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 working outdoors? Victoria West has three community gardens with a fourth garden being planned. If you would like to share your growing knowledge or learn more about growing your own food, consider joining. Without volunteers, gardens like this wouldn’t be possible!
Join us for one of our monthly work parties, or weekly workdays! Work party times and other events can be found on the Vic West Food Security Collective Facebook Page.
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 manually irrigated only during extensive dry periods.
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
The Corn Roast
Next Happens: Mid September, 2024. 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, VicWest Art Quest activities, community displays and, of course, people eating corn.
Wassail
Next Happens: January 20th, 2024
2pm-4pm
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.
