Get Gardening, Burnaby!

The weather is warmer, the trees and plants are in bloom - if you haven't already, it's time to get gardening!

Sharing Backyards Burnaby

One of the biggest barriers to growing food in the city is access to land -- but many people with yards, lawns, and backyards have plenty of room to spare!

Sharing Backyards links people with unused yard space with those looking for a place to grow food. If you have a garden and want to share it with someone, or if you are looking for a space to garden, Sharing Backyards is for you.

How do I register for the program?

Our Sharing Backyards program, in its second year, is now underway!

Head to our Sharing Backyards page for more details on the program and registration process. To register, send us an email to get started!

Get Started

Want to get an idea of how our program works? Check out our feature post (leaflet, PDF). While we have lots of gardens going at the moment, we wanted to let you know about more open opportunities:

North East Burnaby: Two yards (one small yard - one gardener / one large yard - two gardeners)
Central Burnaby: One yard (room for multiple gardeners)

The yard in Central Burnaby operates as an Eco Village. Visit their website for more information.

If you're looking for space or want to offer space in other parts of Burnaby, give us a shout!

Vancity Grant for Burnaby Food First

Vancity, Canada’s largest community credit union, has contributed funds that will help support some exciting upcoming gardening projects in Burnaby!

Cheque presentation ceremony at Vancity North Burnaby Branch
Pictured (from left to right): Maria Michayluk (Vancity), Stephen D'Souza (Meals on Wheels),
Joyce Cameron (Burnaby Food First), and Carmela Busto (Vancity)
Credit: Jennifer Lee

They have donated a grant that will help Meals on Wheels, partnering with Burnaby Food First, to deliver free gardening workshops to the local community. Part of the funds will also go towards supporting the Sharing Backyards project, an initiative that helps increase the availability of local gardening space.

Burnaby Food First is grateful to Vancity for their generous funding of our programs.

Leona Skovgaard, chair of the Burnaby Food First Steering Committee, gives thanks for this on-going support:

“Thank you to Vancity for the grant and to Meals on Wheels for partnering with us to provide gardening workshops to the community. These workshops will help residents of Burnaby grow their own fruits and vegetables, as well as create a more engaged community through sharing backyards, community gardens, and participation in workshops.”

The first gardening workshop, to be held on April 18, will help participants plan their garden; registration has already been filled. Leanne Zmud, program coordinator, is very pleased with the overwhelming response.

She encourages anyone interested to get involved. “We will be scheduling more free workshops soon, so please keep checking our website for upcoming events.”

You can find details about all of Burnaby Food First's workshops and projects on the Burnaby Food First website. Check back for information on future workshops.

Get Ready to Garden!

The trees are in bloom and flowers are peeking their heads out! With spring around the corner, it's time to get ready to garden!

Sharing Backyards Burnaby

One of the biggest barriers to growing food in the city is access to land -- but many people with yards, lawns, and backyards have plenty of room to spare! Sharing Backyards links people with unused yard space with those looking for a place to grow food. If you have a garden and want to share it with someone, or if you are looking for a space to garden, Sharing Backyards is for you.

How do I register for the program?

Our Sharing Backyards program, in its second year, is now underway!

Head to our Sharing Backyards page for more details on the program and registration process. To register, send us an email to get started!

Get Started

Want to get an idea of how our program works? Check out our feature post (leaflet, PDF). We also have a number of available gardens that we're currently looking to connect gardeners with!

North Burnaby: Two yards (one gardener each)
Burnaby Heights: One yard (one gardener)
Cariboo Hill: One yard (one gardener)
Edmonds (Goodlad Garden): Two to three plots

If you're looking for space or want to offer space in other parts of Burnaby, give us a shout! 

Volunteer School Garden Mentors

Looking to share your gardening experience?

We are looking for School Garden Mentors for the Youth Connection Project (funded by VanCity), a partnership between Burnaby Food First and Green Your City.

Garden mentors will work hands-on with Burnaby high school students in their school gardens to help make the gardens a success.

Burnaby Food First is looking for volunteers who are experienced gardeners and enjoy working with youth. Time commitment is flexible. A criminal record check is required.

For more information or to apply to volunteer, send us an email.

Sharing Backyards comes to Burnaby!

Have a backyard that you’d like to garden, but don’t have the time – or don’t know how? Want to garden but don’t have access to land?

