Annual Report 2012 - Victoria Compost Education Centre
Annual Report 2012Children enjoying the sunshine and face paintingat our annual spring Organic Plant Sale
Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre Annual Report 20121.0IntroductionThe Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre (GVCEC) is a project of the VictoriaCompost and Conservation Education Society, a not-for-profit, charitable organization. It islocated in Victoria at 1216 North Park Street. Started in 1992 by the Fernwood CommunityAssociation, the GVCEC provides composting and conservation education to CapitalRegional District (CRD) residents with the goal of reducing waste and improving local soilsthrough the use of compost. The GVCEC promotes pesticide free gardening as a means ofreducing the health and environmental effects of chemical gardening practices as well aspromoting the health, environmental and social benefits of local food production.The GVCEC’s services include: Composting hotline Community education outreach program School programs Composting supplies for sale Public workshops and site tours on the topics of composting, organic gardening, andlocal food production Compost Educator Program (CEP) – Volunteer training Demonstration composting and organic gardening area equipped with descriptive sitesigns allowing visitors to take self-guided tours Resource library Quarterly newsletter Website Strawbale building – a showcase for alternative buildings, the location of on-siteworkshops, and meeting location for other community groups.2.02012 Highlights2.1Community ProjectsGrow A RowGrow A Row is a project designed to encourageparticipants to grow an extra row of food in their gardensto donate to those in need. In 2012, our third year withthe project, we liaised with community organizations andparticipants from 10 different municipalities in the CRD.Through the program we donated over 1,600kg of freshproduce to community kitchens, shelters, seniorsSite Manager, Kim, with harvestedgreens for the Grow A Row project.programs, community centres, and schools – more than3 times what we collected in 2011!To learn more about Grow A Row please go to our website at http://vicgrowarow.org1
Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre Annual Report 2012SLUGS for YouthThis was also our third year hosting our Sustainable Living and UrbanGardening Skills (SLUGS) for Youth program. SLUGS is designed foryouth ages 13-30 and teaches them all aspects of growing food in theurban environment. Participants learn how to plan a garden, plant,grow, harvest, and even preserve the food grown over the course of theyear. The students decide on what they want to learn and often thereare experts within the group so they can share knowledge as well. Theworkshop series consisted of 21 different events, attended by 163youth. Each workshop involved teaching from a local expert, as wellas a hands-on learning opportunity, with youth taking home items suchas: garden plans, vegetable starts, canned pickles, edible wild plants, orother items they worked together to produce or gather. We also wentinto schools and taught other youth in a peer-based learning model andthere is an extensive blog so students from all over the CRD can accessthe resources and learning materials. To learn more about SLUGS forYouth, you can visit the website at http://slugsyouth.wordpress.com2.2SLUGS participants at ouroutdoor Picklingworkshop.Community EventsPumpkin SmashAt the GVCEC’s 9th Annual Pumpkin Smash,residents of the CRD brought their jack-olanterns to our giant compost bins rather thansending them to the landfill. More than 1,600residents brought their jack-o-lanterns to smashat the 4 different Thrifty Foods locations onNovember 3rd and 4th , where children enjoyedour Pumpkin Bowling and Jumpin’ Jack Smashgames. We also had drop-off locations fromNovember 1st – November 7th at Ellice RecycleStaff poses on the pumpkin pile!and at the Canteen Road Yard and Garden DropOff and at the Central Saanich Thrifty Foods. Over 15 tonnes of pumpkins were divertedfrom the landfill making our total since we started the event 9 years ago over 100 tonnesof pumpkins diverted from the landfill! The CRD once again donated 10 Green ConeDigesters for the raffle. Pumpkin Smash was sponsored by Thrifty Foods, the CRD, CTV,Monday Magazine, City of Victoria, and Ellice Recycle. Thanks to all our wonderful sponsorswho make this event great every year!Organic Plant SaleOver 800 people attended the GVCEC’s 9th Annual Organic Plant Sale held on May 12th, theonly all-organic plant sale in Victoria! This market style event featured a variety of hard tofind, organically grown annual and perennial veggie starts, seeds, native and ornamentalplants. The event gave visitors an opportunity to support local growers while providing theCentre with a valuable fundraising opportunity that also serves to raise our profile. A livebluegrass band played and there was free face painting and yummy goodies provided by2
Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre Annual Report 2012Candace Smith. Visitors learned more about the demonstration site, composting, and organicgardening while at the event.Fall Organic Plant Sale and 20th Anniversary CelebrationIn 2012, we decided to expand our events and host our firstannual August Organic Plant Sale. This event, similar to theSpring Organic Plant Sale, is designed to provide seedlingsfrom local growers so that community members can growfood throughout the winter. We combined this event with our20th Anniversary Celebration and invited past volunteers,staff, board, and supporters – over 250 people came to help usmark this important milestone. We are so happy to havebeen part of this vibrant community for 20 years and arethankful to the CRD for making it possible!2.3Education ProgramsA special anniversary logodesigned by Tony Sale, along-time member.In 2012 we continued to teach thousands ofchildren and adults about composting, soil, andgrowing food. We continued our new programcalled Garden Learners, which is designed forhome schooled students. We offer a weekly 2.5hour lesson in 4 week modules. The program hasbeen such a success that we will expand it in 2012to include older age groups and use it as a modelfor an after-school program. We also hosted ourspring and summer break camps – called GRUBS.The camp was for 6 hours a day for the five daysGRUBS camp participants carefullyof spring/summer break and kids learned aboutplaying with worms!soil, compost, growing food, local farms, and foodsystems. There were also scavenger hunts and many field trips. In total, we now offer elevendifferent in-school programs, a home school program, two camps, a year-round youthprogram (SLUGS), and Green birthday parties. See appendix A.3.3 for a listing of all our2012 education programs.2.4Earned MediaThe GVCEC has continued to focus on increasing our profile and exposure through earnedmedia opportunities. We had many ongoing listings with outside websites such as the CRDMyRecylopedia and Sustainable U, Chatterblock, and the Ecolearning Hive. As always ourevents garnered the most earned media starting with our Organic Plant sales and 20thAnniversary Celebration which had coverage in Victoria Explorer, Social Coast, Oak BayNews, Victoria News, UVic UVSS, Fernwood Village Vibe, and Transition Victoria.3
Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre Annual Report 2012Pumpkin Smash, as always, garnered lots of attention with television news coverage fromCTV and CHEK 6, radio coverage with CFAX and JACK FM, and print coverage with theTimes Colonist. We also received a lot of internet coverage with Social Coast, VictoriaExplorer, Earth Future, and Village NOW. See Appendix A.3.5 for a listing of all the 2012earned media.2.5FundraisingWe were grateful to receive funds from the following organizations: Capital Regional District City of Victoria Province of British Columbia Thrifty Foods 1% for the Planet Victoria Foundation Mountain Equipment Coop HRDCS (Canada Student Summer Jobs Program) LifeCycles Project Society/ United WayWe received other revenue from:Our TC 10K Compost Cruisers Organic Plant Salecorporate team with Dr. Wriggles outfront. Plant starts and seeds for sale Sales of composting and organic gardening related items Workshops and presentations Memberships DonationsCash and in-kind donations from the following organizations: Big Barn Garden Centre Meadow Oak Nursery Borden Mercantile Monday Magazine Blackpress Soap Exchange City of Victoria Thrifty Foods Danica Nursery Capital Regional District Dig This CTV Ellice Recycle Silk Road Aromatherapy and Tea Co. Garden Works Ten Thousand Villages Little Elf Garden Centre Spinakkers4
Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre Annual Report 20123.0Summary of Programs and ine Calls2,507EmailsWebsite& SocialMedia344SchoolWorkshops Community Average)Members(Average)Number of Contacts2012 Contact Stats3-year AverageVisitors to Demonstration Site The total number of visitors to the site in 2012 was 1,981 which is an increase from2011 of 11% The demonstration site was open Wednesday–Saturday 10am-4pm fromJanuary –December (with a 3 week closure over the winter holiday season).Compost Hotline and Emails The total number of calls to the hotline/emails was 4,014 which is an 8% increasefrom 2010 and a 85% increase from 2008. The compost hotline calls and emails were answered by staff and volunteers fromWednesday to Saturday 10am-4pm throughout the year. Calls to the hotline outside of office hours were recorded and returned.Website& Social Media The GVCEC’s website (www.compost.bc.ca) provided information to website visitorson how to compost and live more sustainably. It also contained information on theGVCEC’s programs, funders, upcoming events, and products sold.5
Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre Annual Report 2012 We continued to expand our blog for the SLUGSfor Youth program (slugsyouth.wordpress.com)and our Grow A Row program(vicgrowarow.org)We strengthened our social media with facebookand twitter accounts and began using ConstantContact for regular emails and newsletters to ourlistserv.In 2012, there were 49,568 unique visitors to ourwebsites and hits to our social media accounts.This is a huge 235% increase from 2010.People buying plants at our OrganicPlant Sale.Schools Program A total of 110 workshops were delivered to 2,507 children from elementary schoolclasses, daycares and out of school programs which is a slight decrease from 2011. Worm composting bins were offered to schools at a subsidized rate. Comprehensive teaching modules were also made available through the GVCECwebsiteOn-Site Workshops 67 adult workshops were hosted at the GVCEC through our Sustainable Home andGarden Series. 