RE: Establishment of a Calgary Food Policy Council (a voluntary citizen body with formal links to the City system)
Objectives
1. Recognize the Calgary Food Policy Council
2. Community Food System Assessment
The simple, basic, no frills, fundamental motion:
"I move that Calgary City Council recognize the Calgary Food Policy Council."
After this, all the great ideas that make up a FPC can be added, as you can see below sig file in the minutes from Vancouver Council, but here is how it looks, Calgary style:
"THAT, in order to provide leadership in developing a just and sustainable food system for the City of Calgary that fosters equitable food access, nutrition, community development and environmental health, Council recognize the Calgary Food Policy Council (a voluntary citizen body with formal links to the City system) with a mandate to act as an advisory and policy development body."
Calgary has a Food Policy Council... We are asking Calgary City Council to recognize the CFPC. Upon recognition, the CFPC will coordinate/conduct a community food system assessment (see below signature file). After the assessment, we begin to target those areas of our local food system that require progressive policy in order to become more efficient, fair, just and secure.
Respectfully,
Paul Hughes
Chair, Calgary Food Policy Council
Monday, July 13, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Calgary 2011 on the cover of FFWD
Calgary 2011 on the cover of FFWD
Room to grow
The push is on to grow food in our unused spaces
Published July 9, 2009
by Julie Van Rosendaal in Urban Living
Andy Nichols: photo
If Calgary has an excess of anything, it’s space. Space that needs to be maintained. Each year crews of gardeners, landscapers and snow removers spend thousands of hours and many tax dollars keeping green (and not so green) spaces tidy. Paul Hughes, a well-entrenched local landscaper and the founder and chair of the Calgary Food Policy Council, would like to see that excess city land put to better use; preferably growing food.
“We are anti-grass,” Hughes says of his group, over coffee in a corner booth at Café Beano. “Calgary has more space than any urban area in North America and most of it isn’t being used well.” To be precise, there are almost 8,000 hectares of usable land in Calgary that Hughes envisions being transformed into edible green spaces by anyone who has the will and a shovel. “Wouldn’t it be a waste of ice if we didn’t have hockey or curling?” he asks.
Room to grow
The push is on to grow food in our unused spaces
Published July 9, 2009
by Julie Van Rosendaal in Urban Living
Andy Nichols: photo
If Calgary has an excess of anything, it’s space. Space that needs to be maintained. Each year crews of gardeners, landscapers and snow removers spend thousands of hours and many tax dollars keeping green (and not so green) spaces tidy. Paul Hughes, a well-entrenched local landscaper and the founder and chair of the Calgary Food Policy Council, would like to see that excess city land put to better use; preferably growing food.
“We are anti-grass,” Hughes says of his group, over coffee in a corner booth at Café Beano. “Calgary has more space than any urban area in North America and most of it isn’t being used well.” To be precise, there are almost 8,000 hectares of usable land in Calgary that Hughes envisions being transformed into edible green spaces by anyone who has the will and a shovel. “Wouldn’t it be a waste of ice if we didn’t have hockey or curling?” he asks.
Friday, December 26, 2008
1111 Group Exhibition: Full Dream Ahead 11Jan2009 @ 225-58Ave SE!!!!
Our ranks continue to swell!
1111 artists... 11 pieces or less.
Hanging pARTy for all artists on Saturday, 10Jan2009 between 11.11am-11.11pm @ 225-58Ave SE
1111: Free Exhibition for all Calgarians on 11Jan2009, doors open 11.11am-11.11pm @ 225-58Ave SE
* make your own title tags. each tag no larger than 3cm x 7cm. should include title, dims (Vert x Horiz), artist, medium & year
* make your own bio/artist statement. 10.5cm x 27.5cm include contact information
* bring promo lit ie biz cards for the artist info tables, or display directly by your pieces.
* ensure your works are ready to hang safely, ie weight
* be prepared to hang ur own work. bring tools... bring easels.
* there will be 24 hour security.
* tell all ur friends, 1111 is always looking for volunteers.
* invite other artists to participate.
* 30,000 sq ft!!
