Present: Tim, Leah, Ginnie, Maddie, Rafe, Caytee, Alex, April
1) Point People for this semester:
PR/Publicity: Leah, Ginnie, April
Internal Communications: Tim, Rafe
Volunteer Coordinating: Caytee, Maddie
Garden “expert”/Planner: Gillian (suggested though not present)
Budget and Finance: Alex
University Relations: Oliver? Who else?
2) Publicity Ideas
April: made a prototype canvas bag – to be sold at Organic Corner for 5-10 dollars
Logo contest? Or do we have our logo w/April’s beet picture?
-need to resubmit to AUS/SSMU listservs
-stickers: Maddie has an in
-events? Maple sugar/snow selling at 4 corners, potato stamps
-party
-have an event or party planned for activities night
-summer recruitment: advertise at Midnight Kitchen: pamphlets, posters/ announcements
3) Cold Frame building plans
Can we use Arch or Engineering shops?
Tentative plans to do something on Sunday
4) Tim: Trevor says we can have a presence at the sustainable campuses conference (late Jan/early Feb)
-can do a 30 minute presentation if we prepare and register
5) Maddie: we should change meetings to potlucks
6) Leah: do we want to be part of heritage seed bank network? I have an in
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Meeting 6- December 5, 2007
Alex C talked to Imad (SSMU VP Finance) about different funding possibilities
Imad Barake:
“SSMU has three sources of funding:
club funding
need interim status (which we have????)
then, in 3 months, need:
-constitution
-3 events
2) campus life fund
not a lot of money there
doesn’t do start up costs
**3) green fee fund
more money
same forms as campus life fund
forms: don’t need revenue specifics setc.
-need budget, but doesn’t have to be too specific
-three week process, pretty quick”
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE SEMESTER CLOSED?
1) Fill out financial forms and make a budget
2) Build Cold Frames
Tim drew plans
- ? = seal?
- must convert cm to inches, not a big deal
Might as well assume we can get reimbursed
Plan for materials buying:
weekend car availability (Tim’s friend)
1) ecocentres 2) home depot for everything else
(Call eco-centre to see if open on saturday)
3) Proposal for MSE summer
Where do the vegetables go?
-starting in spring: veggies go to midnight kitchen
-summer: vegetables go to volunteers, extras go to Santropol?
-starting fall school year, veggies go back to MK
pilot project; focus is not production, but to see how many people needed, gauge involvement
want to increase production in future
publicity efforts throughout spring to increase awareness and get summer volunteers
WINTER EVENTS?:
-info session
-fun stuff
DELEGATION – What tasks/roles need to be filled next semester?
1) PR person (two people)
publicity:
“branding” and signage
newspapers
visibility
events
**publicity for summer:
2) Communications within – secretary, typing minutes – setting out schedule for meetings, making up agenda
also blogging etc. and newsletter
3) Cold frame/general volunteer scheduler/coordinator (people)
Incl. Summer
4) Person(s) who know when things need to be planted and how they need to be planted (“expert consultant”)
Incl. Summer
5) Budget and finance
6) University relations – also city relations
Oliver?
Gillian: Let’s start small:
better to concentrate on getting the MSE plot, use it as a good pilot project
later: make proposals to city or school for other spaces
consensus
Pete Barry is talking to Vikram Bhatt right now about whether people can get ENVR 401 credit for cold frames – maybe not cause you need a client.
Camille:
-Could we get the grounds crew to plant edible/nice looking plants?
-Eric Champagne liked idea of berry bushes/fruit trees
-Orchard behind Thomson House/Education Building??
Imad Barake:
“SSMU has three sources of funding:
club funding
need interim status (which we have????)
then, in 3 months, need:
-constitution
-3 events
2) campus life fund
not a lot of money there
doesn’t do start up costs
**3) green fee fund
more money
same forms as campus life fund
forms: don’t need revenue specifics setc.
-need budget, but doesn’t have to be too specific
-three week process, pretty quick”
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE SEMESTER CLOSED?
1) Fill out financial forms and make a budget
2) Build Cold Frames
Tim drew plans
- ? = seal?
- must convert cm to inches, not a big deal
Might as well assume we can get reimbursed
Plan for materials buying:
weekend car availability (Tim’s friend)
1) ecocentres 2) home depot for everything else
(Call eco-centre to see if open on saturday)
3) Proposal for MSE summer
Where do the vegetables go?
-starting in spring: veggies go to midnight kitchen
-summer: vegetables go to volunteers, extras go to Santropol?
