Riverglen Biodynamic Farm news archive for the ‘Blog’ Category
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Welcome to the Riverglen Biodynamic Farm weblog! Bookmark us to keep up to date with everything that's going on at Ottawa's finest organic farm. If you prefer to receive your updates in a news reader, a RSS feed is available. Be sure to "like" us on Facebook, too!
Apr
13
Art in the Streets
Next City Cafe
Art in the streets
Wed. April 18th 7:30pm
Alpha Soul Café – 1015 Wellington West
Join panelists:
Artists Deborah Margo and Lynda Hall alongside Caleb Abbott from the City of Ottawa to talk about the current art in Ottawa’s public spaces and are the exciting possibilities for the future?.
Please join the conversation, share your experiences, help shape Ottawa
Share your ideas and experiences on twitter at #nextcity
Help Spread the Word! Please pass it on.
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Swap box by Elmaks
“Mountain of Gold” by The Latest Artists (photo by Ming Wu)
Wellington Marbles by Marcus Kucey-Jones and Ryan Lotecki (photo Eric Darwin)
This is a single weblog entry, posted on April 13th, 2012. Comment here »
Apr
10
Spring Into Action
Dear Member,
Today, we urgently ask for your generous financial support.
The Canadian Organic Growers is in a very challenging financial situation. In the last two years, the grant and project funds that were available to COG (and other environmental groups) have dwindled to next to nothing.
As President of COG, I can assure you that our board and staff are working very hard to re-organize and reduce expenses, as well as to find new sources of revenue, but we need immediate assistance.
COG must raise $65,000 to see us through this funding crunch.
As a member, we are asking you to donate as much as you can. In return, you will receive a tax receipt, as well as the assurance that your donation will be focused on saving our organization and publications. This is not a general appeal, but a matter of urgency and true need.
Without a doubt, COG’s information and services are essential to tens of thousands of people. In fact, 90,000 unique visitors used our COG website last year to find information on organic growing and food–we need COG! There is no other organization that can do what COG does.
Our news may come as a surprise to you, and perhaps we waited too long to share it, but we have been trying to find other solutions to our financial difficulties before sounding the alarm bells. Our board has put in hundreds of volunteer hours to work on these issues–and progress has been made.
Just in the last four weeks, COG has received two new grants and we’ve applied for others (albeit small ones), we’re also very excited about our special partnership with the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada for this summer’s COG magazine. COG also has lots of great new initiatives planned to further build the organic movement at the national and local levels, but we can’t do any of it without you.
We truly believe that if enough people donate to COG in the next two months, that our organization can move forward and into a much stronger position. If you can donate $10, $100 or even $1000, we promise you that every dollar will make a real difference in COG’s future.
Sometimes it takes a crisis to move forward, challenge the status quo, and really understand what is important–what is clear to our board, staff and volunteers is how much COG is needed today. We need to stand up for organics more than ever, and a strong grassroots voice is critical to do so.
Every dollar counts–Every donation is appreciated.
Thank you so much,
Daniel Brisebois,
Canadian Organic Growers President and Organic Farmer
PS–Please try to send your donation in by May 30th to help COG through the summer, when donations and subscription sales are at their lowest levels.
PPS–If you are on Facebook, please connect with our Spring Into Action campaign and share with your friends and family. We know there are thousands of Canadians who would support COG, but just need to be asked.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CanadianOrganic
This is a single weblog entry, posted on April 10th, 2012. Comment here »
Feb
29
Internship Position Available at Riverglen Farm
Position: 6 month, full-time internship with accommodations and stipend
May 2012 to end of October 2012
*Nous parlons anglais et français sur la ferme
About the farm:
Riverglen is a Demeter certified, biodynamic farm located in the West end of Ottawa’s Greenbelt. Our diverse operation is supported financially by a 3 acre vegetable garden. Most of our produce goes to 70 weekly CSA boxes and we also sell from our own farm store, at the Little Italy Farmer’s Market, and to Rainbow Natural Foods store. Other products sold at our farm store include eggs from 100 free-range hens, chicken from 300 pasture raised birds and honey.
We are currently breeding our small herd of cattle and sheep, as well as our flock of geese, in order to increase our manure supply and offer a variety of meat products from our farm store. Ruminants spend their summer on pasture and feed on our own hay during the winter.
We are also developing a small, 3/4 acre, permaculture orchard where 80 young fruit trees are grown along with a variety of shrubs and medicinal/edible perennials.
Interns take part in:
-Vegetable production: Planting, cultivating, weeding, mulching, harvesting, packing and distribution
-Animal husbandry: Daily feeding and care of animals, grazing management and hay gathering
-Fertility management: Collection and composting of manure and other organic matter, applying biodynamic preparations
-Farm Maintenance: Repairs and renovations to our heritage barns, fencing, access ways and landscaping
-Monthly visits to neighbouring farms
Farm life:
Be prepared for a Tuesday to Saturday work week, with 8 to 10 hour work days. We like a long lunch break, and take turns cooking for the rest of the team. Breakfast and supper are up to you to prepare for yourself, or organize with other team members.
Interns have a private bedroom in our farmhouse, and enjoy their own fully equipped kitchen in the barn. A trailer provides common space for relaxation and an outdoor hot shower is available at all times. Laundry facilities are available in the farmhouse, as well as internet access.
Interns can use farm products and staples from our well-stocked pantry to cook meals from themselves. A weekly stipend of $100 is provided and an energetic, productive and cheerful team earns an end-of-season bonus to help transition into other projects.
How to apply:
Tell us a little about who you are, a few of your goals and what kind of experience you have.
This is a single weblog entry, posted on February 29th, 2012. Comment here »
Feb
28
Employment Opportunity-National Farmers Union Ontario
Regional Office Administrator
Not-for-profit family farm organization seeking dynamic, hardworking individual with an eye for detail, and enthusiasm for farm and food issues to fill a position in Ontario Region
Experience and Skills required
General Office Administration/ Communication/ Member Services
· able to handle general office administrative details like maintaining records, taking minutes, preparing reports
· familiar with and able to work with member database
· strong organizational abilities
· ability to aid in planning, organization, and execution, of meetings, special events, conventions
· coordinating production and distribution of communication materials
· good written and oral communication to respond to general office and membership related phone calls, postal correspondence, email correspondence in a timely manner
· experience with website maintenance an asset
Financial Administration
· preparation and delivery of financial reports to auditor, CRA, Regional Council, etc
· ability to respond to members regarding questions of financial nature
· preparation of annual budgets
· responsible for sound management of day-to-day financial affairs
· able to meet deadlines and maintain timelines
General
· able to work independently without supervision and with a volunteer board
· able to work some flexible, irregular hours
· home office or office location in Guelph
If you are interested in pursuing this exciting opportunity with the National Farmers Union please submit cover letter and resume by March 16/2012 to coordinator@nfuontario.ca. We thank all candidates that apply however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
This is a single weblog entry, posted on February 28th, 2012. Comment here »
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