2013-14 Get REAL Green Group Meeting Agendas & Notes

Seedy Saturday is an annual trade show at the Victoria Conference Centre about gardening. There are talks on various gardeny topics that people can attend, and a large hall of exhibitors as well as a seed exchange (where you can take saved seeds and swap them, and/or buy seeds).

The roles for which we need volunteers are: greeters (direct people traffic, answer questions, hand out programs etc), session monitors (manage rooms with speakers; make sure we do not exceed max capacity, introduce speakers), cashiers (take admissions, welcome people to the show) and I'm also looking for a competent person to do exhibitor relief (covering short bathroom breaks for solo exhibitors, etc).

The commitment: You would need to be able to attend one of two evening training sessions: either Thurs Wed Feb 12th or Thurs Feb 13th at 5:30 - 6:30pm, and then the day of (Sat Feb 15th) for a few hours (depending on role).

The perks: You get to meet lots of gardener folks and get into an awesome local gardening event for free!

All jobs will involve standing for several hours and interacting with many people.

We are looking for people who are able to commit to a ~3-4 hour shift (minimum of 2 hours) between 9:15 and 4pm. (The show runs from 10-4) Greeter and cashier shifts are straight blocks. Session monitor shifts are usually split because we need more people on the doors when talks change. Either job leaves the volunteer with plenty of time to explore the show (2-3 hours).

An example greeter shift might be 9:15-12:30. 9:15 will be arrival time; check in with me, get your name tag, deposit coat in the volunteer room, and put your hat on (all volunteers wear gardening hats while on duty so we are easily identifiable). 9:30 you'll be starting your job handing out programs, stamping people/checking stamps, directing people to the exhibit hall, welcoming people to the show. At 12:15ish, I will introduce you to whoever is going to take over from you, and ask you to do a brief handover. At 12:30, you'll check out with me, hand in your name tag, take off your hat. I will thank you for helping out, and you'll be free to enjoy the rest of the show.

An example session monitor shift might be 10:30-12:30; 13:30-15:00. 10:30 arrival time: You are welcome to arrive early and explore the show before you start your shift, but at 10:30, check in with me, name tag, hat. 10:45 check in with session monitor supervisor and start job. This might be standing outside a room monitoring a line-up for the next talk. This might be standing outside a room while a talk is in progress making sure nobody enters. This might be inside the room, directing people to empty seats, making sure we are following fire marshal regulations, clearing a room between sessions, and being available to relay emergency information. Between 12:30 and 13:30, you would take off your name tag and hat, and explore the show or see the talk you requested. At 13:30, you are back on duty with the tag and hat on again, and at the end, check out as per greeter.

If you are interested in volunteering or have any questions, please contact Alice, the volunteer coordinator.

LOTS OF VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Contact:

Amber Rowse-Simmons

Volunteer Coordinator, Farmland Protection Coalition

Email: samaraheritagefarm@gmail.com

Phone: 250-532-5869

TASKS for MON. FEB. 10^th Food for the Future Rally to Save the Agricultural Land Reserve:

1. Set-up: (I believe we have access to the grounds at 10:30, but will confirm) Helping set up tents, the info table, the food table, possibly help with set-up for the stereo and sound system for the band, we may be moving some hay bales if our stage doesn't work out, that type of thing.

2. Placard Distribution: Throughout the rally it would be great to have some volunteers passing out the different leaflets etc we have available, time commitment would be about 12:00-2:30.

3. Food Table: Nature's Valley will be donating granola bars, these will be available for attendees at the food table. Having a couple of volunteers to keep an eye on things and monitor distribution would be wonderful. 12:00-2:30

4. Info Table: Same idea as above, but of course with pamphlets etc.

5. Clean-Up: Taking down everything that belongs to us, cleaning up any garbage and litter, essentially making the place look as though we were never there! This would commence as soon as we wrap up and go until the job is done, the more bodies, the quicker it will go!

Food for the Future!

Family Day Rally to Save the Agricultural Land Reserve

Monday, February 10 @ 12 Noon

BC Legislature Grounds

All Welcome!

February 2014 marks the 40th birthday of the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), created to protect farmland across BC for agriculture. Only 5% of the landbase of our mountainous province is protected in the ALR, and now the BC Government is considering drastic changes to erode the reserve and the autonomy of the commission entrusted to protect it.

British Columbians from all walks of life need a reliable supply of farmland to grow food now and for the future – particularly as the benefits of local food systems and the challenges of global transport become clear.

We therefore encourage you to mark your calendar and attend the Food for the Future Family Day Rally with your family, neighbours, co-workers and friends on February 10 @ 12 Noon – the day before the BC Legislature opens. Please share this message with all your contacts, join the event on Facebook, and distribute leaflets and posters in your community. If you belong to a farm organization, school PAC, church group, labour union or other association, you can endorse the Rally and promote it to members.

Together, we will save the Agricultural Land Reserve and support farmers and food systems. See you on Feb 10!

The Farmland Protection Coalition

Creatively United for the Planet

There are lots of volunteer opportunities for April 25th and 26th, including helping set up, take down, bike lock up, recycling, helping vendors load in, traffic control, social media assistance leading up to it, help postering, general research, email assistance, help on the day as needed...we can use all the help we can get and it would be a great event for your students to attend in any case.

If they are interested, I suggest they use our contact form and let us know what they might be able to do and how they could help.

With gratitude,
Frances