The soaring timber frame and rustic brick architecture at CANOE creates a vibrant atmosphere and provides a versatile setting for gatherings large or small. We have something for everyone – great handcrafted beer, a diverse award-winning wine list, a pub, a lounge, a dining room, patios, knowledgeable staff and free parking – all in one stunning location!

10 years of brewing handcrafted beers of distinction
and a recipient of a Canadian Brewing Awards Gold Medal

http://www.canoebrewpub.com/

Drawing our Vancouver Island Community together for an inspirational evening dedicated to health, wellness, sustainability, and food security. Have fun browsing displays and tables of local businesses, network, mingle and learn more about easy ways to live more sustainably, the importance of local food production and supporting local business.

Wouldn’t you like to have more local food options in grocery stores and restaurant? Wouldn’t it be nice to Know where Your Food is coming from?

Please RSVP, come with a friend and tell everyone you know!  Check out our Facebook Page for more details and to RSVP…or email events@gentleearth.ca Help us to spread the word and help us to gather a group of like-minded people for a fun and informative evening of inspiration.

Important Event Details:
Title: Know Your Food, Respect Your Body, Love Your Planet  Presented By: Gentleearth.ca
Event: Evening to Inspire. Educational Mixer.
Date: Tuesday, April 27^th Time: 6:30 – 9:00 PM
Location: Ambrosia Center – 638 Fisgard Street
Cost: By donation (Proceeds going to local Non Profit and to the creation of community website where consumers, restaurants and grocers can go to find local produce, meats and eco-wares)

FEATURING KEYNOTE SPEAKER PRESENTATION STARTING AT 7:00 PM (Please arrive early – doors close at 7!)

Local Authorities Speak on Healthy Living, Food Security on Vancouver Island, Local Food Production, Growing Your Own Garden, Recycling and Easy Sustainable Practices For Your Daily Life

We are proud to present:
Carolyn Herriot – Author of “A Year On The Garden Path” & “Zero Mile Diet,” Educator
Nick Versteeg - Producer of “Island on The Edge,” DV Cuisine
Brian Gordon – Canada’s Certified Speaker on Al Gore’s “The Inconvenient Truth” presents a local rendition “The Way Home” with everyday solutions for Vancouver Island residents

AND SOUND BYTES FROM BUSINESSES IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT ARE ALREADY MAKING A DIFFERENCE ON VANCOUVER ISLAND

INFO TABLES & DISPLAYS WILL FEATURE EVERYDAY LOCAL SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR LIFESTYLE. FANTASTIC OPTIONS FOR EVERYTHING FROM EATING IN TO DINNER OUT TO GROCERY SHOPPING TO HAIRCUTS, CLOTHING AND EVEN COFFEE.

Thank You for Supporting Local Business and Sustainable Community Initiatives on Vancouver Island

WHO WILL BE THERE? People of all ages interested in healthy living, buying local, and minimizing their carbon footprint. Conscience Consumers, Local Foodies, Farmers, Local Sustainable Businesses, Grocers, Chefs

COST: By donation
(Proceeds going to local Non Profit & Creation of community website where public, restaurants and grocers can go to find local produce, meats and Eco-wares)

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* You’ll enjoy delicious fresh local produce.
* You will be supporting the local farms and farmers saving seed.
* You’ll enjoy a variety fruit and vegetables including some from heritage stock – varieties you won’t find in the supermarket! And help to increase bio diversity.
* You will connect to your local food community
* You will be advocating with your dollars to increase food security on our Island.
* You will access our great recipe section that shows you how to use seasonal produce.
* You will help us support community farming projects that will increase the availability of local food.
* You will be supporting local projects that will educate consumers about food issues

(courtesy of Share Organics)

Lifecycles Project Society

LifeCycles is a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating awareness and initiating action around food, health, and urban sustainability in the Greater Victoria community. We work proactively to promote and create personal, shared and community gardens, research, and educational activities and youth skills development programs. Through partnerships we strengthen individual, community and global health.

We do this through our many projects, including the Fruit Tree Project, which harvests fruit that would otherwise go to waste and redistributes it to local food banks; and Growing Schools which uses an organic garden as an outdoor classroom for teaching elementary school students about food security. Our new Urban Agriculture Hub provides resources, workshops and support to build the capacity of Victoria residents to grow their own food and increase the number of backyard, boulevard, community, and institutional gardens in the city. Our newly launched online hub, “Lifecycles Sprout” is a one-stop spot for accessing information, events and resources related to urban agriculture in Victoria and connecting with other organizations and individuals doing similar work.

