatoes from the garden, hike through the forest, or march in a climate protest. Still to this day it completely baffles me how she was able to do so much, but I’m so grateful for her. Love you, Mom!

How can people get involved with the CEC?

So many ways! I think the workshops are a great place to start, and there are quite a few that are free as well. If you’ve got a project around gardening to sustainable living, their hotline (250-386-WORM) is a great resource as well. And then if you really want to get your hands dirty (literally!), there is an amazing group of volunteers that you could join!

Posted in Announcement, Blog, Board, NewsTagged bookrecommendation, music

Changes are afoot at the CEC Demonstration Site

November 14, 2024

If you’ve walked past the Compost Education Centre demonstration site at 1216 North Park Street in the past couple months, you’ve likely noticed tree removal on the north side, temporary fencing at different places and road work on North Park!

For the past 4 years since the Caledonia Housing Development was in its consultation phase, the CEC has known that our site footprint would be impacted.

That all came to reality starting October 1 here at the CEC demonstration site. Because of needs for specific access points into the housing development, Vining is in the process of being widened (between Chambers St and the development), and in exchange for the lost demonstration site space and allotment garden space, the demonstration stie is expanding into North Park St between Chambers St and the development.

The wonderful folks at Hatchet and Seed have been sub-contracted by the construction company to build out new demonstration areas on North Park, rebuild the greenhouse and coldframe, and reconfigure some impacted allotment garden beds. We’ll be replanting some fruit trees on the south side of the site to try to make up for the loss of the two mature apple trees we had along the back fence. The CEC recognizes the impact of removing large trees like the apples and eucalyptus, and so we held a special tree ceremony for those trees in advance of them being removed. Small trees are not a replacement for mature trees in terms of the ecosystem services they provide, so we were very sad to see these mature trees go.

On the positive side, much of the eucalyptus was chipped and we’ve spread those chips around the site, and they will continue their life as they decompose and build soil. Additionally, larger, straight logs from the eucalyptus were milled up beautifully, and we are now selling them as a fundraiser for the CEC! Please consider purchasing a memento from the eucalyptus tree for your next project. Details and inventory of the wood can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/share/15W9fDvQAi/ or here: https://www.usedvictoria.com/miscellaneous-for-sale/40983950

Posted in Blog, Fundraising, NewsTagged announcement, fundraiser, tree removal

Join our Board!

August 9, 2024

We are looking for individuals with a variety of perspectives, skills, and experience to join our Board of Directors.

Share your passion for composting, ecological conservation, and food justice! 

The Compost Education Centre’s vision is to cultivate resilient communities, which enable the land and all living beings to thrive. Our mission is to reconnect people, young and old, to land-based resilience-building practices related to composting, ecological gardening, and conservation. Our organizational practices sustain the organization, the natural environment, and our communities. We actively work towards right relations, anti-oppression, and environmental justice in solidarity with the Indigenous peoples on whose land we work. Our core values are reciprocity, adaptability, curiosity, joy, and groundedness. 

Benefits of Participating 

• Fantastic opportunity to build experience in organizational growth, not-for-profit, and charity work
• Connect and collaborate with a dedicated team that is passionate about waste reduction, soil conservation, local food production, and the intersections between food, land, and environmental justice
• Training and leadership development opportunities on topics including soil conservation and composting, team building, social enterprise development, event coordination, sustainable living skills, and DEI
• Contribute to the wellbeing of your community, local ecosystems, and the broader environment

Helpful Skills and Experience 

• A love for composting, food and environmental justice, urban agriculture, waste diversion, and soil health! 
• Familiarity with non-profits including prior experience on or working with a Board of Directors 
• Leadership experience 
• Fundraising experience and familiarity with revenue generation in non-profit structures 

Board of Directors FAQs 

What is a Board of Directors? The Board is responsible for setting mission and strategic direction, providing high-level oversight, and serving as ambassadors of the organization. The CEC’s Board is a dynamic team focused on supporting the organization’s mission. 