-starting fall school year, veggies go back to MK
pilot project; focus is not production, but to see how many people needed, gauge involvement
want to increase production in future
publicity efforts throughout spring to increase awareness and get summer volunteers
WINTER EVENTS?:
-info session
-fun stuff
DELEGATION – What tasks/roles need to be filled next semester?
1) PR person (two people)
publicity:
“branding” and signage
newspapers
visibility
events
**publicity for summer:
2) Communications within – secretary, typing minutes – setting out schedule for meetings, making up agenda
also blogging etc. and newsletter
3) Cold frame/general volunteer scheduler/coordinator (people)
Incl. Summer
4) Person(s) who know when things need to be planted and how they need to be planted (“expert consultant”)
Incl. Summer
5) Budget and finance
6) University relations – also city relations
Oliver?
Gillian: Let’s start small:
better to concentrate on getting the MSE plot, use it as a good pilot project
later: make proposals to city or school for other spaces
consensus
Pete Barry is talking to Vikram Bhatt right now about whether people can get ENVR 401 credit for cold frames – maybe not cause you need a client.
Camille:
-Could we get the grounds crew to plant edible/nice looking plants?
-Eric Champagne liked idea of berry bushes/fruit trees
-Orchard behind Thomson House/Education Building??
Meeting 5- November 28, 2007
Gillian and Oliver went to test the soil at the reservoir.
-Waiting for results
-The soil is not deep enough, issue with structural integrity if we terrace it
-We should add soil and not use the pre-existing soil, terracing
-Potential water supply problem.
Meeting Friday, 9 AM in the MUGS lounge:
-Professor Bhatt, Professor Luka
-Grounds keeping staff (Eric Champagne)
-Shannon
-Radu (planning)
Questions that we want to ask at the meeting:
-How would groundskeeping like to be involved and what kind of help can they offer us?
Eric: What kind of assistance can he give us?
Radu: What does he know about this site and what advice can he give us?
Shannon: Can we do coldframes no matter what the proposals for the summer are, and what are the other proposals like? Can we use the MUCS office?
What do we want?
-Using the MSE garden for coldframes
-Reservoir as square foot garden (build terraces and retaining walls)
-Have students doing research projects with this, but mostly be a student initiative
-Have administration’s help whenever we need it, but have this project be student maintained and supervised
-Possible need for a work study in the summer
-Distribution: keeping the food on campus
-Involve architecture students, engineering students, management students, open to anyone who wants to participate
-Document our process
Research for Environment 401 or 490:
-environment students need to be informed
-email Pete
-Environment Students Society lstrv?
Landscaping Architecture Professor?
- to help with the structure of the retaining walls
Monday: Professor Bhatt’s students are doing a presentation on urban agriculture.
*Alexandra has a truck that we can use
TD Canada Trust contest- Go Green Challenge www.tdcanadatrust.com/gogreen/
-we need 4 students and a staff member, we could win $25,000
Budget:
-need to develop a tentative budget
Coldframes:
-we need materials
-Professor Bhatt wants to know if people are doing coldframe research, wants plans
Delegation:
-develop a list of positions and duties
Friday: Going to eco-centres and buying materials for coldframes
-Waiting for results
-The soil is not deep enough, issue with structural integrity if we terrace it
-We should add soil and not use the pre-existing soil, terracing
-Potential water supply problem.
Meeting Friday, 9 AM in the MUGS lounge:
-Professor Bhatt, Professor Luka
-Grounds keeping staff (Eric Champagne)
-Shannon
-Radu (planning)
Questions that we want to ask at the meeting:
-How would groundskeeping like to be involved and what kind of help can they offer us?
Eric: What kind of assistance can he give us?
Radu: What does he know about this site and what advice can he give us?
Shannon: Can we do coldframes no matter what the proposals for the summer are, and what are the other proposals like? Can we use the MUCS office?
What do we want?
-Using the MSE garden for coldframes
-Reservoir as square foot garden (build terraces and retaining walls)
-Have students doing research projects with this, but mostly be a student initiative
-Have administration’s help whenever we need it, but have this project be student maintained and supervised
-Possible need for a work study in the summer
-Distribution: keeping the food on campus
-Involve architecture students, engineering students, management students, open to anyone who wants to participate
-Document our process
Research for Environment 401 or 490:
-environment students need to be informed
-email Pete
-Environment Students Society lstrv?
Landscaping Architecture Professor?
- to help with the structure of the retaining walls
Monday: Professor Bhatt’s students are doing a presentation on urban agriculture.
