December 21, 2016
Happy holidays! The Compost Education Centre will be closed from Saturday December 24th to Wednesday January 4th. We can’t wait to see you in the new year and to share our new workshop schedule with you!
November 30, 2016
We are seeking a highly organized, energetic and motivated person to join our team as an Administration and Communications Coordinator. This is a permanent position with a 21 hour work week (Wednesday-Friday, 9:00am-4:30pm).
The Administration and Communications Coordinator is responsible for all office administrative duties, communications activities, community education and outreach, report and grant writing assistance.
Click here for the full job posting
Submit a resume, cover letter and references via email by 11:59pm on Monday January 2nd, 2017
Resume should be submitted to Marika Smith at [email protected]
Subject Heading: Administration and Communications Coordinator Application
Resume Filename: LastName_FirstName_Application_2017
We thank all those who apply for their interest in our organization, but only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.
Posted in Blog, Events, Featured, News, Uncategorized
September 28, 2016
The Healing City Soils project has been completed for 2016! Almost 140 soil samples were tested in Victoria and Esquimalt through this joint project with Royal Roads University and the results made into an interactive map (coming soon!) to inform the community about potential for soil contamination and best practices for growing healthy produce in back and front yards and boulevards.
As well, we are thrilled to announce that two of our new factsheets from the Healing City Soils project are now complete. These factsheets will help urban gardeners learn more about soil contamination and protect their health while growing their own groceries.
Soil Contamination: Whether you are already growing food or would like to begin a garden, it’s a good idea to learn more about your soil so that you can grow food safely. Urban soils are often compacted and nutrient deficient, and can sometimes contain heavy metals and other contaminants as a result of historical industrial activity, past and present land use and proximity to pollution sources (e.g. a major road). Soil contaminants may get into or onto our veggies and fruits and have negative health effects over the long term. Gardeners can take many simple and inexpensive actions to reduce their exposure to urban soil contaminants. Soils can be managed, improved and made healthy again so that you and your garden can thrive. Find the factsheet here.
Best Practices for Healthy Urban Gardens: We recommend that all gardeners follow healthy gardening practices to help reduce exposure to heavy metals and other contaminants. Generally, maintaining a neutral soil pH, adding organic matter and compost to your soil, mulching your garden soil and thoroughly washing your garden produce can reduce your exposure to many soil contaminants so you can enjoy the many health benefits of eating fresh garden-grown fruits and vegetables. Find the factsheet here.
Posted in Blog, Featured, News
August 31, 2016
Join the Victoria Storytellers’ Guild for an evening of stories rooted in land and nature.
You are welcome to come to listen or can also bring a story of your own to share. Stories can be of different lengths up to 10 minutes or so. Shorter stories are welcome, too. They can be folk tales, fairy tales, myths, legends, personal stores (happened to the teller or someone close to them), can have some singing or response from the audience. They must be told “by heart”, that is, not read from text or with the use of notes.
Admission by donation at the door, with all proceeds going to support the Compost Education Centre’s programming. Tea and cookies will be provided
When: 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm, Friday, November 4th
Where: 1831 Fern St., the Quakers’ Meeting Hall.
Posted in Blog, Events, Featured, News
August 3, 2016
Our annual August Organic Plant Sale is coming up on Saturday Aug 27th, 10am-2pm at the Compost Education Centre, 1216 North Park St!
The sale is a great chance to get local, organic veggie starts for winter growing! Come on out to the little sister of our spring organic plant sale and get your greens for the winter. Kale, broccoli, cabbage, salad greens, culinary herbs, medicinal herbs and much, much more will be available.
Farmers:
Posted in Blog, Events, Featured, News
April 16, 2016
It’s that time of year again where we gather to review the past year, our plans for the new year, enjoy delicious food, and learn something new! Join us for our AGM in our urban oasis in the heart of Fernwood at 1216 North Park Street. The AGM will take place from 1:00-3:00 on Saturday April 23rd.
Our knowledgeable Site Manager Alysha will be leading an interactive site tour through our beautiful demonstration gardens where you can learn firsthand about the many sustainable systems and permaculture techniques we have in place, including our new aquaponics system, rainwater harvesting systems and the many options we have for on-site food waste reduction and diversion.
Everyone is welcome to attend the AGM. Members who have been in good standing with the Compost Education Centre have voting rights at the meeting. Your input is vital – so we hope to see you there!
To view the report in PDF format, click here.
Posted in Blog, Events, Featured, NewsApril 14, 2016
Saturday, May 7th from 10am-2pm! Amazing, all-organic, all-local veggie, herb and flower starts for your garden sold right outside the Compost Education Centre at 1216 North Park St.!
Continue reading “Spring Organic Plant Sale Saturday May 7th”
Posted in Blog, Events, NewsApril 13, 2016
We are thrilled to be hosting two great rainwater harvesting workshops, as well as a stormwater management specialist from the City of Victoria who will be on-hand to answer questions!
But that’s not all — our wonderful friends at Van Isle Water are offering all workshop attendees a coupon that can be redeemed for 15% off all rainwater harvesting materials!
INTRO TO RAINWATER HARVESTING, 10:00am-12:00pm, $20. Register here.
This introductory workshop is perfect for people who are keen to start learning all about rainwater harvesting. The workshop will define and explain watersheds, lay out the principles of rainwater harvesting, define terms such as greywater and blackwater, and go over the laundry to landscape system of rainwater containment using techniques such as cisterns and earthworks.
RAINWATER HARVESTING INTEGRATED DESIGN, 2:00-4:00pm, $20. Register here.
This workshop will help you get started designing a rainwater harvesting system for your household. We will cover site assessment, water budgeting, design work, and evaluation of different systems. Please bring a plan/overhead view of your site if possible, as we will be doing hands-on work.
April 6, 2016
It was a successful first day of soil testing for the Healing City Soils Team! The team will be taking samples from residential yards and boulevards for the next two months around Victoria and Esquimalt and the information collected will be uploaded into an interactive soil health map. Learn more about the project here.
March 16, 2016
Join us for our Spring Fundraiser to give back to the earth while having fun, chatting with friendly folks and bidding on fantastic silent auction items!
The wonderful musical talent that is the Blackwood Two will be performing their acoustic melodies and your ticket includes a pint of Hoyne beer and an appetizer buffet. Tickets are $25 and are available online through Eventbrite.
Proceeds from the fundraiser will directly fund our school workshops and projects such as the Healing City Soils Project, an initiative offering free soil tests to analyze Victoria’s soils and create a virtual “soil health” map of Victoria. Fundraising allows us to continue these great projects and to educate children and adults about the importance of soil conservation, composting and creating and sustaining local food systems.
Bid on fantastic silent auction items generously donated by:
Posted in Blog, Events, Featured, News