1111 is not about elitism, it is about participation. Calgarians/Viewers will decide what their eyes and minds enjoy.
Remember there will be hundreds of other artists participating with thousands of pieces of art. This is an event you as an artist will also enjoy. Bring your cameras.
check blog...1111 blog... http://1111-oneoneoneone.blogspot.com/
1111 Facebook Event Group... http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=27540919471
check in the first week of january.
full dream ahead!
1111 artists... 11 pieces or less.
Hanging pARTy for all artists on Saturday, 10Jan2009 between 11.11am-11.11pm @ 225-58Ave SE
1111: Free Exhibition for all Calgarians on 11Jan2009, doors open 11.11am-11.11pm @ 225-58Ave SE
* make your own title tags. each tag no larger than 3cm x 7cm. should include title, dims (Vert x Horiz), artist, medium & year
* make your own bio/artist statement. 10.5cm x 27.5cm include contact information
* bring promo lit ie biz cards for the artist info tables, or display directly by your pieces.
* ensure your works are ready to hang safely, ie weight
* be prepared to hang ur own work. bring tools... bring easels.
* there will be 24 hour security.
* tell all ur friends, 1111 is always looking for volunteers.
* invite other artists to participate.
* 30,000 sq ft!!
1111 is not about elitism, it is about participation. Calgarians/Viewers will decide what their eyes and minds enjoy.
Remember there will be hundreds of other artists participating with thousands of pieces of art. This is an event you as an artist will also enjoy. Bring your cameras.
check blog...1111 blog... http://1111-oneoneoneone.blogspot.com/
1111 Facebook Event Group... http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=27540919471
check in the first week of january.
full dream ahead!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
1111 Group Exhibition... 10 & 11Jan09 @ 225-58Ave SE
1111 Group Exhibition... 10 & 11Jan09 @ 225-58Ave SE
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Close your eyes, breath slow and we will begin
Heads up on a very relevant exhibition opening, tonight at Summit Fine Art, 1604-10th Ave SW from 5-8pm. The ex is titled 'Colony' featuring new works by Marcia Harris (exceptionally talented, very earth aware artist). She makes sense of the strange machinery with a rural/industrial beauty that is rare in global contemporary art.
where we live is where we work Marcia Harris, 120cm x 180cm, acrylic on canvas, 2008
Tufts Green Roof Research
Some quick thoughts from an urban ag conceptualist:
Reconceptualizing our food system is a wise use of calories at this critical point in urban evolution.
1. I was viewing aerial photos of North American cities taken in the 30's 40's & 50's... I was amazed to see these small squares and rectangles in the back of many homes, each with little rows. Of course, gardens! These are now lawns, decks, BBQ's, gazebos and pools. Leisure replaced personal food production or home based food security ie gardening.
2. Community gardens, with SPIN (Small Plot INtensive) technology, offer tremendous benefits to communities. These benefits are not just food centric, they are also social in nature (bad pun), craeting community pride, interaction between neighbours, green space for families, vehicle for contribution which provides sense of self worth... et al.
3. Reclaiming roads and boulevards, turning the grey/asphalt into green/food. This transition requires time, just as it did when going from green to grey. Reverse urbanization of infrastructure. It is a myth that we have to live in the concrete jungle. This reconceptualization of urban communities is a juggernaut of a movement.
4. How much can we logically produce? I suggest that using available urban ag technologies, such as green roofs/greenhousing, perimeter planting (around fields and parks), container gardening, unused lots, lane gardens, reclamation gardens, et al, we could produce close to 50% of our food in an urban setting. That is considerable. The carbon footprint is also reduced by a considerable factor. Look at it as a leap frogging of our food source from outside the perimeter to inside. The remainder of the food could be grown in our suburbs and in the brownbelts.
Reconceptualizing our food system is a wise use of calories at this critical point in urban evolution.
where we live is where we work Marcia Harris, 120cm x 180cm, acrylic on canvas, 2008
Tufts Green Roof Research
Some quick thoughts from an urban ag conceptualist:
Reconceptualizing our food system is a wise use of calories at this critical point in urban evolution.
