(This project is still in the works!)
Fashioned after a similar program in Portland, our backyard certification program is an adaptive strategy to motivate Vancouverites to grow their own plants and build community. All residents can become backyard or balcony certified at various levels and join a network of fellow gardeners. We plan to create an online platform, which would allow people to custom-make rewilding kits, put themselves on a biodiversity map of Vancouver, create profiles, and connect with other members. Members could post photos of their gardens and perhaps even trade produce. A household that becomes certified would receive a lawn sign or window sticker.
We believe that it is important to stay connected with nature, even in an urban setting. A part of being connected involves knowing things by name, so we are fashioning a short identification guide for the wildlife that lives with us in Vancouver (see sample here).