Contact Us:

http://lifecyclesproject.ca/
We are located at:
Unit # 2 – 625 Hillside Avenue
Victoria, BC
V8T 1Z1
And can be reached at:
(250) 383-5800
info@lifecyclesproject.ca

http://lifecyclesproject.ca/

Less than 10% of Vancouver Island’s food is grown locally. This film investigates what might happen if the Island’s links to the mainland (ferry and air) were disrupted. How long could Islanders be self-sustaining? What kinds of measures should residents adopt to enhance local agriculture?

The Documentary:
The film examines the history of food production on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. It asks, what would happen to our food supply if we were suddenly cut off from the rest of the world?.

The film chronicles the efforts of several crusaders in the field of food production in our region and documents how people can get involved with supporting the local food movement.

We return to the archives going back twenty-five years to listen to what our government, and our farmers predicted the future of farming would be. The story features people who are making a difference with innovative ideas and action they are taking to create a more sustainable food system.

The Goal of the Documentary
The objective is to get a dialogue going between food producers and the consumers who buy their food. What has to be done to create more jobs in agriculture? How can we convince government to get behind these critical issues? And what can we do to make sure we have enough local and good tasting food?

We have shown “Island on the Edge” 29 times to over 5000 people

http://www.seacider.ca/

“Why cider?” everyone asks. Well, combine Bruce’s cidermaking hobby, Kristen’s family orchard, and the many years the two of them spent living and travelling in cider regions of the world, and it begins to make sense.

Coming from a family of ranchers and farmers, Kristen was naturally drawn to apple orchards. Lacking a farming background, Bruce nevertheless thought that tractors were cool. In 1999 they made cider for their wedding guests and lamented the dearth of decent cider in Canada.

“Why no cider?” the Jordans wondered. With a little digging, they discovered that cider had actually once been one of the most popular drinks in North America – “safer than water” was the thinking before Prohibition. Locally, they discovered that the lush farmland surrounding Victoria had once been the fruit basket of British Columbia, producing fruit for BC’s first commercial winery. The Prohibition-era ban on alcohol resulted in most cider apple orchards falling to the axe. The industry never recovered when the ban was lifted as a thirsty public did not care to wait for cider to re-establish itself.

With this history in mind, the Jordans decided that the time was right for them to try to help cider regain its lost popularity. They searched for just the right place to plant an orchard and to make cider from their apples. Wanting to spread the word about cider, they also knew from the start that they would invite people to come and taste their cider and share their vision.

They found a gem of a farm in 2004 – sitting high up on a hill overlooking the sea where rumrunners used to race in their boats full of prohibited liquor. With rich soil and a favourable climate, the site was perfect for growing the best cider apples in the world. Then the real digging started with plenty of help from friends and family. One thousand apple trees later (and 1000 wheel barrows of chicken manure!) and their orchard was planted.

Today, Bruce and Kristen want to welcome you to their orchard and Ciderhouse to taste the fruits of their labour. Come raise a glass, experience the fine tradition of artisan cidermaking and discover for yourself why they are so passionate about handcrafted cider.

Pacific Rim College is a government (PCTIA) accredited academic institution of complementary and integrative medicine located in Victoria, British Columbia. The college was founded to provide world-class education, modern research opportunities and premiere clinical services in a variety of medical modalities including Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, Phytotherapy, and Integrative Health.

www.pacificrimcollege.ca

Welcome to Share Organics
Your source of the freshest organic produce around

Share Organics has been delivering local produce to households in the Victoria area for over 12 years! In September 2009 we will be expanding to Colwood and Langford. We offer you a selection of great Produce Boxes and more! Boxes are the best way to buy because we fill them with fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables direct from local farms!

Use our recipe section to help get the harvest to your table. Customize your box to suit your family’s needs.

For you 100 mile Diet folks we offer our Local Only Box for 6 months of the year! Then it becomes a Regional box to include mainland fruit. No changes to this box but we will accommodate your Never Sends! We offer local organic eggs, baked goods, dairy and soy products as well as sustainable seafood, local free range meats and much more.

Browse the Store to see it all!

