One of the summertime’s more popular events, the Edible Garden Tour, is back for its sixth consecutive year on Sunday, August 3.
Vanessa Sparrow, coordinator of the Powell River Food Security Project, is busy working with a team of organizers to select a set of gardens where food is being grown to feature on the free, self-guided tour. This year the tour will showcase a set of gardens in Edgehill/Cranberry in the morning and another set of gardens in Wildwood in the afternoon. The focus for 2014 is squarely on urban food production, and this tour will be fun and educational for anyone who is interested in seeing how others in the region are using their backyards, front yards, and other spaces to produce food.
“If there is one thing that Powell River prides itself on, it is its commitment to local food, whether that means supporting our local farms or putting energy into producing our own food,” said Sparrow. “Our lots are large, we have a good growing season, and there are many resourceful and creative people in the region willing to share their knowledge and experience with others. The Edible Garden Tour is the one day out of the year when people can get out and see some of the amazing things that others are doing.”
This year, as on the five previous tours, there will be about 10 gardens to visit: half in the morning (from 9 am to noon) and half in the afternoon (from 2 to 5 pm). The tour is self-guided and visitors can see the gardens in any order, so long as they visit the morning gardens in the morning and the afternoon ones in the afternoon.
The main intent of this tour is not to show off the most perfect and beautiful gardens, but working gardens which are devoted entirely or primarily to food production. Another aim of the tour is to change people’s perceptions of what is possible on a limited budget, with limited time or physical capacity. At least one of the gardens on this year’s tour belongs to a person in a wheelchair; other gardeners are seniors or gardeners in their first year of production.
“Once people visiting the gardens see some of the challenges that others are overcoming, they come away inspired and filled with ideas for reducing the cost or the time they need to put into their garden,” explained Sparrow.
Once again this year, members of the local chapter of the Master Gardeners of BC will be on hand in one garden in the morning and one garden in the afternoon to help visitors with all of their gardening questions. The Food Literacy Treasure Hunt will be back again: there will be clues in the guidebook and visitors have to find the answers in each of the gardens. Anyone who answers four or more of the clues is welcome to drop off the answers at one of the gardens for a chance to win a prize. The whole event is family-friendly and a great way to visit some of the most interesting places in the region, “places where people are redefining how we think about (and grow) local food,” said Sparrow.
The tour is a collaborative project with Transition Town Powell River, and support from Ecossentials, Springtime Garden Centre, Mother Nature, and Career Link. The event is by donation, with proceeds going to help support food-related projects in the region. In 2013, the Edible Garden Tour was able to donate $125 each to Sprouts parents and tots gardening program at Family Place; Babies Open New Doors pre- and perinatal program; the Good Food Box; and Sliammon Community Garden.
As always, the food security project will be making the guidebook available for download a couple of weeks before the tour, and copies will also be available at several locations in the region. Anyone interested in getting the guidebook is encouraged to go online or contact Sparrow at 604.485.2004 or [email protected] for more information.