*Alexandra has a truck that we can use
TD Canada Trust contest- Go Green Challenge www.tdcanadatrust.com/gogreen/
-we need 4 students and a staff member, we could win $25,000
Budget:
-need to develop a tentative budget
Coldframes:
-we need materials
-Professor Bhatt wants to know if people are doing coldframe research, wants plans
Delegation:
-develop a list of positions and duties
Friday: Going to eco-centres and buying materials for coldframes
Meeting 4- November 14, 2007
• Tim asked engineering shop to use to build cold frames, can be used any time as long as considered for school, it is locked at night, shouldn’t be too hard to fit to the windows
• Gillian: can use arch shop as long as not being used by students making models
• And tech director of moyse hall, and it can be rented out: given contact of lady in charge
Also made a website. Campuscropsmcgill.blogspot.com
• Rafe contacted the horticulture for gardens and grounds, needs to ask supervisor before he can get go-ahead.
• Gill: also talked to Pete Barry (coordinator for mse) thinks it’s a good project, he’d like to see it as a 490 of 401, no problem with non enviro students doing courses, if done as feasibility project wants us to present at end of year to mse profs. 401 is cool because necessitates a client who would be mcgill gardens & grounds. And there is money available from the mse. Talk to Shannon scott to see if can take over the old mucs office. (use for storage of garden supplies and cold frames).
• Gillian suggests a cold frame design team: Tim as an engineer others have building skills.
• Tim Murphy also suggested that it would be cool to make a design for santropols container gardens. (if it’s possible)
• Potentially disassemble the box from last year.
• April will get in touch with Vikram Bhatt and Geanne Wolfe, Rotem.
• Curtis has been in touch with Nik Lucca and the amazons of national geographic.
• Mcgill just hired a sustainability director, and Gillian will email jim and get both him and the sustainability director on board.
• Kathleen Ng – enviro officer of mcgill should be contacted
• Green fee, campus life, and the mse could go to a summer stipend, perhaps qpirg. (these are important for the proposal)
• Camille can get soil for the summer, and seeds can be germinated at the greenhouse at Mac.
• Tim Murphy is in for an open discussion on urban agriculture, (he works at santropol)
• Shannon scott to be contacted.
• Contact radu: from planning.
• Rafe will put the statement of purpose into a petition form.
• Gillian will ask Oliver to contact the Yale proposal writer.
• When asking for profs and participants use the piece rafe wrote and tell them to aim for the week after next, (the one after thanksgiving)
• We have funding from green fee.
• Seeds have been offered by the greenhouse and camille’s parents could be donating seeds.
• LET’s MAKE CAMPUS CROP PARAFANALIA!!!!! Campus crops logo competition!!! Gillian is emailing ssmu and aus to get this on the email list.
QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED AT MEETING
• Long-term and how can we do it? Internships can come later.
• Concerned with discussing the reservoir, know least about it.
• Educational space?
• Plots? Collective? Can be used for education. Primary for community.
• Internships, be involved for credit, gardening workshops.
• Food going to midnight kitchen? Yale farm didn’t grow enough to give to school so brought it to a famers market….before decision can be made need to do the feasibility study. And participation is also contingent on this.
• Have different sites, hillel and reservoir. Terrace it?
• Office of planning designated these areas for student gardening.
• http://www.mcgill.ca/mchg/pastproject/rooftop/ (check that out)
• Gillian: can use arch shop as long as not being used by students making models
• And tech director of moyse hall, and it can be rented out: given contact of lady in charge
Also made a website. Campuscropsmcgill.blogspot.com
• Rafe contacted the horticulture for gardens and grounds, needs to ask supervisor before he can get go-ahead.
• Gill: also talked to Pete Barry (coordinator for mse) thinks it’s a good project, he’d like to see it as a 490 of 401, no problem with non enviro students doing courses, if done as feasibility project wants us to present at end of year to mse profs. 401 is cool because necessitates a client who would be mcgill gardens & grounds. And there is money available from the mse. Talk to Shannon scott to see if can take over the old mucs office. (use for storage of garden supplies and cold frames).
• Gillian suggests a cold frame design team: Tim as an engineer others have building skills.
• Tim Murphy also suggested that it would be cool to make a design for santropols container gardens. (if it’s possible)
• Potentially disassemble the box from last year.
• April will get in touch with Vikram Bhatt and Geanne Wolfe, Rotem.
• Curtis has been in touch with Nik Lucca and the amazons of national geographic.
