The University of Ottawa community garden on King Edward has been around for some time. It is a place where staff, students, and Sandy Hill community members are encouraged to grow their own food and preserve green spaces. Not everyone has the opportunity or space to garden; it is therefore very important to have community gardens as they give individuals the ability to grow and have access to their organic fruits and vegetables. Recently, the University of Ottawa has constructed seven raised bed gardens, built with the help of some reused materials on campus (old banners from Alumni week are being used as moisture barriers). For those who don’t know, raised bed gardens are elevated boxes filled with soil separated from the ground to grow plants. This method of gardening comes with many advantages. First, gardeners tend to suffer from less back pain because they do not have to bend over as much to do their gardening. It also makes it easier to access if you are in a wheelchair o...

So I know a guy, well actually he is a friend. And if you need the sweet stuff, he's got you covered. Last year Vince decided to start an apiary. He did some online research, spoke to a couple of people, and decided to order up some equipment and get going. Fast forward to last week and there I am paying a visit to Vince's bees. I learned a couple of really interesting things about bees including one important thing that I didn't know: bees don't usually sting you unless you are directly in their flight path. (Also, they will attack you if you threaten them, try to kill them, or try to steal their honey, etc.) This was a profound moment for me because I have always wanted to have an apiary on campus. But of course whenever someone brings up the idea of an apiary in a dense urban space, the first thing that comes to mind is the dreaded bee sting. I watched Vince as he inspected the hive and added a bit of smoke to scare away some bees so he could open up the box...

You can smell it in the air. The snow is melting, birds are signing, and before you know it, the very first buds will burst forth from the trees! SPRING IS HERE! Okay, maybe we aren't quite there yet but it certainly is time to start thinking about your garden. Devoted fans of our office already know that we offer community garden plots through a partnership with the SFUO and OPIRG. The plots are first come, first serve and I would be remiss if I didn't tell you to book a space right now if you want one. But this isn't a post about our community gardens, well not exactly. This summer, the Office of Campus Sustainability, will be conducting an agricultural demonstration project. We are hoping to prove that we can grow food on campus that could be sold on campus. At the same time we are also hoping to create a new green space. But rather than telling you what we are trying to do, how about I just show you what we have in mind. Now, there is no way that we are...