About
The Vic West Food Security Collective is a group of volunteers who work on projects to strengthen production, consumption, and access to food that is safe, nutritious, affordable, locally produced and environmentally and economically sustainable. The guiding principle of the Collective is community building.
There is much work to be done in building our neighbourhood’s secure food system. Our goal each year is to increase our participation in existing projects and create new projects. The biggest benefit from our efforts is the resulting community building, both within the individuals who participate and for the whole Vic West Community.
Founded in 2003, the Food Security Collective is an ongoing action project resulting from a Community Association Visioning Project.
Our motto is…cultivating community by growing and sharing food!
We Need Volunteers!
Do you enjoy putting your hands in the soil? No mater your experience level, you are welcome to come out, learn some basic permaculture and help keep the Commons pumping out fruit and berries!
Join us on the first Saturday of each Month [March-November] at 10am for one of our Saturday Sessions or at Monday Morning Maintenance, held bi-weekly from late February until November.
You can sign up for either HERE
For more information please contact…
Louise Kelaher
VWFSC Garden Volunteer Coordinator
The Gardens
Banfield Commons
Banfield Commons is a permaculture food forest in Banfield Park, located between the tennis courts and the parking lot. This under-utilized piece of parkland was transformed in 2006 to a garden filled with fruit trees/shrubs, perennial and self-sowing annual food plants, and medicinal and culinary herbs. The garden is open to the public for harvest.
All maintenance work is done by volunteers and focuses on soil building. Dead plant material in the garden is considered a valuable resource not waste, therefore is left as mulch to help feed the soil and conserve moisture. The garden is irrigated by low flow drip wherever required.
The Tea Garden
How about a cup of tea sipped during events at the Community Centre. Better yet, that cup of tea is brewed from plants grown in a public garden in front of the Community Centre.
The Vic West Community Tea Garden, created by volunteers during the 2011 Vic West Fest, includes herbs and small fruits for making tea. The garden is open to the public for harvesting.
Please help yourself and share cup with a neighbour!
Events
Get Growing- Seedling Distribution
The Vic West Community Centre is a distribution point for the City of Victoria’s Get Growing Program.
Each year the Parks department grow thousands of seedlings to be given away free to residents. Spring seedlings include tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, zucchinis, basil, kale, chard, bush beans and collards.
Fall seedings will focus more on plants that will extend your growing season, like kales, collards, herbs and leafy greens.
Location: 521 Craigflower Rd. Please bring your own container to carry them home if possible! We will have a limited number of flats available.
Vic West dates for 2025
Spring:
Friday May 16th, 10:30am, while supplies last. [Usually 2 hours or less]
Summer:
Friday August 8th, 10:30am *PENDING CONFIRMATION*
Check out the link above to see all the locations days and times throughout the City!
The Corn Roast
Next Happens: Mid September, 2025. Exact date TBA.
The Corn Roast has now become a much anticipated annual tradition in Vic West. Raynor Street is blocked off becoming a vibrant public space to accommodate musicians and bales-of-hay seating, the pie contest tent, zucchini races, Vic West Art Quest activities, community displays and, of course, people eating corn.
Wassail
Next Happens: January 18th, 2025
10am-12pm
Banfield Park Orchard- 521 Craigflower Road, Victoria.
Wassail – Waes Hael – “be of good health”. Olde English tradition of wassailing, dating back to the 1500s, is a ceremony to wake fruit trees from their winter slumber and scare away evil spirits, ensuring a good harvest.
