In case you hadn’t heard, it’s Canada’s 150th birthday this year. Why not celebrate it within your own community? Or maybe there is something small you can do to make your community a better place? We encourage you to consider applying for a Neighbourhood Small Grant. If you have not heard about this program, it is worth looking into. Speaking from experience this program is a great way to get to know your neighbours and build community. You can apply for grants of up to $500 for projects in your community. The aim of the program, which is funded by the Vancouver Foundation, is to connect and engage people within the community in which they live. Neighbours can get together and make an application for a variety of events. Some examples of past events include neighbourhood block parties, clean up campaigns, ethnic cooking classes, emergency preparedness plans, community gardens or an outdoor movie night. This is not for adults only, kids are welcome to get into the act. The ideas are only limited by your imagination. Once your application is submitted, it is reviewed by a Resident Advisory Committee made up of residents in your neighbourhood. Applicants are advised in late May/early June if they receive funding and are asked to have their projects completed by November 30, 2017. To apply for a grant, visit Neighbourhood Small Grant. Note, the site is available in several different languages. Application deadline is Monday, April 4, 2017 and open to residents in the following areas:
- Carnegie – Strathcona – Ray Cam
- Cedar Cottage – Hastings Sunrise – Renfrew
- Mount Pleasant – Little Mountain
- South Vancouver – Collingwood
If you prefer to make the City a greener space, there is also an opportunity to apply for a Greenest City Neighbourhood Small Grant. Again residents can apply for grants of up to $500 with the stipulation that the projects contribute to the City’s Greenest City Action Plan Targets. Grants are given to projects that meet the following goals:
Mitigating climate change – Examples: A “Neighbour Challenge” to track sustainable behaviours i.e. measuring of household waste, food waste, green transportation trips.
Promoting greener forms of transportation – Examples: A “bike repair 101” session providing participants with knowledge and some basic tools (e.g. patch kit, tire levels, allen keys); a “walking school bus” or “bike train,” with prizes/incentives for participation; a community map where people can draw their bicycle route to work and link up with new buddies to ride together; promote walking through an organized tour about local history of neighbourhoods; a public art installation.
Creating zero waste – Examples: neighbourhood composting; building a community share sheds for tools, toys, or appliances.
Improving access to nature and planting trees – Examples: a workshop on the benefits and care of trees providing a small tree for each participant; building a community pollinator garden; a workshop on building nesting boxes for barn swallows with basic materials.
Breathing clean air – Examples: an awareness workshop about the use of renewable energy or carbon footprinting.
Making businesses greener – Examples: Working with a local green grocer business to use unsold food for an event to educate neighbours on reducing food waste; create a resource-sharing space for local businesses (for example, a small business book exchange or tool shed; a green business trade school event; or common marketing tool for local green businesses).
Clean Water – Examples: a workshop on rain gardens for boulevards; installing rain barrels on garden sheds in community gardens; a workshop on water-wise gardening practices; replacing an area of pavement with porous natural materials.
Green Buildings – Examples: hosting a “DIY home energy retrofit” workshop providing participants with starter materials (e.g. window insulation kit, door draft stopper, weatherstrip tape); a neighbourhood information session on incentives available to reduce energy use in the home, using available City of Vancouver brochures and other resources.
Lighter Footprint – Examples: a clothing and stuff swap; a school supplies swap; a repair café/fix-it fair event; a program for sharing in your neighbourhood
Growing and eating local food – Examples: develop a plan to pick neighbours’ unused/unwanted fruit and process this as a group (e.g. make jam, fruit leather, etc.); build a beehive and host a beehive workshop.
Residents in the following communities can apply for this grant:
- Carnegie – Strathcona – Ray Cam
- Cedar Cottage – Hastings Sunrise – Renfrew
- South Vancouver – Collingwood
You can apply for both of the grants online. Please see their online application for more information. The deadline to apply for the Greenest City Neighbourhood Small Grant is also Monday, April 4, 2017.
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