1. I was viewing aerial photos of North American cities taken in the 30's 40's & 50's... I was amazed to see these small squares and rectangles in the back of many homes, each with little rows. Of course, gardens! These are now lawns, decks, BBQ's, gazebos and pools. Leisure replaced personal food production or home based food security ie gardening.
2. Community gardens, with SPIN (Small Plot INtensive) technology, offer tremendous benefits to communities. These benefits are not just food centric, they are also social in nature (bad pun), craeting community pride, interaction between neighbours, green space for families, vehicle for contribution which provides sense of self worth... et al.
3. Reclaiming roads and boulevards, turning the grey/asphalt into green/food. This transition requires time, just as it did when going from green to grey. Reverse urbanization of infrastructure. It is a myth that we have to live in the concrete jungle. This reconceptualization of urban communities is a juggernaut of a movement.
4. How much can we logically produce? I suggest that using available urban ag technologies, such as green roofs/greenhousing, perimeter planting (around fields and parks), container gardening, unused lots, lane gardens, reclamation gardens, et al, we could produce close to 50% of our food in an urban setting. That is considerable. The carbon footprint is also reduced by a considerable factor. Look at it as a leap frogging of our food source from outside the perimeter to inside. The remainder of the food could be grown in our suburbs and in the brownbelts.
Reconceptualizing our food system is a wise use of calories at this critical point in urban evolution.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Traffuct: The Future of Calgary? Not if YodaZilla can help it
Plan It Calgary, a promising toddler/byproduct of the union between the City of Calgary Sustainable City Program and the imagineCALGARY process, hosted a summit at the somewhat posh and amazingly sterile Calgary Stampede Round Up Centre on Nov 14 & 15, 2008.
E=MC2 assisted with the organizing of the $250K weekend which was attended by aprox 250-300 volunteer citizens.
Breakout sessions, workshops, lecture, keynote speakers (Aussie Jeff Kenworthy and Torontonian Ken Greenberg) and a role playing game, where participants adopted city planner personas akin to Blade Runner meets Isaac Asimov meets Timothy Leary meets the guy who invented lego. Objective: Plan Multi-Modal Tansportation Routes, Land Use (Residential/Office/Retail/Industrial/Recreational/Cultural & Yeah!! Agricultural) and Open Space/Ecology (Grey 2 Green). Sounds dubious, but in reality was tremendously stimulating and quite a bit of fun. Sustainable City (Martians) were everywhere, enthusiastic, helpful and getting a contact high from the participants.
There was embedded media and even Lord Bronco showed up, and to his credit actually looked at the map tiles, including a highly conceptualized Broncoville, featuring a city farm, concentrated solar, green roofs and LODD: Life Oriented Design & Development. Even with the budget turdnado back at city hall he heard the buzz about the visionaries over at the Stampede reinventing his perfect AUTO EROTIC city, (we love our autos or at least Klein's or 'that guy with the glasses' city planners did) commenting on how "Calgary is the city of the 21st Century."
Major Collaborative & Sustainable Kudos to the Sustainable City staff and the Calgarians that committed 2 days to planning our city so that it may actually be one we can live in...
visit the amazing web 1.0 city of Calgary web portal, now with html and hyperlinks! wow! www.calgary.ca/planit
Mackenzie Delta @ Plan It
BroncoVille with Calgary City Farm & Festival Village (check out the green roofs and the complete lack of parking... now that's a revolution in parking)
YodaZilla Attacks Evil Autos on Crowchild while lecturing at the newly enhanced Viscount Bennett College Education Hub (Yoda also endorses the green roof)
Torontonian and eco-sustainability-city makeover guru Ken Greenberg addresses the Plan It Summit participants
E=MC2 assisted with the organizing of the $250K weekend which was attended by aprox 250-300 volunteer citizens.
Breakout sessions, workshops, lecture, keynote speakers (Aussie Jeff Kenworthy and Torontonian Ken Greenberg) and a role playing game, where participants adopted city planner personas akin to Blade Runner meets Isaac Asimov meets Timothy Leary meets the guy who invented lego. Objective: Plan Multi-Modal Tansportation Routes, Land Use (Residential/Office/Retail/Industrial/Recreational/Cultural & Yeah!! Agricultural) and Open Space/Ecology (Grey 2 Green). Sounds dubious, but in reality was tremendously stimulating and quite a bit of fun. Sustainable City (Martians) were everywhere, enthusiastic, helpful and getting a contact high from the participants.
