From the Straw Bale Hut

I have the great pleasure of being a story-keeper for the SLUGS program, ‘documentation facilitator’ I believe we’re calling it. I think that witnessing the evolution of a new program is as exciting as watching a garden move through the seasons, each week brings new growth – visible in the moment…or not. The arc of a program, or the evolution of a vegetable garden is sometimes better seen from a distance, through a series of vignettes that remind us of our journey, ‘oh my goodness, I can’t believe that we’ve come so far’.

This is what I’m doing here, planting small snapshots of the program as it develops and unfolds (and doing my very best to use earth-friendly metaphors along the way, you’ll notice).

This evening I attended the second ever SLUGS workshop, hosted by Nashira, Kim, and Marika attended by Jen, Kim and Caleigh, and guested by Steve, a Times Colonist reporter. The topic? From the Ground Up: Soil and Compost. Let me ask you something, when you think of the world’s natural resources, do you ever think of soil? I tend to think of oil, wood, water, you know, things that newspapers talk about. Nashira and Kim had a wealth of knowledge to share with the group, and did it all while we, the participants, had our fingers plunged in samples of soil from our own gardens. We listened to soil, we made ‘ribbons’ of soil, and we pH tested our soil. This is hands-on stuff. The 3 SLUG members, between 16 and 18 years, were alert, interested, and seemed to connect their learning with their own garden plots and plans. This is amazing – after a full day of school, to participate wholly in more learning takes a special kind of person, and a lot of motivation. I overheard the reporter asking what drew the members in to the program. The will to actually practice environmental action, to relearn the skill of growing food that we seemed to have lost a generation or two ago, to prepare for their future plans, I’m pretty sure the list goes on. I felt so lucky to share a room full of such humble passion and motivation. YES SLUGS, YES!

I look forward to the journey ahead with you all! (and by the way, there is still lots of room to join the program, and YES you can drop in when you have a free Thursday afternoon – what a dream ☺ )

~Leanna Platt

The program now has a drop-in option!

Hello Friends of SLUGS!

Drop-in SLUGS

Too busy to do SLUGS??  Exciting news!  You can now take the SLUGS workshops without committing to the whole Feb-Sept season.  Anyone can come at any time. (Cost for drop-in is $5).  Check out the workshop line-up below to pick out the workshops you want to do!

Cheaper SLUGS!

We got a grant!! Now, you can also join up for the Full Season at anytime for only $175!! - with bursaries available

Field Trips

For full-season participants or folks who regularly come to workshops, there will be seven awesome Saturday fieldtrips to local farms, ecovillages, and gardens to check out what is happening around Victoria. (See line-up below.)

Why the Change?

We received a lot of feedback from youth that they were super excited about the program, but too incredibly busy with school and clubs and all the amazing stuff that you are all committed to already.  This way, you can come when it works for you – and bring friends to join in the fun!

Also, we received 2 generous grants from the Lifecycles Project Society and VanCity enviroFund, which has allowed us to expand and improve the program and make it more accessible to anyone who wants to take part!

Wait, what is SLUGS again?

Sustainable Living and Urban Gardening Skills

-       A fun season of growing food and learning to live green in the city!

-          Weekly workshops (4-6:30pm Thursdays)

-          Monthly fieldtrips

-          Help starting up your own garden (= free food!)

-          Community projects

-          Leadership/volunteer hours

-     Fun, friends, food!

-          

Last-minute applications & Donations

The SLUGS application deadline has now passed, but we are still accepting late applications from those last-minute folks who are still interested. Email it (sitemgr@compost.bc.ca), fax it (250-386-9678), or drop it by our office (1216 North Park St). Spring is fast approaching and so is the program start date, so send your applications in as soon as you can.

We'd like to extend a big thank you to two generous organizations for their support of SLUGS! Stellar Seeds in Sorrento, B.C. has donated a huge box of organic heritage seeds to the program for the youth to use this season and they look amazing. Vancity enviroFund generously awarded a grant to help support the SLUGS program and all our projects, gardens, fieldtrips, and events! A huge thank you to both of them, their support is deeply appreciated.

