By Dorothy Bartoszewski
Wendy Szeto was a bit skeptical about the idea of planter boxes popping up on her boulevard in Vancouver’s leafy Dunbar neighbourhood. “At first, we didn’t think we would participate in the project,” she says. “But we decided to give it a try. And we are so glad!”
Szeto lives on the same block as 14-year-old Michelle Marcus, who is shy and soft-spoken, but a keen environmentalist. She really wanted to start a community garden, but didn’t have access to any land. So she dreamed of growing food in planter boxes on the generous boulevards of her street.
Michelle Marcus with seedlings for Generation Green Boulevard Veg!
Then she heard of Vancouver Foundation’s Generation Green Awards. The project offered young people, aged 6-24, cash awards for projects that would “green” their neighbourhood. Vancouver Foundation wanted to celebrate Vancouver’s 125th birthday and support the city’s goal of becoming the world’s “Greenest City.” They also wanted to empower a generation of community leaders.
Marcus’ “Boulevard Veg!” project was one of 19 chosen. As soon as they were made, her neighbours snapped up the planter boxes. A few months later, the planters were overflowing with cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, beets, beans, peas and potatoes.
For Szeto, who came from Hong Kong 30 years ago, growing her own food was a revelation. “I never knew you could grow your own food in the city. But it was so easy! We grew beans and green onions. They taste so good!” she says.
“We got to know our neighbours too, because you are out on the street to water the plants, and harvest, and your neighbours are out there too, and you have something to talk about. Before, I didn’t know my neighbours’ names. Now I know all my neighbours. It’s been a multi-purpose project.”
Marcus, too, is thrilled: “Everyone was amazed at what we could grow! I’ve seen lots of people taking walks and looking at the signs. I wanted to bring people together and teach them about the environment and growing food, and it really worked.”
Across Vancouver, 18 other youth projects were greening their own patches of the city. Other awards funded solar-powered panels at a school, alternatives to shark-fin soup, First Nations ethno-cultural gardens and a plethora of innovative projects.
In fact, Vancouver Foundation was so inspired by the results of the Generation Green projects that last month, president and CEO Faye Wightman announced the continuation of the program in 2012.
To see the 19 projects and learn more about Vancouver Foundation’s Generation Green program, click here
Dorothy Bartoszewski is Communications Coordinator with Vancouver Foundation
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