Share Organics sources organic fruit and vegetables as close to home as possible. First we buy LOCAL – from Vancouver Island and Gulf Island farmers. Then we buy BC – from our farmer friends on the mainland. We buy within our Bio Region. This would include Washington State which has some wonderful farms with lots of produce to offer.

We would supplement with imports from Oregon,and then California or Mexico only when local or regionally grown is not an option. This most often happens between December and May. We never buy off the continent with the exception of bananas and ginger.

At Share Organics you can shop knowing you will be choosing from the freshest, ‘closest to home’ organic produce available.

Click here for an Overview of Share Organics.

In the summer, our boxes are up to 80% local with a top up of Okanogan stone fruits (peaches, nectarines, cherries) and the occasional lemon or avocado! In the off season, December through May, we offer you local and BC storage and greenhouse crops, and crops from further south along the west coast and into Mexico.

http://www.foodroots.ca/

* FoodRoots is a not for profit co-op distributor of local naturally grown produce and foods processed in our region.
* FoodRoots is the link between growers, processors and you.
* FoodRoots is re-creating this important link in our food distribution system – a local food storage and distribution facility bringing local food closer to you
* Founding members of FoodRoots include a food security activist, a farmer and a retailer!
* Join us in forging this link! Become a member!

Vision Statement

* To promote a local sustainable food system by creating the infrastructure link between the eaters/consumers and the growers and processors in our region.
* To promote sustainable food grown and processed in the region. Sustainable food is grown naturally as close to home as possible. Certified Organic is our first choice
* To educate eaters/consumers about local agriculture and food security issues.

What We Do

Sustainable food is grown naturally in our local region. Why is it hard to find? One of the reasons is that there is no one working solely on distribution. Meeting farmers at markets and knowing who is growing your food is the best.

However, farmers cannot be at markets in every community, every day of the week. At FoodRoots Distributors Co-op, we’re recreating the middle ground in our local food distribution system.

Working with farmers, processors and retail members, FoodRoots will undertake crop planning with farmers, provide delivery and storage facilities and work to maximize our local food production by distributing local foods to communities through Pocket Markets and providing produce for small scale food processors.

“We are very proud of the produce we’ve grown this year for FoodRoots Pocket Markets. I look forward to sitting down with you this fall/winter to plan and talk about the future. The relationship with FoodRoots has given me a much needed shot of optimism about the future of my farm operations.”
-Graham Myer, Maple Groove Farm, North Cowichan

FoodRoots connects city folk to sustainability issues through Educational Events For the first two years Sustainable Fests were held the first Saturday of each month.

FoodRoots will gather produce and products from our local farmers and processors and make them available to the community through:

Pocket Markets

One or two tent markets with produce from many farms and processors in the Region. Offer a regular venue for community gardeners and urban farmers to sell their goods in the community.

Supply local produce and processed goods to:

* Schools
* Preschools
* Care Homes
* Community Events

Host a weekly or one time FoodRoots Pocket Market at your:

* Church, Synagogue, Temple
* Community Centre
* Special Event
* Co-op Housing
* Neighborhood Groups
* Service Club
* Condominium Association

Education

We will be providing regular opportunities for the community to gather together to learn more about our region’s food growers and processors and to discuss all issues related to food. We’ll do this over the dinner table!

http://www.cheeseworks.ca/index.php

We are an old-fashioned dairy farm. But that’s certainly not all. We are also an artisan cheese producer. And we are an agritourism destination.

We hope you enjoy your browse through the pages of this web site. You may even enjoy our music video, “Cheese Maker’s Blues.” If it ends there however you’re missing out. Our goal is to share with you the actual tastes and experiences of the farm. So keep an eye out for our cheeses in your local delis, buy some online, or best of all come and visit us at the farm.

We think you’ll like what you find!

About Little Qualicum Cheeseworks

Nestled In the cool moist climate of Vancouver Island in the shadow of Mt. Arrowsmith, Little Qualicum Cheeseworks on Morningstar Farm produce a selection of world-class cheeses to delight the senses.

Using only the highest quality milk from our own herd of Holstein, Ayrshire, Brown Swiss and Canadienne dairy cows, we have an artisan cheese to suit any occasion, meal or just a light, fresh snack.

So come on in, look around, order some cheese, or come visit us at the farm for a tour. We’d love to meet you. No bull.

Read More on Little Qualicum Cheeseworks History Here

And check out their Carbon Footprint info!!