MIKE YOUDS
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
With spring just around the corner, green thumbs are eager to get a head start. Gardeners of all abilities will find plenty of seeds, plants, information and inspiration at the second annual Alberni Valley Seedy Saturday.
Food is front and centre — along with essentials to grow it — at the indoor/outdoor market in Uptown Port Alberni on Saturday, March 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Char’s Landing (4815 Argyle Street). Join in the fun and dress in green in keeping with the spirit of Saint Patrick.
What is Seedy Saturday? Part of a movement dedicated to heritage seed saving around the world, the event started in B.C. 25 years ago and has blossomed into all kinds of spring garden fairs. There are more than 100 Seedy Saturday and Sunday events across Canada.
Vendors from across Vancouver Island are returning to the Alberni Valley to offer their seeds for sale or swap, together with a variety of zone-appropriate bedding plants, berry bushes, trees, nursery stock and garden supplies. Local grower and educator Guy Langlois will give a talk on the Shelter Farm’s market garden training, a partnership with North Island College and the merits of horticultural therapy.
This event is a community enterprise supported by two local non-profit groups, Women’s Food and Water Initiative and Alberni Valley Transition Towns Society. Both groups promote urban agriculture for community sustainability, food security and health in the Alberni Valley. After last year’s success, which drew about 500 people to Char’s Landing, organizers want to increase attendance and firmly plant Seedy Saturday on the Valley calendar of special events.
“We continue to connect the different dots that our focus and attention on climate change has brought before us,” said WFWI President Jen Fisher-Bradley. “Some of these dots are obvious, a shifting climate means shifting food and water security. It means that weather extremes become the norm, costing lives, communities, and economies. ”
Hearty soups are for sale. Activities are available for children. Admission is by donation. Contact Fisher-Bradley at 250-730-9413.