Inside Vancouver

EPIC Vancouver Sustainable Living Expo This Weekend – May 11 – 13, 2012

by Dana Lynch in Green City on May 10, 2012

One of the most popular annual expos at the Vancouver Convention Centre is the EPIC Vancouver: Sustainable Living Expo, happening this weekend, May 11 – 13.

A smorgasbord of awesomeness for the eco-conscious (that’s practically everyone in Vancouver, right? At least, that’s what we’re aspiring to be….), EPIC Vancouver brings together over 300 exhibitors and features the latest trends in sustainable Fashion, Food, Health, Beauty, Home & Garden, Recreation, and Transportation. There are Main Stages with live presentations and demos, a live art walk, and a lot of focus on local, organic and fair trade food, including an “EPICurean Corner” that showcases B.C.’s artisan food makers and a “Whole Foods EPICurean Stage.”

Continue reading:
EPIC Vancouver Sustainable Living Expo This Weekend – May 11 – 13, 2012

Yaletown’s Secret Garden: Emery Barnes Park Opens

by Remy Scalza in Green City on May 4, 2012

Vancouver has plenty of big, eye-popping, mind-blowing parks, from the primordial forests of 1,000-acre Stanley Park to the manicured flower beds of VanDusen Garden.

But it’s the little parks – the unexpected green spaces in the midst of all the urban sprawl – that really set the city apart for me. I’m talking about all those tiny, one block parks and gardens cherished by neighbourhood residents but pretty much unknown to everyone else.

In Yaletown, that secret green oasis is .39-hectare Emery Barnes Park. Dwarfed by 20-, 30- and soon-to-be 40-storey condo towers, Emery Barnes officially opened last week: an unlikely island of green in a concrete jungle. Continue reading:
Yaletown’s Secret Garden: Emery Barnes Park Opens

Best tent camping near Vancouver? You make the call!

by Remy Scalza in Green City on April 26, 2012

Photo credit: CentreduQuebec | Flickr

It’s that time of year again.

With the weather getting warmer, thoughts turn to campfires, s’mores, sleeping bags and bug spray. Camping is a celebrated summer ritual in Vancouver. And no wonder – We’re spoiled with dozens of provincial parks within a two-hour drive of the city.

And these aren’t just roadside campgrounds. I’m talking about the electric-blue glacial lakes and soaring mountains of Garibaldi. About the thundering torrents of Nairn Falls. About the idyllic streams and untouched wilderness of Golden Ears (where, I should point out, Rambo was filmed).

Amenities in these parks vary. Some offer only hike-in campsites; others have deluxe campgrounds with hot showers and electrical hookups. But they all come fully loaded with exceptional scenery and access to beautiful B.C. wilderness.

Sadly, summer’s too short to explore them all – which is why I need your help:

Where’s the best camping near Vancouver? Where’s your favourite place to camp with friends or family? Let us know below.

I’ll start things off with a place I visited recently, Porpoise Bay Provincial Park on the Sunshine Coast. Continue reading:
Best tent camping near Vancouver? You make the call!

Got Plants? Vancouver’s Biggest Plant Sale Comes to VanDusen Garden, April 29

by Remy Scalza in Green City on April 25, 2012

Photo credit: VanDusen Botanical Garden Official Photostream | Flickr

It’s hard to believe people get this crazy about a plant sale, but apparently this is true.

One day every spring, before dawn, the line starts forming outside of Vancouver’s VanDusen Botanical Garden. People camp out with lawn chairs, carrying blankets to keep them warm. Some bring picnic baskets to enjoy an alfresco breakfast, sipping orange juice and nibbling muffins. Many have their own wheelbarrows.

As the sun rises and the hours go by, the line swells.

Thousands will join the queue over the course of the morning, snaking in an enormous line outside the garden. Then, when 10 a.m. rolls around and the gates are officially thrown open, chaos breaks out. Imagine Walmart on Black Friday. Within 15 minutes, more than 1,000 people race inside, elbowing for position and jockeying to get to the head of the pack.

And for what?

Plants. Herbs and vegetables. Roses. Grasses. Vines. Trees. Shrubs. Perennials. Natives. More than 40,000 plants in total wait inside – part of the biggest, baddest plant sale in Metro Vancouver.

Sound like your idea of fun? The VanDusen Plant Sale returns this Sunday, April 29, starting at 10 a.m. sharp and running to 4 p.m. Continue reading:
Got Plants? Vancouver’s Biggest Plant Sale Comes to VanDusen Garden, April 29

Get ready for the Commercial Drive Earth Day Parade: April 22

by Taraneh in Green City on April 19, 2012

Earth Day Parade. Photo credit: Youth for Climate Justice Now

Still wondering how to celebrate Earth Day, Sunday, April 22? I’ve received an onslaught of marketing emails this week urging me to “do Mother Nature a solid.” While all of these involve buying a product, there are plenty of ways to work for a greener, more sustainable future without spending at all.

The second annual Earth Day Parade is a free, family-friendly event April 22, from 11am to 3pm, that goes along Commercial Drive before ending in a blow-out festival at Grandview Park.

Organized by Youth for Climate Justice Now, the parade + festival is designed to bring together elementary and secondary students and their adult allies. Last year’s event brought 2,000 Vancouverites together to work to stop climate change.

The Commercial Drive Earth Day Parade promises to be “the most fun you ever had saving the planet.” Find out more about the festival lineup – including guest speakers, activities, music – after the jump. Continue reading:
Get ready for the Commercial Drive Earth Day Parade: April 22

EPIC Vancouver Sustainable Living Expo This Weekend – May 11 – 13, 2012

Yaletown’s Secret Garden: Emery Barnes Park Opens

Best tent camping near Vancouver? You make the call!

Got Plants? Vancouver’s Biggest Plant Sale Comes to VanDusen Garden, April 29

Get ready for the Commercial Drive Earth Day Parade: April 22

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