Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/740502
F a l l 2 0 1 6 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 1 7 "is was my first home purchase, and I felt like I really wanted to invest in the community to build my home," says Hui, 33, a brand manager at Lululemon. "So I took that on. I wanted to run gatherings so that people would know each other by first name when they saw each other in the hall and that the conversa- tions in the elevator would go beyond saying hi." Like Hui, Cooke purchased his unit at James in a presale before moving in in 2012. Both were attracted to the building when they saw the top floor was not a private penthouse but a shared amenity space—one with a massive exterior patio planted with ornamental grasses. After residents moved in, many expressed interest in using the patio to grow food. Cooke, 28, is a recent graduate of UBC's Food, Nutrition and Health program and a culinary instructor at e Dirty Apron. He suggested the building adopt a shared-use model to maxi- mize the benefits for everyone. "ere were around 65 owners who wanted a garden plot," recalls Cooke. "But there was only room for maybe 12 plots, and it would have had to be decided by a lottery. My vision was that we could all do it together, rather than a few people having their own little private space." e motion passed unanimously. Six volunteers formed a Garden Committee to organize the transformation of the James rooftop patio into a working garden—from pulling out orna- mental plants and selling them on Craigslist to buying seeds and rebuilding the soil. "It was pretty much an immediate success, a hit with a lot of people," recalls Cooke. "And it went beyond gardening to really growing the social aspect of the building. People got to know each other. Which was great to see, and we expanded from there." In the past four years, grant monies from Vancouver Foundation and the City of Vancouver have helped secure an irrigation system and an industrial composter that can turn plant matter into soil in two weeks. e garden has grown to take over more and more of the rooftop space. It now comprises 16 beds and hundreds of square feet. Along with herbs, vegeta- bles and huge amounts of salad greens, the patio produces apples, figs, plums, tayberries and more. "Pretty much everything you can think of grows here," says Cooke. But the abundance of produce is only the most obvious payoff. Weekend garden gatherings of about 30 residents have been happening every two to three weeks from spring to fall for years now, and the community roots have grown beyond plant- ing and weeding. "As we'd hoped, people started to get to know each other," says Hui. "e next thing you knew we were making plans out- side of gardening. We were planning social gatherings together, going for beers, hanging out at the beach." A Social Committee organizes two annual long-table din- ners in spring and fall, events enabled by a small Vancouver Foundation grant that allowed the purchase of some permanent dinnerware. "e formal social events tend to run in tandem with the gardening seasons," says Hui. "e taco party kicks off garden season in April or May and then we'll usually do a