On Sunday, Oct 16, 2022, 1pm-3pm, 6 Free the Fern volunteers gathered to tackle invasive regrowth in areas that we will be planting as part of our Grow Wild! event, Oct 22, 2022. Volunteers worked adjacent to 4 stewardship areas: Matheson Heights Co-op, Cartier Place,… Read More »Invasive Regrowth Pull
On Saturday, September 24, 2022, Free the Fern President, Martin Collins, hosted a Weed & Feed event west of Alexander Laidlaw Housing Co-op, on the Red Alder Trail. 18 volunteers came out to help with removing a large thicket of Himalayan blackberry. We succeeded in… Read More »Weed & Feed
On Sept 17, 2022, 10am-12pm, Joe Boyd, Free the Fern Treasurer, organized a Neighbourhood Clean-up Party. It was a beautiful, late summer morning, just perfect for being outside. 15 volunteers met up at the the entrance to Fir Trail. There were volunteers of all ages,… Read More »Neighbourhood Clean-up Party!
Recently we have been noticed that quite a number of the salal plants which we planted last fall have been struggling. Many of their leaves are turning brown and drying up. Concerned about the state of the plants, I took a closer look. What I… Read More »Salal Die-Off
On Saturday, August 13, 2022, Grace & Joe led an outdoor Weaving with Ivy workshop beside our beautiful Douglas FIr Teaching Garden. 9 participants gathered on a refreshingly cool August morning to learn a new skill together. After everyone introduced themselves, Joe & Grace led… Read More »Summer Weaving Workshop
On Monday, August 8, 2022, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by CBC Radio Meteorologist and Science reporter, Johanna Wagstaffe. She came down to the Champlain Heights Trail to record audio, video, and photographs and learn more about our important Free the Fern stewardship… Read More »Interview with CBC Radio
This evening, Sunday, July 10, 2022, 7 Free the Fern volunteers met up to help with a Plant Propagation Experiment (Vol 2). Teresa & Denis offered to lead our experiment. They donated the materials needed (peat moss, sand, and rooting hormone) to Free the Fern.… Read More »Plant Propagation Experiment (Vol 2)
Olakunle Oyeneye & Daniel Akinshola of One House Multicultural Communications Society generously volunteered their time to film & edit an Ivy Weaving Tutorial Video for Free the Fern. Joe Boyd volunteered to demonstrate the twining technique. We have now uploaded the completed video to our… Read More »Ivy Weaving Video Tutorial
Free the Fern was invited by the Champlain Heights Community Association to participate in the Champlain Heights Summer Fair on June 11, 11am-3pm. 11 Free the Fern volunteers helped with set-up, event outreach, and clean-up. At our event table we had a “Pop Quiz” (designed… Read More »Champlain Heights Summer Fair
Thank you to everyone who came out to our South Van Strawberry Social yesterday! It was an amazing success! We had an estimated: – 300 people attend – 64 pints of strawberries, 200 sponge cakes, and loads of whipped cream given out – 23 volunteers… Read More »South Van Strawberry Social!