• Mcgill just hired a sustainability director, and Gillian will email jim and get both him and the sustainability director on board.
• Kathleen Ng – enviro officer of mcgill should be contacted
• Green fee, campus life, and the mse could go to a summer stipend, perhaps qpirg. (these are important for the proposal)
• Camille can get soil for the summer, and seeds can be germinated at the greenhouse at Mac.
• Tim Murphy is in for an open discussion on urban agriculture, (he works at santropol)
• Shannon scott to be contacted.
• Contact radu: from planning.
• Rafe will put the statement of purpose into a petition form.
• Gillian will ask Oliver to contact the Yale proposal writer.
• When asking for profs and participants use the piece rafe wrote and tell them to aim for the week after next, (the one after thanksgiving)
• We have funding from green fee.
• Seeds have been offered by the greenhouse and camille’s parents could be donating seeds.
• LET’s MAKE CAMPUS CROP PARAFANALIA!!!!! Campus crops logo competition!!! Gillian is emailing ssmu and aus to get this on the email list.
QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED AT MEETING
• Long-term and how can we do it? Internships can come later.
• Concerned with discussing the reservoir, know least about it.
• Educational space?
• Plots? Collective? Can be used for education. Primary for community.
• Internships, be involved for credit, gardening workshops.
• Food going to midnight kitchen? Yale farm didn’t grow enough to give to school so brought it to a famers market….before decision can be made need to do the feasibility study. And participation is also contingent on this.
• Have different sites, hillel and reservoir. Terrace it?
• Office of planning designated these areas for student gardening.
• http://www.mcgill.ca/mchg/pastproject/rooftop/ (check that out)
Meeting 3- November 7, 2007
1) Cold Frames
-Build this semester, use to grow in late winter/spring
-use of architecture shop (Gillian)
-donation of windows (Gillian?)
2) Proposal for Space Behind MSE
Still a lot of questions that need to be answered before proposal is written:
-Do we want the space for the spring (pre-growing season), summer/growing season, or both?
Who will make sure the garden is maintained and that students/others stay involved over summer?
-paid position, research for credit, internship?
-paid position might be difficult to get this summer
-however, Nadya was paid by MSE as an SMP member last summer
-summer research for credit: good idea
-possibility of volunteer volunteer coordinator(s) who are dedicated to sticking in Montreal for the whole summer
3. The Big Question:
-Are we planning primarily for a garden for academic research (with the aspect of community involvement and benefits) or community gardening project (upon which people can conduct academic research for credit)?
What is our vision?
Curtis: primary vision is for community gardening, research is secondary
Caytee: agreed
Marc: agreed, but we need short term concrete goals which academic research concerns could drive
Ginnie: agreed, but research might make things more feasible
Tim: would be cool if the initial gardening project[s] could kick start other gardens; also take students outside McGill and into larger community
April: research for credit can be incentive for keeping people here and involved in the summer
-Cold frame project could be primarily academic research-driven, but research could become secondary for other projects
Rafe: research for credit good for keeping people/leaders committed, especially over summer
Julianna: ideally, projects would involve not just students, but people from larger community
-Community is priority, but research can open channels otherwise unavailable
Maddie: Community first; need to meet with MSE, figure out if we can arrange researchers to be paid (or get credit) for summer work (research/planning/volunteer coordination)
Gillian: Empowering to try to grow things year round, because McGill “community” only is present fully 2/3 of year, much of which is off-season for crops (hence the cold frames)
-This project will take a lot of research in the broader, non-academic sense, so why not try to get credit for it? But community still priority, academic credit secondary
Nadya: Research/documentation/writing up any projects we do is a big priority, because this will leave a legacy/blueprint for people to continue project or do similar projects at McGill and elsewhere (and seeking academic credit will encourage documentation)
April: Cold frame research will be a good short-term, concrete first step
4) Avenues of Research
Gillian: Anyone in any faculty can take ENVR 396 – Environmental Research
-Requires one professor (in the MSE), one project, multiple students, each looking at a different research question/from a different angle (ie a multidisciplinary project/multidisciplinary team)
For example, ENVR 396 – Cold Frames/Community Gardening could include:
-research on specific growing techniques and yields
-research on allocation and use of space
-research on community/social involvement
-etc.