There was embedded media and even Lord Bronco showed up, and to his credit actually looked at the map tiles, including a highly conceptualized Broncoville, featuring a city farm, concentrated solar, green roofs and LODD: Life Oriented Design & Development. Even with the budget turdnado back at city hall he heard the buzz about the visionaries over at the Stampede reinventing his perfect AUTO EROTIC city, (we love our autos or at least Klein's or 'that guy with the glasses' city planners did) commenting on how "Calgary is the city of the 21st Century."
Major Collaborative & Sustainable Kudos to the Sustainable City staff and the Calgarians that committed 2 days to planning our city so that it may actually be one we can live in...
visit the amazing web 1.0 city of Calgary web portal, now with html and hyperlinks! wow! www.calgary.ca/planit
Mackenzie Delta @ Plan It
BroncoVille with Calgary City Farm & Festival Village (check out the green roofs and the complete lack of parking... now that's a revolution in parking)
YodaZilla Attacks Evil Autos on Crowchild while lecturing at the newly enhanced Viscount Bennett College Education Hub (Yoda also endorses the green roof)
Torontonian and eco-sustainability-city makeover guru Ken Greenberg addresses the Plan It Summit participants
Friday, November 14, 2008
2,012 new food growing spaces by 2012
Can Calgary create 2,012 new food growing spaces by 2012?
Mayor launches Capital Growth to boost locally grown food in London
Project set to create 2,012 new food growing spaces for London by 2012
4 November 2008
Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Rosie Boycott, Chair of London Food, today launched an innovative scheme to turn 2,012 pieces of land into thriving green spaces to grow food by 2012.
Capital Growth - the first initiative delivered by Rosie Boycott in her capacity as Chair of London Food - aims to identify suitable patches of land around London and offer financial and practical support to groups of enthusiastic gardeners or organisations who want to grow food for themselves and for the local community. It is expected that a range of organisations will open up land to the scheme including borough councils, schools, hospitals, housing estates, utilities companies and parks. There are already community groups growing food on land across London - Capital Growth will help to expand these organisations whilst encouraging new ones.
The Mayor today announced the first organisations to pledge land to Capital Growth, these are:
Blenheim Gardens housing estate in Brixton, to be run by social housing residents;
A large privately owned residential garden in Morden, where local volunteers will grow and share the harvest;
Latchmere House resettlement prison in Richmond, which will grow food for the canteen and run horticulture and catering training with prisoners to improve skills and employment prospects.
Boosting the amount of locally grown food in London makes economic sense at a time of rising food prices, and it also has a range of health and environmental benefits, such as improving access to nutritious food in urban areas and helping to increase flood protection. There is rising interest in self-grown food and inner London boroughs have waiting lists for allotments that can be decades long.
Boris Johnson said: "Linking up currently unloved patches of land with people who want to discover the wonders of growing their own food, delivers massive benefits. It will help to make London a greener, more pleasant place to live whilst providing healthy and affordable food. This will aid people to reconnect with where their fruit and veg comes from and cut the congestion and carbon emissions associated with the transportation of food from miles away. Capital Growth is a win-win scheme - good for our communities and good for our environment."
Rosie Boycott said: "London has a good deal of green spaces - some derelict or underused - but not being used as well as they could be. We also have a veritable host of enthusiastic gardeners who are well equipped to turning derelict or underused spaces into thriving oases offering healthy food and a fantastic focus for the community. Capital Growth will identify spaces across the capital - often in surprising places such as roof gardens - and help London's communities grow their own food."
Monty Don, gardening expert and TV presenter, said: "Growing your own is the most direct route to delicious, healthy food. It is also immensely satisfying. Anyone can do it, anywhere, and if we all grow a little then together we can make a huge difference to our food supply."