If so, our exciting new gardening program Sharing Backyards is for you! This program links people with unused yard space with those looking for a place to grow food

What is Sharing Backyards?

One of the biggest barriers to growing food in the city is access to land -- but many people with yards, lawns, and backyards have plenty of room to spare! Sharing Backyards links people with unused yard space with those looking for a place to grow food. If you have a garden and want to share it with someone, or if you are looking for a space to garden, Sharing Backyards is for you.

The Sharing Backyards concept was originally conceived by Lifecycles, a non-profit organization based in Victoria. Burnaby Food First operates the Burnaby chapter of Sharing Backyards for Burnaby residents.

How do I register for the program?

• Read the Frequently Asked Questions sheet.
• Register on the Burnaby Food First forum to connect with people who have garden space and/or those who want to garden.
• Make a connection with someone in your area.
• Get gardening!

Have questions?

Head to our Sharing Backyards program page for details on the registration process.

If you can't find the information you're looking for, send us an email!

What's New with Burnaby Food First

Spring has officially arrived, and we've been working on some really cool things! You may have noticed some changes to our blog over the last couple of months.

First off, thank you to Kristen Robb for donating her time and providing a new Food First logo. It went up over the holidays, and it looks amazing!

We are also delighted to tell you about some new Burnaby Food First projects and programs.

1) Sharing Backyards: Garden Sharing in Burnaby

Have a backyard that you'd like to garden, but don't have the time – or don't know how? Do you want to garden but don't have access to land?

Burnaby Food First is pleased to announce a new gardening program! We have partnered with Sharing Backyards to coordinate their chapter in the City of Burnaby. This program links people with unused yard space with those looking for a place to grow food. The program is 100% free, only costing the price of the gardening materials and supplies involved.

To find out more about the program or to register, please visit our Sharing Backyards page.

Interested in volunteering your time? We have positions open for Food Gardening Volunteers! Check out our position description on our Get Involved page for more information.

2) The Apron Project

Burnaby Food First started the Apron Project in 2013 (see post). The idea to make and sell aprons began with one Food First committee members, who thought we could find donated material and volunteers to make the aprons.

Money raised from the Apron Project is used to offer free community education workshops to the public and support other Burnaby Food First activities. When you buy one of our beautiful aprons, you help Burnaby Food First work towards food security in Burnaby.

You can buy an apron by sending us an email. We're also working on an online apron shop, so check back often for updates!

To learn more about the Project or how you can get involved, please visit our new Apron Project page here.

3) Gardening Education Portal

Want to start your own garden but don't know where to begin? Missed a past Food First gardening workshop and want to catch up?

Our Gardening Education Portal offers a growing number of printable information sheets, planting guides, and other gardening resources, as well as a way to connect with other gardeners.

To get growing, visit our sister blog dedicated to gardening and growing here.

4) Volunteer with Burnaby Food First

Burnaby Food First is excited to announce five new volunteer opportunities! Whether it's helping out with workshops and events or the chance to get your hands into some dirt, there are plenty of ways to get involved.

To check out our volunteer descriptions, please visit the Get Involved page.

5) Burnaby Food First Forum

Keen to chat with others about food security, gardening, or all other things Food First? Head over to our new Burnaby Food First forum.

The forum is open to the public, but member registration is required to post. Please make sure you read through our forum guidelines, Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy before participating.

You can check out the Burnaby Food First forum here.

Feature: Sharing Backyards

For people who want to grow their own food but lack the yard space, it can be difficult to access land or sufficient space to grow plants or keep planters.

Credit: Christina Mak

The goal of the Sharing Backyards program is to provide anyone who wants to grow food with the yard space to do it. It encourages urban gardening by connecting those who have the space to garden with those who would like to garden but do not have the necessary space.

By bringing the program to communities, the hope is to, among other things, boost the land available for urban agriculture, lower waiting lists for community garden plots, decrease the amount of food that needs to be shipped across the country, and help people lower their food costs.

Sharing Backyards already exists in a number of different cities, from Vancouver to Ottawa (and all the way to New Zealand!), but if your city doesn't have a program running, you can start a yard-sharing program in your community.

Best of all, whether you're looking for yard space or to share space you already have, Sharing Backyards is 100% free for all users! (Courtesy of sponsors who support each of the local programs.)

Want to know more? Check out Sharing Backyards here.