And if YOU would like to support us, we would gladly accept in-kind donations! Gardening can be a tool-intensive and expensive passion to take up, so we are looking for donations of good quality, good condition tools and other supplies for the SLUGS program. If you have any of the below items and would like to donate them to us, please us at call 250-386-9676!

o       Secateurs (hand pruners), pruners & pruning saws

o       Digging forks, shovels, hand trowels

o       Hoes, swoes & shears

o       Wheelbarrows

o       Hammers, screwdrivers, screws & nails

o       Greenhouse plastic

o       Hardware cloth (¼” – ½”)

o       Long pieces ½” – 1½” PVC piping

o       Lumber for building raised beds and compost bins

o       Garden hose nozzles, Garden hoses and irrigation supplies

o       Art supplies: pastels, acrylic paints, pencil crayons, drawing paper, blank journals

GOOD NEWS! Extended Application Deadline! -- Jan 21

Great news folks!  We know that this is a busy time of year, and we want to make sure everyone has a chance to get their applications in.  So if you missed yesterday's deadline, not to worry!

You now have until January 21, 2010 to become a SLUGS farmer! 

So use this wonderful holiday time to compose a creative application and ask your grandparents for money to help you pay for the program (bursaries are still available as well, ask us for details).

Have a Worm-derful holiday!!

Get your applications in before the snow falls (Dec 14th)!!

The application deadline is fast approaching to get yourself in for SLUGS!  Fill it out this weekend and send it to us by Monday, Dec. 14.

Have a lovely holiday!

Inviting all youth to design the SLUGS program!

The SLUGS program is having it's first brainstorming gathering next Tuesday, and we are looking for any youth ages 15-18 who might be interested in this program to come on down!

WHO: Youth ages 15-18 in the Victoria area

WHAT: Info gathering for SLUGS program. FOOD!!

WHEN: Tuesday, December 1st 7-8:30pm

WHERE: 1216 North Park St. (Compost Ed. Centre).


This will be a chance for those who are interested in this program to learn more about what SLUGS is all about, to share ideas on where they want the program to go, and to meet the people involved (there will be snacks involved!).

Please pass this information on to anyone you know who might be interested. Contact us at sitemgr@compost.bc.ca or 250-386-9676 if you plan on attending or want more information! Thanks,

Kim and Nashira
Program Coordinators

SLUGS Program

Do you want to make environmental changes in your community? Are you interested in learning about growing food in the city?

If you are aged 15-18, living in or near Victoria, and answered YES to the questions above, the Sustainable Living and Urban Gardening Skills (SLUGS) program is for you! In this program you will learn tonnes of do-it-yourself skills for living sustainably in the city.

Through a weekly after-school workshop and a monthly field trip, SLUGS will give you all the basics you need to know about how to produce food in urban areas. We'll cover topics such as:

• permaculture,
• beekeeping,
  
• mushroom cultivation,
  
• rainwater harvesting,
  
• keeping chickens in the city,
  
• fibre arts (ie. spinning wool, felting, weaving...),
  
• seedsaving,
  
• setting up community gardens,
  
• canning and dehydrating food,
  
• and whatever other topics you want to cover!

The program topics will be shaped by YOU. Throughout the program you will help determine what presenters we get in, what field trips we do, and what special workshops you want covered.

Each participant will be responsible for maintaining a small garden plot during the program to put into practice what is learned. If you don't have access to the dirt, we'll help you find a garden plot near your home.

SLUGS Breakdown...
WHO: Youth ages 15-18 in the Victoria area
WHAT: Weekly urban gardening and sustainability youth group. You will start up your own garden (we'll help you find a plot if you need), do a community project to share what you learn, and be part of a group of awesome teens who eat a lot of delicious FOOD!
WHEN: Thursday afternoons (day of week may change to fit everyone's schedules) from 4-6pm from February 4th - end of August. The program will continue for another optional month through September.
WHERE: 1216 North Park St. - The Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre
WHY: Because food is important and our cities need it!
COST: $300 - we are very flexible on how you pay this. Scholarships are available so don't let the money get you down.

If you are interested in this program, we want to hear your ideas and feedback! Check out our online discussion (COMING SOON) to let us know what special topics you'd like to cover, what might make it challenging for you to take part (and what we can do to help you!), and any other ideas you have. Email Kim Watt at sitemgr@compost.bc.ca if you have feedback or would like to be on the SLUGS mailing list.

APPLICATIONS are due by December 14th, 2009. Please see our link to the application form at the top of the page.