Maddie: February/March/April will be the hardest months for starting up this project, and academic research project will be good impetus for both getting it going and providing continuity through summer and into Fall (possibly with a follow-up/reevaluation research course with the same or different students)
-Conclusion: a research project: ENVR 396 – Cold Frames/Community Gardening – for next (Winter 2008) semester
5) Next Steps
-A grounding point from Gillian: once we figure out space, etc., we are going to have to decide some concrete stuff: what crops to plant, when, what systems and techniques to use, volunteer schedules, volunteer coordination.
(this may be better done site-by-site, by people doing academic research or volunteer coordinator)
-Reservoir triangle: this space is there for us to use (along with stairs to nowhere, MSE space if Shannon says yes)
-we need to talk to Facilities, Gardens and Greens
Proposal: One meeting with Campus Crops and:
-Shannon
-Facilities people
-Gardens and Greens people
-Interested Faculty members
-Hillel?
-Anyone else?
When:
ASAP
Preparation:
-seek out and contact relevant administrators and faculty (Rafe)
-develop letter of intention
-develop list of points, questions to ask at meeting
6) Etc.
-Sources of funding: Green Fee (requires proposal) Campus Life Fund (fast and quick?)
-Gillian has contacted Hillel re. their interest in turning their space into a garden
-Need for gardening know-how (we’ve all done a little, but we need more expertise)
-Santropol Roulant looking for things to do during the winter
-Solution: ask Santropol to give a [winter/year-round/general] gardening workshop!
7) Goals for Next Meeting:
-by next meeting (one week), we should be able to gauge availability of the different administrators/faculty we want to meet with, and be able to schedule a time for the meeting
-plan meeting with admins/etc.
Break
-Build this semester, use to grow in late winter/spring
-use of architecture shop (Gillian)
-donation of windows (Gillian?)
2) Proposal for Space Behind MSE
Still a lot of questions that need to be answered before proposal is written:
-Do we want the space for the spring (pre-growing season), summer/growing season, or both?
Who will make sure the garden is maintained and that students/others stay involved over summer?
-paid position, research for credit, internship?
-paid position might be difficult to get this summer
-however, Nadya was paid by MSE as an SMP member last summer
-summer research for credit: good idea
-possibility of volunteer volunteer coordinator(s) who are dedicated to sticking in Montreal for the whole summer
3. The Big Question:
-Are we planning primarily for a garden for academic research (with the aspect of community involvement and benefits) or community gardening project (upon which people can conduct academic research for credit)?
What is our vision?
Curtis: primary vision is for community gardening, research is secondary
Caytee: agreed
Marc: agreed, but we need short term concrete goals which academic research concerns could drive
Ginnie: agreed, but research might make things more feasible
Tim: would be cool if the initial gardening project[s] could kick start other gardens; also take students outside McGill and into larger community
April: research for credit can be incentive for keeping people here and involved in the summer
-Cold frame project could be primarily academic research-driven, but research could become secondary for other projects
Rafe: research for credit good for keeping people/leaders committed, especially over summer
Julianna: ideally, projects would involve not just students, but people from larger community
-Community is priority, but research can open channels otherwise unavailable
Maddie: Community first; need to meet with MSE, figure out if we can arrange researchers to be paid (or get credit) for summer work (research/planning/volunteer coordination)
Gillian: Empowering to try to grow things year round, because McGill “community” only is present fully 2/3 of year, much of which is off-season for crops (hence the cold frames)
-This project will take a lot of research in the broader, non-academic sense, so why not try to get credit for it? But community still priority, academic credit secondary
Nadya: Research/documentation/writing up any projects we do is a big priority, because this will leave a legacy/blueprint for people to continue project or do similar projects at McGill and elsewhere (and seeking academic credit will encourage documentation)
April: Cold frame research will be a good short-term, concrete first step
4) Avenues of Research
Gillian: Anyone in any faculty can take ENVR 396 – Environmental Research
-Requires one professor (in the MSE), one project, multiple students, each looking at a different research question/from a different angle (ie a multidisciplinary project/multidisciplinary team)
For example, ENVR 396 – Cold Frames/Community Gardening could include:
-research on specific growing techniques and yields
-research on allocation and use of space
-research on community/social involvement
-etc.
Maddie: February/March/April will be the hardest months for starting up this project, and academic research project will be good impetus for both getting it going and providing continuity through summer and into Fall (possibly with a follow-up/reevaluation research course with the same or different students)
-Conclusion: a research project: ENVR 396 – Cold Frames/Community Gardening – for next (Winter 2008) semester
5) Next Steps
-A grounding point from Gillian: once we figure out space, etc., we are going to have to decide some concrete stuff: what crops to plant, when, what systems and techniques to use, volunteer schedules, volunteer coordination.