What would I do as a Board member? You attend board meetings every month and may join a committee to work on additional projects (e.g. Fundraising, DEI initiatives, etc.). You commit to a two-year term consisting of an average of 5-10 hours of work per month. 

Can anyone become a Board Member? Yes! To join the Board, you have to become a member before October 6, communicate your interest by filling out the form below, and attend our AGM on Thursday, November 7, 2024 to get nominated. If the cost of membership is a barrier to you becoming a Board Member and/or there are other barriers you have identified, please reach out to Claire at info@compost.bc.ca to discuss accommodations. 

What are the perks of joining the Board? Volunteering with a charitable non-profit organization provides practical work skills. It’s also a way to meet very cool and like-minded folks from other professions and disciplines. You also get awesome snacks at every board meeting, and we do staff and board dinners once or twice a year. 

Are Board Members paid? Unfortunately, no. The BC Societies Act prohibits us from paying Board Members. These positions are volunteer. 

 

Fill out the form below to apply. 

 

Posted in Announcement, Blog, Board, Job Posting, News, StaffTagged board FAQs, board of directors, job posting, opportunity, skill building, volunteer

Fall Plant Sale Fast Approaching!

July 25, 2024

The Compost Education Centre (CEC) is hosting our annual all-organic Fall plant sale! August 10, 10am-12pm!

The plant sale will take place in our site at 1216 North Park street. Stay for a while and enjoy bike pedal-powered music in the garden. Entry by donation or free for CEC members. Dogs welcome.

The Fall Organic Plant sale features veggie starts that are perfect for your overwintering vegetable garden.

What you can look forward to:

• A selection of annual vegetables suitable for fall and winter growing

• Native plants for your low maintenance garden

• Perennial edibles like berry bushes and other fruiting shrubs

• Medicinal herbs like English lavender, chamomile and yarrow

• Live bicycle powered music!

The Compost Education Centre is located on unceded and occupied Indigenous territories, specifically the land of the Lekwungen speaking people—the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. These nations are two of many, made up of individuals who have lived within the porous boundaries of what is considered Coast Salish, Nuu-Chah-Nulth and Kwakwa’wakw Territory (Vancouver Island) since time immemorial. At the CEC we seek to respect, honour and continually grow our own understandings of Indigenous rights and history, and to fulfill our responsibilities as settlers, who live and work directly with the land and its complex, vital ecologies and our diverse, evolving communities.

Compost Education Centre memberships get you free workshops, discounts at garden centres around town and more great perks! Sign up or learn more on our website.

Accessibility Information

The Compost Education Centre is committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive experience for all our community members.

Getting to the Compost Education Centre

The Compost Education Centre is located at 1216 North Park St. The closest bus stops are:

• Pandora Ave at Chambers St (Stop ID: 100169) (300 meters away) served by Routes 2, 5, 27, and 28;
• Cook St at Balmoral Rd (Stop ID: 100160) (350 meters away) served by Routes 24 and 25;
• Fernwood Rd at Grant St (Stop ID: 100227) (450 meters away) served by Route 22; and
• Bay St at Cedar Hill (Stop ID: 103733) (750 meters away) served by Route 10.

A bus transit planner is available on the BC Transit website (https://www.bctransit.com/victoria/).

The Compost Education Centre is accessible by bicycle, and there is ample bike parking available. Bike routes are visible on the CRD website (https://maps.crd.bc.ca/Html5Viewer/?viewer=BikeMap).

Parking

Parking is very limited. The closest parking options during the week are:

• Two 2-hour parking spots at the corner of North Park St and Chambers St (50 meters away);
• Three 2-hour parking spots at Haegert Park (100 meters away);
• One 1-hour parking spot at the corner of North Park St and Cook St (250 meters away);
• Multiple 1-hour parking spots on Gladstone Ave opposite the Fernwood Community Centre (300 meters away); and
• One 1-hour parking spot at the corner of Caledonia Ave and Cook St (350 meters away).

