*Depth of Field: Film Screening and Community Event at Community Hall, Kitsilano Neighbourhood House
March 21, 2024 from 5pm to 8pm
Vancouver's Leader in Transition toward Strong, Resilient, Complete Communities
Possible Energy Team Project - TwinHarvest: Combining Urban Agriculture with GeoExchange District Energy
This is a project devised and first outlined in 2008 by Vancouver resident and VV member Diane Lafontaine. What she first called a Broccoli Promenade or a Broccoli Garden is a synergistic combination of organic agriculture with a subsurface horizontal geothermal energy system. I have recently suggested rebranding the concept as TwinHarvest (TM).
Sited in an urban environment, the proximity of buildings requiring heating and cooling and of people needing healthy farm produce allows multiple carbon savings, retains urban green space, offers educational opportunities for reconnecting urban dwellers (especially kids) with agriculture, and builds resilient and reconnected communities.
The intent of this project is to set up a community-owned Cooperative District Energy Utility that would help to sustain the economics of organic farming on the land above. Slim financial margins and crop loss risk in farming are a constant threat to sustainability, especially where heavily subsidized industrial farming and grocery distribution own the marketplace for produce sales. Earnings from the utility would subsidize the farm and create a surplus for leaner years.
The farm may be managed cooperatively through volunteer or paid labour, produce in lieu of payment, and paid educational programs. It may also work with nearby private house plots or local private greenhouses to extend the growing season and diversity of produce. The project would also certainly be eligible for issuing carbon credits, and that may also be a source of regular income.
The intent of this project is to use public land for a sustainable purpose with the land remaining in public hands under a community-based trust agreement and governance model. The crop choices would be made locally based on local tastes, planted in locally-determined arrangements based on permaculture principles and community greenspace needs and values, and priced by local residents. All economic surplus would return to the municipality or to the local community to create additional similar projects or to further other sustainable ventures.
This is a multifaceted solution to Peak Oil, climate change, and economic instability. More discussion is on the barebones website at www.twinharvest.org, with a downloadable Business Plan in PDF form, which is also attached below.
- Attachments:
-
-
Twin_Harvest.pdf, 290 KB
-
Village engages individuals, neighbourhoods & organizations to take actions that build sustainable communities & have fun doing it. Join us!
Donate or Join VV Transition Society
Buy Books -- Support Village Vancouver
Village earns 15% on your book purchases from New Society Publishers. Details here.
Latest Activity
- Top News
- Everything
*Depth of Field: Film Screening and Community Event at Community Hall, Kitsilano Neighbourhood House
March 21, 2024 from 5pm to 8pm
Ongoing Activities
Interested in getting involved or volunteering with Village Vancouver? check out http://www.villagevancouver.ca/page/volunteering-1.
Regular activities:
Interested in participating in a VV garden? We have collaborative gardens/garden spaces in 5 neighbourhoods. Contact us at gardening@villagevancouver.ca. Gardening now in progress. New gardeners welcome (space allowing).
Kits Village Recycling Depot (Kits Community Centre) Next depot: Thursday, June 15th
Main St. Village monthly gatherings (1st Tuesdays Little Mountain Neighbourhood House) Currently on hold due to COVID
Permaculture Vancouver Meetups (3rd Wednesdays VV McBride Park Fieldhouse (sometimes elsewhere) Next meetup: Special date Thursday, July 29th
West End Community Potluck/WE Urban Garden Club (3rd Sundays West End Community Centre, in July and August 4th Thursdays - July 22nd and August 26th.
© 2024 Created by Yael Stav.
Powered by