(this may be better done site-by-site, by people doing academic research or volunteer coordinator)
-Reservoir triangle: this space is there for us to use (along with stairs to nowhere, MSE space if Shannon says yes)
-we need to talk to Facilities, Gardens and Greens
Proposal: One meeting with Campus Crops and:
-Shannon
-Facilities people
-Gardens and Greens people
-Interested Faculty members
-Hillel?
-Anyone else?
When:
ASAP
Preparation:
-seek out and contact relevant administrators and faculty (Rafe)
-develop letter of intention
-develop list of points, questions to ask at meeting
6) Etc.
-Sources of funding: Green Fee (requires proposal) Campus Life Fund (fast and quick?)
-Gillian has contacted Hillel re. their interest in turning their space into a garden
-Need for gardening know-how (we’ve all done a little, but we need more expertise)
-Santropol Roulant looking for things to do during the winter
-Solution: ask Santropol to give a [winter/year-round/general] gardening workshop!
7) Goals for Next Meeting:
-by next meeting (one week), we should be able to gauge availability of the different administrators/faculty we want to meet with, and be able to schedule a time for the meeting
-plan meeting with admins/etc.
Break
Meeting 2- October 17, 2007
1. Midnight kitchen, donate what we grow to the kitchen. Have an event with them, advertise at the midnight kitchen to get volunteers and spread awareness of campus crops existence.
2. Growing in the winter, cold frames; planting cold weather crops such as leeks, lettuce, spinach. (these don’t use as much water as hot water crops therefore easier to take care of in the wintertime)
COLD FRAME: use to extend growing period. 2feet by 2feet structure with a plexiglass cover slanted to the south equivalent to moving 500km south. Some available, we could build more inexpensively. Replace the Santropol garden with cold frames after they have left (taking down on the 25th and 27th). Permission given by Bhatt and Santropol. There are places which have already been given permission to which we could use immediately. TO DO it at the same time as santropol will give opportunity for soil. Over top of grow trays. $100 estimate for cost.
3. Greenhouse wants to be involved and offering seeds and construction help.
4. Places for money – QPIRG event? Money from greenfee in reimburse. Campus life fund (ssmu).
5. PROPOSAL FOR CAMPUS LIFE: reimbursement because they meet too late after.
6. STEPS TO GETTING IN PLACE:
• Get permission from santropol for soil
• Get permission for space (Gillian talks to Bhatt, Graham talks to mcgill planning committee, rafe talks to rotem/santropol
• Get seed trays
• Get seeds (Gillian gets seeds – heritage seeds)
• date of santropol clean up
7. Make cold frames this weekend and store in the mse. Easiest design, 4 boxes, use watering cans, Sunday morning at home depot beaubien 10am at 1130 - 45am meet on campus at steps to nowhere.
8. Research coordinator at Concordia – you could meet pretty much any afternoon, talk to Gillian, (the greenhouse is on top of the Hall building)
9. TANGENT ON HERITAGE SEEDS: we can get heritage seeds from the place in montreal/seed exchanges, networks of garders who exchange seeds. Campus crops to buy a membership in one of these seed exchange)
10. Definition of heritage seed: traditional variety of seed. B4 monocrops. Specific corn, garlic from around the world (a.k.a. Heirloom) have good flavor, genetic diversity, and great germination rates.
11. Conference is coming to mcgill in febuary.1. We could give some of the food to them at this time. (instead of midnight). 2. Should we use plexiglass over glass?
12. Hillel farmers market: we’re going to find out more
13. Proposal: more
14. Movie showing in November on urban agriculture; green streets, about new York. Community cuba after peak oil. (From library)
15. Curtis Gillian oliver going to yale for conference.
16. Food policy at mcgill not institutional.
2. Growing in the winter, cold frames; planting cold weather crops such as leeks, lettuce, spinach. (these don’t use as much water as hot water crops therefore easier to take care of in the wintertime)
COLD FRAME: use to extend growing period. 2feet by 2feet structure with a plexiglass cover slanted to the south equivalent to moving 500km south. Some available, we could build more inexpensively. Replace the Santropol garden with cold frames after they have left (taking down on the 25th and 27th). Permission given by Bhatt and Santropol. There are places which have already been given permission to which we could use immediately. TO DO it at the same time as santropol will give opportunity for soil. Over top of grow trays. $100 estimate for cost.
