Sweet Harvest

November 19, 2009

The average worker bee will make only one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in their lifetime, according to the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association. So it’s no surprise that it takes more than 550 worker bees to gather just one pound of honey. Last month, it took five Evergreen staff members three hours to fill more than 125 jars of honey.

Michelle and Nicola jarring honey. (Photo: Melissa Yu)

This summer, the Toronto Beekeepers Co-operative kept 22 beehives on a rooftop at Evergreen Brick Works, and each hive contained an average of 50,000 bees. The resulting honey is shared between Evergreen, the Beekeepers, FoodShare and, of course, the bees. With expertise from beekeeper Cathy Kozma, we used the FoodShare kitchen to bottle the Evergreen share.

Our bees travelled far and wide along through the Don Valley to collect nectar from various wildflowers and blossoms, and you can really taste the difference. We jarred two different harvests, and each had a distinct flavor and texture: one was fluid with a musky floral scent, and the other was rich and more grainy on the tongue. And both were absolutely delicious.

All lined up and ready to be sealed! (Photo: Melissa Yu)

Urban beekeeping is an important part of creating a sustainable city. As urban centres get larger and larger, cities will have to find ways to make up for the agricultural land they overtake. Honeybees make use of all the space in a hive. The question of the day: how can we take a tip from them and maximize the spaces we live and work to produce the food we need to survive?

1 Comment | Evergreen Brick Works, Food, Staff | Permalink
Posted by Mel from Development

Happy Halloween!

November 3, 2009
MYU

My Be The Root mask and the Be The Root ad. (Photo: Melissa Yu)

In the Marketing and Communications department we can never resist an opportunity to do arts and crafts.

Inspired by our Be The Root ad campaign, we made Halloween masks and on Friday we paraded around the office, surprising our colleagues. What better way to wrap up a work week than free chocolate and a group of walking trees?

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The team incognito. (Photo: Melissa Yu)

Comments Off | Staff, Toronto | Permalink
Posted by Jenn from Communications

Lunch Club

September 24, 2009

The Evergreen office is a busy place, and unfortunately, we sometimes we find ourselves glued to the computer and working right through lunch. It’s really no way to eat.

So when the nice weather hit late this summer, my co-worker Matthew and I decided to entice our colleagues away from their desks by reviving the long-lost Evergreen Lunch Club.

Lunch club. Photo: Melissa Yu

This week's lunch club feast. (Photo: Melissa Yu)

The rules are simple: Each week two people bring enough food for a crowd. Everyone else simply shows up with a dish, and we spend the hour together enjoying fabulous food.

Read the rest of this entry »

Comments Off | Food, Staff, Toronto | Permalink
Posted by Mel from Development

Bowling for Evergreen

September 21, 2009

Recently several of my colleagues gleefully spent their Saturday bowling to raise money for Evergreen. They were joined by two other organizations, Daily Bread Food Bank and Reach for Rainbows. The three teams spent the weeks leading up to the big event recruiting teammates and signing up sponsors–family and friends.

As an infrequent bowler, I decided I’d be more useful donating money to “Team Conifera,” named after our Evergreen mascot.

After the event I got to  sit down with Cara, one of the Team Conifera captains, to get the lowdown on how the pins fell.

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Team Conifera: Cara, Mel, Nicola, Sarah, Zanita and Sue (l-r) (Photo: Evergreen)

As you can see from the picture above, the whole team showed up in style. Cara even wore her costume to the office the Friday before to solicit more donations from the office.

Cara said that Team Conifera made themselves right at home at the cosmic-lit Bowl-A-Rama. Nicola, as it turns out, is a bowling phenom, and the team was by far the loudest.

In total, $800 was raised, but perhaps even more importantly, Team Conifera won the spirit prize because of their costumes, hghi-fives and cheers.

Good job y’all!

Comments Off | Events, Funding, Staff, Toronto | Permalink
Posted by Nate from Public Relations

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