Vancouver Foundation

To learn more about the Greenest City Grants initiative, visit vancouverfoundation.ca. community organizations. e City contributed $1 million to the Greenest City Community Grants program, and it was matched, dollar for dollar, by Vancouver Foundation. Now, both partners oversee the synergistic work happening right now that will help Vancouver become the greenest city by 2020. e reason the program works, says Johnston, is that the goal is supported by ideas generated and implemented in the com- munity through three areas: youth-led projects, projects created by Vancouver residents to benefit their own neighbourhoods, and projects led by community-based charitable organizations. ese projects target a range of areas including climate leader- ship, green buildings and transportation, zero waste, access to nature, clean air and water, local food and green economy. And the program's breadth is amazing, says Johnston. "e actual involvement of those most impacted . . . thou- sands of students and seniors and residents are directly involved; hundreds of thousands are peripherally involved, and they ben- efit by seeing or eating, or they have no idea of the program's objectives but they still benefit." e Choi Project is one example with such reach. e project engages people, especially youth, through education in a move- ment toward stocking Chinatown grocery stores with locally grown ethnic Chinese food – specifically choi, or leafy Chinese vegetables – rather than produce flown in from China. Locally grown produce is fresher, healthier and better for the environ- ment than imported produce, which can lose much of its nutri- tional content and consume considerable resources by spending between five and 10 days in transport. "We are inspiring people in our own community to balance tradition with sustainable value," says Kevin Huang, co-director and co-founder of the Choi Project, recipient of a $25,000 grant. "We're able to build a bridge intergenerationally between the technical skill and knowledge of our elders and the broader community's great interest in Chinese food in general and in local food." People like being part of something this big, says Vancouver Foundation's Trina Prior, Greenest City Community Grants manager. "When those closest to the issue help solve it, it's very powerful." For example, the Vancouver Aquarium, creator of the well- known Ocean Wise conservation program for sustainable sea- food, received a $50,000 grant to launch the Make Vancouver a Model of Locally Sourced and Accessible Seafood project. e project aims to provide Vancouver residents with greater access to sustainable seafood by engaging a wider swath of local restau- rants in the Ocean Wise program, including restaurants of all price ranges, many restaurants outside the downtown core and a greater number of ethnic restaurants. "Chefs are in a strategic position to help influence consumer demand by making information about the great work they are doing with local, sustainable seafood available to their custom- ers," says Katy Muenter, Ocean Wise co-ordinator. "Working with new chef partners throughout Vancouver has greatly expanded the reach of the Ocean Wise program and allowed us to connect with even more Vancouver residents." And that's ultimately what the Greenest City Community Grants program is all about – connecting Vancouver residents with knowledge and opportunity so they can each become per- sonally connected to the goal of making their city the greenest city imaginable. Photos: Courtesy Hua Foundation; Vancouver Aquarium F a l l 2 0 1 5 I V a n c o u v e r F o u n d a t i o n l p a g e 2 1 Initiatives to protect bee habitat, promote locally grown produce and encourage restaurants to use sustainable seafood are among those funded by Greenest City Community Grants.

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