3. Greenhouse wants to be involved and offering seeds and construction help.
4. Places for money – QPIRG event? Money from greenfee in reimburse. Campus life fund (ssmu).
5. PROPOSAL FOR CAMPUS LIFE: reimbursement because they meet too late after.
6. STEPS TO GETTING IN PLACE:
• Get permission from santropol for soil
• Get permission for space (Gillian talks to Bhatt, Graham talks to mcgill planning committee, rafe talks to rotem/santropol
• Get seed trays
• Get seeds (Gillian gets seeds – heritage seeds)
• date of santropol clean up
7. Make cold frames this weekend and store in the mse. Easiest design, 4 boxes, use watering cans, Sunday morning at home depot beaubien 10am at 1130 - 45am meet on campus at steps to nowhere.
8. Research coordinator at Concordia – you could meet pretty much any afternoon, talk to Gillian, (the greenhouse is on top of the Hall building)
9. TANGENT ON HERITAGE SEEDS: we can get heritage seeds from the place in montreal/seed exchanges, networks of garders who exchange seeds. Campus crops to buy a membership in one of these seed exchange)
10. Definition of heritage seed: traditional variety of seed. B4 monocrops. Specific corn, garlic from around the world (a.k.a. Heirloom) have good flavor, genetic diversity, and great germination rates.
11. Conference is coming to mcgill in febuary.1. We could give some of the food to them at this time. (instead of midnight). 2. Should we use plexiglass over glass?
12. Hillel farmers market: we’re going to find out more
13. Proposal: more
14. Movie showing in November on urban agriculture; green streets, about new York. Community cuba after peak oil. (From library)
15. Curtis Gillian oliver going to yale for conference.
16. Food policy at mcgill not institutional.
Meeting 1- October 3, 2007
Present: Gillian, Caytee, Maddie, Alex, Luba, Grace, Anna, Avery, Juliana, April, Rotem, Rafe, Curtis, DAVID, emma, sara todd, et. al.
1. EDIBLE CAMPUS GARDEN on Stairs to Nowhere (run by Rotem et. al.) Rooftop Gardens Project – collaboration between Alternatives (NGO) and Santropol.
• NOT a McGill organization, but uses space on campus and they want to make it permanent and increase student involvement.
• All the food grown goes to santropol roulant.
• Volunteer hours: Tuesday and Saturdays 9 30 - 12, Thursdays 4 - 7. (between two and fifteen people, between one and three hours, three days a week = 18-45 worker/hours per week to maintain edible campus garden)
• All plants are started at makeshift greenhouse at santropol roulant.
• They need help closing the garden, date is not yet clear but it will be to end of October (good opportunity for student involvement, we’ll send info on the listserv).
-Other Rooftop Garden Project gardens: senior homes, with a communal design, one on UQAM design building, Hotel School above Sherbrooke Metro, etc.
2. GOAL - start process of getting space for campus crops, options, delegating who is going to pursue those options, financing those options.
• Alternatives already has an in, and wants to extend that to students. Other places they considered using for the Edible Campus Garden included paved area by chem. Building, other staircase by Sherbrooke. (i.e., There are a lot of potential spots for more container gardening)
• Professor Vikram Bhatt, Mcgill School of Architecture, directs the Minimum Cost Housing Group and collaborated with Rooftop Gardens to obtain space for Edible Campus.
• Another potential staff collaborator: Julia Bourke, Sustainable Design Prof in MSA
3. GOAT (Green On A Top) is a working group of the Sustainable McGill Project. One recommendation of SMP’s Sustainability Assessment was that there should be more greenspace on campus and that students should be involved in creating it (GOAT represented by Gillian, David et al)
• Fire escape box plan. Shannon Scott, building manager of MSE said MSE building could be used as a test ground, but it had to look really nice, and be maintained. Problems encountered:
• difficulty of meeting aesthetic standards (wood boxes filled with soil were heavy for fire escape, and were difficult to construct)
• students leave (exchange/graduation) and interest wanes when only one or two people are left carrying on work of a larger group.
4. Greenhouses? Possibility of renting space in StewartBio greenhouse. Concordia rents greenhouse space as well.
5. Possibility of using plot behind MSE for Shannon Scott would need a proposal: why we want to use the space, who we are, where the produce would go, what resources we have, and what we need.
• Tim Murphy from Santropol wanted to use this space for non-profit LocoLocal
• problem: he wasn’t a current student. we don’t have this problem, and we can utilize his help/experience in developing the proposal.
6. Questions of summer? Need someone to facilitate it, perhaps a paid job.
7. Soil testing class. Could be used.
8. Possibility of working with Hillel (3490 Stanley)
• People: Emily Litvek, Dove, Sarah.