All other parking within 400 meters of the Compost Education Centre is residential-only. While construction is occurring adjacent to the Compost Education Centre at 1211 Gladstone Ave (projected to be complete in June 2025), parking is even more limited.

On Saturdays, parking is available in the Victoria High School parking lots that are accessible off Grant St and Gladstone Ave. From these parking lots, it is less than a 300 meter walk to the Compost Education Centre.

Site Accessibility

The Compost Education Centre site has paths made of wood chips. Mobility devices with wheels (such as wheelchairs, walkers etc.) are sometimes difficult to use on site. The Strawbale learning classroom is accessed via a wooden ramp, and it has a wide double door and a ramp leading up to it. Once inside the Strawbale, the floor is a level hard surface. There is a single-stall gender-neutral washroom on site. The washroom is not wheelchair accessible. There is a wooden ramp up to the washroom door and a small step over the doorframe into the washroom. The retail space is not wheelchair accessible; there are four steps up into our retail space.

Posted in Announcement, Blog, Events, News, Organic GardeningTagged announcement, event, live entertainment, news, plant sale

Meet Emily!

July 4, 2024

Hi everyone!

My name is Emily, I’m the new Child and Youth Education Assistant at the CEC, and I’m very excited to be working here for the summer! While originally from the territories of the Anishinaabe Mississauga peoples out East, I have been living on these lands for the past 7 years. As a graduate from the Geography and Indigenous Studies departments at UVic, my experience and interests lie primarily in community-based research, environmental education, and climate justice.

My interest in working with the CEC came from a passion for projects that help support healthy and reciprocal relationships to the land, as well as instilling these values in the hearts and minds of our society’s youngest members.

In my free time you’ll find me gardening, climbing, practicing my Spanish, and trying to entertain my very needy cat. Besides helping with the Child and Youth Education Program, I’ll be spending my time with Zoe-Blue working on some fun communications materials. Come find me in the office and garden; I love a good chat, especially when it’s about Native plants!

Posted in Announcement, Blog, Child and Youth Education, News, StaffTagged child and youth education, staff

Garden Plot Plan

May 14, 2024

Because I won’t have the plot until the end of the March at the earliest, it’s my plan to focus on summer crops to start. I’m trying to choose vegetables based on what I like to eat (duh), how easy they are to grow, and what people have suggested. So far I have: tomatoes, basil, and sweet peas. Ooh and I definitely want to grow some happy flowers for some happy pollinators.

The garden plots at Oswald Park are not big, which I think will be great for a novice gardener like me. I don’t really know what I’m doing and I tend to fill my summers with activities. The thought of having a relatively small space in which to mess up in sounds just about right. I took a look at the “square foot garden plan guide,” which shows how many plantings to do per square foot. This is what the current plot map looks like:

Most of the plants above can be direct sown, but the tomatoes need to be started early. I had a few seeds left over from a failed balcony container gardening experiment a few summers ago, and I bought a seed packet from the CEC, too.

I’m planning on traveling for a two week span over the summer so I’m also thinking ahead to watering needs. At the Victoria Seedy Sunday, I met the folks from Mayne Island Clay Works. They make these beautiful “ollas,” which are designed to buried in the ground and filled with water that is then slowly released to surrounding plants. We have one in the CEC retail space right now, and I’m kinda obsessed. I sent them an email, and they’ll bring one down to Victoria the next time they’re here doing deliveries. I’ve got this wild idea that I can dilute the Bokashi liquid in the olla for my fertilizer and irrigation needs. Stay tuned.

Next Steps

And we’re rolling, people! I’ll be keeping an eye on my tomato starts, drinking coffee for the Bokashi bran, making the Bokashi bran, and planning my planting dates for my other vegetables. Check back in a few weeks to hear how I’m doing!

Posted in Blog, News, Organic GardeningTagged garden planning, gardening, organic gardening, summer, summer gardening