599 people participated in these workshops which topics included: AdvancedComposting, Mason Beekeeping, Build the Best Soil, Food Preservation, Chickens inthe City, Rain Gardens, and Aquaponics.Community Outreach Program and Events Volunteers and staff attended 43 communityevents in 2012 and hosted 4 major events,an increase of 25% from 2010, reaching atotal of 12,019 people. Some eventsattended included: Seedy Saturday,Creatively United for the Planet, MossStreet Paint-in, and the Selkirk WaterfrontFestival.Volunteer Program A total of 116 volunteers collectivelyGarden Learners playing with compost.contributed 1,804 hours to the GVCEC in2012 (equivalent to one full-time and one part-time staff member at the Centre). These trained volunteers helped to facilitate school programs and community outreachevents, as well as assisted with site and garden creation and maintenance. The Compost Educator Volunteer Training Program (CEP) was held three times in2012 - in March, June, and September-with a total number of 19 participants.6
Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre Annual Report 2012Membership The average number of members for 2012 was 289 which is lower than our average Members receive two free courses annually from our Sustainable Home and GardenWorkshop Series as well as 10% off of the products we sell Members also receive our quarterly newsletter and 10% off of products at variousGarden CentresNewsletter The GVCEC’s quarterly newsletter The Latest Dirt was again provided to membersand on our website. Newsletters in 2012 included articles on aquaponics, Permablitz,curbside pick-up, and seed saving.4.0SummaryThroughout 2012, the Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre (GVCEC) continued toexpand upon its programs and reached an even greater number of Capital Region residents.This was in large part due to the 10 paid staff, the 7 member volunteer Board of Directors,and over 115 volunteers.Each year, we aim to diversify the types of community events we attend in an attempt to reachdifferent audiences and raise the profile of the GVCEC even further. Three major publicevents were significant highlights of 2012 which served to increase the public profile of theGVCEC. The Organic Plant Sales held in May and August highlight the importance oforganic gardening and local food production, and the annual Pumpkin Smash held inNovember continued to raise awareness of the importance of keeping carved pumpkins andorganic waste out of the landfill. We also celebrated our 20th Anniversary in August and werepleased to mark this important milestone with neighbours, friends, funders, volunteers, andprevious staff. The earned media from these events has served to significantly raise the profileof the Centre and its services, which can be seen in our increased numbers in most of ourprogram areas.We continued to expand our Grow A Row and SLUGS for Youth programs into theirsophomore years. Grow A Row expanded exponentially thanks to continued funding as wellas more involvement from community gardens. We managed to beat our 2012 goal by 50%and managed to donate over 1.5 tonnes of locally grown produce to community organizationsin the CRD. Our SLUGS for Youth program also continued to grow thanks to funders likeThrifty Foods and TD Friends of the Environment as youth learned about a variety of topicssuch as bee keeping, canning, and herbalism, laying the groundwork for a successful 2013.We expanded our education programs in 2012 to offer more Garden Leaners programs and amiddle school enrichment program that ran for 13 weeks. We have some exciting new ideasplanned for 2013 too – including a Plant a Fruit Tree Day in September and a drop-in youthworkshop series.One of our biggest challenges in 2012 was the break-in we experienced in October. Thievesbroke in through the light tube and stole and broke many items. Luckily, we were able to7
Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre Annual Report 2012recover most things and the light tube is now fixed. This also gave us an opportunity to revisitour security measures on-site and we have now upgraded them to reflect our growingorganization.In 2012, we saw increases in many program areas including an increase in hotline emails,website and social media, community outreach, volunteer hours, and volunteers compared tothe three year-average. The GVCEC reached a total of 73,193 residents in 2012, an increasefrom 2011 and an increase of 114% from 2010! Since 1992, the GVCEC has made over457,049 contacts with CRD residents.Comments from Members and CRD ResidentsKids’ Education Programs:“It exceeded my expectations!! The children (who are a very active and distractible group)were totally engaged and interested.”“It was really well done. They loved holding the worms and making their home.”“Facilitator was excellent. Really worked at the interest level of my class.”SLUGS for Youth:“All of the workshops I have attended were excellent - hands on learning is always the best. Ifind that gardening workshops are covered quite well by other groups (Lifecycles, Grow aRow, etc) so I like the other DIY workshops best.”Volunteer Training Program:“Friendly inviting atmosphere, I’m a complete novice and I feel like I can ask any question.”“It was really informative, great networking experience and a good hands-on experience”8
Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre Annual Report 2012APPENDIX: Background and StatisticsA.1Staff and Board of Directors 2012A.2Mission and Mandate of Victoria Compost and Conservation Education SocietyA.3Statistics1.2.3.4.A.1On Site Workshops and EventsCommunity Outreach (Mobile Demonstrations)Elementary Schools ProgramAdvertising & PublicityStaff and Board of Directors 2012Victoria Compost & Conservation Education SocietyBoard of Directors – 2012Janet HockinNik HillDavid NeateAmanda BroadWendy DunnBill McKechnieMarion Wylie-PresidentVice- PresidentTreasurerSecretaryCRD RepresentativeFCA RepresentativeMember at LargeGreater Victoria Compost Education CentreStaff – 2012Nadine CollisonMarika SmithNashira BirchSonya RokoshAnne SpiceKim WattHannah RoesslerShannon MillarClare PepperAndrew Brunton-Executive DirectorOperations ManagerEducation & Outreach Coordinator (January – June)Education Coordinator (June - December)Outreach Coordinator (April – November)Site Manager & Compost Educator (January – August)Site Manager & Compost Educator (August - December)Grow A Row Project Coordinator (February – October)SLUGS for Youth Project Coordinator (January – November)Site & Project Assistant Summer Intern (May-September)i
Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre Annual Report 2012A.2Mission and Mandate of Victoria Compost and Conservation Education SocietyThe Victoria Compost and Conservation Education Society promotes composting, organicgardening, conservation, local food production, and urban sustainability. This is accomplishedby being an educational resource through our demonstration site, staff, volunteers, outreach,and workshops for children and adults throughout the Capital Regional District. We will alsooperate a retail outlet offering supplies to assist the public in more successful composting andorganic gardening.The mandate of the Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre is to encourage composting& conservation:A.3 By providing public education programs to the residents of Greater Victoria andsurrounding regions in the areas of composting, organic gardening, and conservation. By establishing a demonstration site to provide the public with an opportunity toobserve and experience the various elements of composting, organic gardening, andconservation. By providing a telephone hotline to answer general inquiries about composting,organic gardening, and conservation. By actively soliciting membership in the society. By utilizing volunteers in all aspects of the society's activities.StatisticsA.3.1 On-Site WorkshopsDateJan 28Jan 28Feb 4Feb 11Feb 18Feb 25Mar 3Mar 3Mar 3Mar 11Mar 14Mar 17Mar 17EventWinter PruningUVic Composting BasicsComposting BasicsPlanning Your Year Round Veggie GardenPlanning Your Year Round Veggie Garden(Repeat)Mason Bees Part IComposting BasicsMason Bees Part I (Repeat)SLUGS: Portable PermacultureSLUGS: Haultain Common Planning PartySLUGS in Your School: Hot Water Bath CanningWorm CompostingSLUGS: Composting Crash CourseNumber of Participants1698201614712585166ii
Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre Annual Report 2012Mar 18Mar 24Mar 24April 14April 14April 28April 21April 22April 28May 5May 5May 22May 24May 26May 30June 2June 2June 7-9June 10June 16June 17June 19June 23July 7July 17July 21July 24July 28July 28Aug 9Aug 11Aug 11Aug 13Aug 16Aug 22Aug 26Aug 29Sept 8Sept 8Sept 11Sept 26Oct 13Oct 13Oct 13Oct 15SLUGS: Haultain Common Planning PartyAdvanced CompostingSpring PlantingComposting BasicsBuild the Best SoilNative Plant GardeningSLUGS: Year Round Veggie GardeningSLUGS: Haultain Common Planting PartySLUGS: Haultain Common Weeding PartyComposting BasicsGrow the Best TomatoesSLUGS: Canning 101: Caramelized Onion JamGAR: Garden PlanningWint
1.0 Introduction The Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre (GVCEC) is a project of the Victoria Compost and Conservation Education Society, a not-for-profit, charitable organization. It is located in Victoria at 1216 North Park
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High quality compost tea of will inoculate the leaf surface and soil with beneficial microorganisms, instead of destroying them. Pictured above left is a banana leaf previously managed in this manner, but since 2001 only organically managed. No compost or compost tea applied. High quality compost tea
foot of sock in order to ensure drainage rate of the compost sock being used is adequate. The required flow rates are outlined in Table 6.66b. Table 6.66b - Compost Sock Initial Flow Rates Compost Sock Design Diameter 8 inch (200mm) 12 inch (300mm) 18 inch (450mm) 24 inch (600mm) 32 inch (800mm) Specifications 1. compost sock.
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5 Quality assurance of compost and digestate – Experiences from Germany List of Abbreviations BGK Bundesgütegemeinschaft Kompost e.V. (Federal Compost Quality Assurance Organisation of Germany) BMUB Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit (Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety of Germany)
consisted of one part compost to two parts planting soil. All plants were mulched with wood chips after installation. RESULTS Using compost to amend the planting soil was very successful according to ConnDOT and CTDEP. An inventory was conduct-ed in May
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