Capital Growth will be run by London Food Link, part of the charity Sustain who are working for better food and farming to enhance people's health and welfare and the environment. The pilot stage of the scheme running until March 2009 will identify and support the first 50 spaces, and is being funded by the London Development Agency. Beyond this, Sustain will be seeking future funding for Capital Growth, with the support of London Food.
Ben Reynolds, coordinator of London Food Link, said: "We are delighted to be working with the Mayor of London to transform our city with 2,012 new food growing spaces. People from all over London are already contacting us, keen to be involved in Capital Growth."
Bonnie Hewson, a housing estate resident from Blenheim Gardens in Brixton, the first new food growing space in the Capital Growth initiative, said: "Residents on my estate are very excited about Capital Growth - everyone from children to older people will be growing more of their own fresh food. Being part of Capital Growth will help to raise the profile of our work and get more people involved."
For more information on Capital Growth, visit: www.capitalgrowth.org
Mayor launches Capital Growth to boost locally grown food in London
Project set to create 2,012 new food growing spaces for London by 2012
4 November 2008
Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Rosie Boycott, Chair of London Food, today launched an innovative scheme to turn 2,012 pieces of land into thriving green spaces to grow food by 2012.
Capital Growth - the first initiative delivered by Rosie Boycott in her capacity as Chair of London Food - aims to identify suitable patches of land around London and offer financial and practical support to groups of enthusiastic gardeners or organisations who want to grow food for themselves and for the local community. It is expected that a range of organisations will open up land to the scheme including borough councils, schools, hospitals, housing estates, utilities companies and parks. There are already community groups growing food on land across London - Capital Growth will help to expand these organisations whilst encouraging new ones.
The Mayor today announced the first organisations to pledge land to Capital Growth, these are:
Blenheim Gardens housing estate in Brixton, to be run by social housing residents;
A large privately owned residential garden in Morden, where local volunteers will grow and share the harvest;
Latchmere House resettlement prison in Richmond, which will grow food for the canteen and run horticulture and catering training with prisoners to improve skills and employment prospects.
Boosting the amount of locally grown food in London makes economic sense at a time of rising food prices, and it also has a range of health and environmental benefits, such as improving access to nutritious food in urban areas and helping to increase flood protection. There is rising interest in self-grown food and inner London boroughs have waiting lists for allotments that can be decades long.
Boris Johnson said: "Linking up currently unloved patches of land with people who want to discover the wonders of growing their own food, delivers massive benefits. It will help to make London a greener, more pleasant place to live whilst providing healthy and affordable food. This will aid people to reconnect with where their fruit and veg comes from and cut the congestion and carbon emissions associated with the transportation of food from miles away. Capital Growth is a win-win scheme - good for our communities and good for our environment."
Rosie Boycott said: "London has a good deal of green spaces - some derelict or underused - but not being used as well as they could be. We also have a veritable host of enthusiastic gardeners who are well equipped to turning derelict or underused spaces into thriving oases offering healthy food and a fantastic focus for the community. Capital Growth will identify spaces across the capital - often in surprising places such as roof gardens - and help London's communities grow their own food."
Monty Don, gardening expert and TV presenter, said: "Growing your own is the most direct route to delicious, healthy food. It is also immensely satisfying. Anyone can do it, anywhere, and if we all grow a little then together we can make a huge difference to our food supply."
Capital Growth will be run by London Food Link, part of the charity Sustain who are working for better food and farming to enhance people's health and welfare and the environment. The pilot stage of the scheme running until March 2009 will identify and support the first 50 spaces, and is being funded by the London Development Agency. Beyond this, Sustain will be seeking future funding for Capital Growth, with the support of London Food.
Ben Reynolds, coordinator of London Food Link, said: "We are delighted to be working with the Mayor of London to transform our city with 2,012 new food growing spaces. People from all over London are already contacting us, keen to be involved in Capital Growth."
Bonnie Hewson, a housing estate resident from Blenheim Gardens in Brixton, the first new food growing space in the Capital Growth initiative, said: "Residents on my estate are very excited about Capital Growth - everyone from children to older people will be growing more of their own fresh food. Being part of Capital Growth will help to raise the profile of our work and get more people involved."
For more information on Capital Growth, visit: www.capitalgrowth.org
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