• Desire for concrete projects, want to partner with organization at mcgill for projects.
9. Avenues of Collaboration:
• Gorilla composting (will be setting up giant vermicomposter in Shatner Basement
• Midnight Kitchen – if we could provide them with produce in the fall, could create a true local food system
• HAVE A FUNDRAISING/INTEREST-RAISING EVENT IN THE WINTER – ENVIRONMENT/ECO PARTY! (Plant sale?)
10. TASKS
• Proposal for Shannon Scott – who we are, why we want to use it, where the produce is going, what we resources we have, and what we need, any non students involved, liability – maddie and emma, rafe
• Looking into Hillel
• Joining GOAT to get working group status DONE
• Talking to professor Bhatt, and the architecture studio class. (perhaps leave this for a little while) - Curtis
• Stewart bio- contact info from Gillian - April
• Funding
1. EDIBLE CAMPUS GARDEN on Stairs to Nowhere (run by Rotem et. al.) Rooftop Gardens Project – collaboration between Alternatives (NGO) and Santropol.
• NOT a McGill organization, but uses space on campus and they want to make it permanent and increase student involvement.
• All the food grown goes to santropol roulant.
• Volunteer hours: Tuesday and Saturdays 9 30 - 12, Thursdays 4 - 7. (between two and fifteen people, between one and three hours, three days a week = 18-45 worker/hours per week to maintain edible campus garden)
• All plants are started at makeshift greenhouse at santropol roulant.
• They need help closing the garden, date is not yet clear but it will be to end of October (good opportunity for student involvement, we’ll send info on the listserv).
-Other Rooftop Garden Project gardens: senior homes, with a communal design, one on UQAM design building, Hotel School above Sherbrooke Metro, etc.
2. GOAL - start process of getting space for campus crops, options, delegating who is going to pursue those options, financing those options.
• Alternatives already has an in, and wants to extend that to students. Other places they considered using for the Edible Campus Garden included paved area by chem. Building, other staircase by Sherbrooke. (i.e., There are a lot of potential spots for more container gardening)
• Professor Vikram Bhatt, Mcgill School of Architecture, directs the Minimum Cost Housing Group and collaborated with Rooftop Gardens to obtain space for Edible Campus.
• Another potential staff collaborator: Julia Bourke, Sustainable Design Prof in MSA
3. GOAT (Green On A Top) is a working group of the Sustainable McGill Project. One recommendation of SMP’s Sustainability Assessment was that there should be more greenspace on campus and that students should be involved in creating it (GOAT represented by Gillian, David et al)
• Fire escape box plan. Shannon Scott, building manager of MSE said MSE building could be used as a test ground, but it had to look really nice, and be maintained. Problems encountered:
• difficulty of meeting aesthetic standards (wood boxes filled with soil were heavy for fire escape, and were difficult to construct)
• students leave (exchange/graduation) and interest wanes when only one or two people are left carrying on work of a larger group.
4. Greenhouses? Possibility of renting space in StewartBio greenhouse. Concordia rents greenhouse space as well.
5. Possibility of using plot behind MSE for Shannon Scott would need a proposal: why we want to use the space, who we are, where the produce would go, what resources we have, and what we need.
• Tim Murphy from Santropol wanted to use this space for non-profit LocoLocal
• problem: he wasn’t a current student. we don’t have this problem, and we can utilize his help/experience in developing the proposal.
6. Questions of summer? Need someone to facilitate it, perhaps a paid job.
7. Soil testing class. Could be used.
8. Possibility of working with Hillel (3490 Stanley)
• People: Emily Litvek, Dove, Sarah.
• Desire for concrete projects, want to partner with organization at mcgill for projects.
9. Avenues of Collaboration:
• Gorilla composting (will be setting up giant vermicomposter in Shatner Basement
• Midnight Kitchen – if we could provide them with produce in the fall, could create a true local food system
• HAVE A FUNDRAISING/INTEREST-RAISING EVENT IN THE WINTER – ENVIRONMENT/ECO PARTY! (Plant sale?)
10. TASKS
• Proposal for Shannon Scott – who we are, why we want to use it, where the produce is going, what we resources we have, and what we need, any non students involved, liability – maddie and emma, rafe
• Looking into Hillel
• Joining GOAT to get working group status DONE
• Talking to professor Bhatt, and the architecture studio class. (perhaps leave this for a little while) - Curtis
• Stewart bio- contact info from Gillian - April
• Funding
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