The following appeared in the Thursday, August 19, 2010 edition of Y-File:
Environmental studies Professor Gerda Wekerle holds a wicker basket brimming with dark purple elderberries she hopes to turn into elderberry wine.

More than a potential vintage, the elderberries are also the first fruits of a tiny eco-restoration project underway at York University. Started informally by the Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES) some four years ago, the project – a native garden – is situated in front of the Health, Nursing & Environmental Studies (HNES) Building on the Keele campus.

Right: Gerda Wekerle with her harvest of elderberries

Wekerle and avid gardener Tim Haagsma, who is also the manager of grounds, fleets & waste management at York, are working with FES graduate and undergraduate students to fill the garden with plants that are native to Canada.

Explore the beauty of nature through arts and crafts. Enjoy fun activities and fantastic special guests. All ages welcome. A free garden lunch will be provided while it lasts. For more information, click here.

Date: Sunday, August 22
Time: 12-4 p.m.

Women’s Healthy Environments Network is teaming up with Certified Natural Health Practitioner, Tracey Tief to assist individuals in creating some natural body products to take us from summer to fall and teach us about year round sun protection. If you would like to team up with us on this event, please email me or contact me by phone. Register here, Cost: $40 (covers all materials!)
You will leave with 3 bottles of different lotions and sun protection products of your own creation!

Date and Time: Thursday, August 19 at 6pm
Location: Anarres Natural Health, College & Ossington

Looking for York faculty who would be interested in the following project being organized under the banner of the Transborder Research University Network (TRUN) and would like to take part in a meeting at the University of Toronto on September 13th.

Project Description
As you may know, the Transborder Research University Network (TRUN), to date an administrative consortium of 13 universities from New York State, US and the Province of Ontario, Canada was established in 2007 http://TRUN.ca. The aim of TRUN is to expand and support cooperation among research universities along the borders of Ontario and New York State in the area of collaborative academic and research initiatives.

TRUN would like to organize a one-day meeting that would bring together interested faculty members seeking collaboration in possible areas such as fostering public policy dialogue through joint conferences, building a strong transborder connectivity among faculty and students (undergraduate and graduate) such as joint educational programs/courses, research internships and exchanges for students and collaborative research across the disciplines.

The following appeared in the Monday, August 16, 2010 edition of Y-File:
A new Good Food Market serving the York University and Black Creek communities opens Thursday, Aug. 19 at the Shoreham Public School, 31 Shoreham Dr. in North York.

The market, which runs 4 to 7pm every Thursday, will offer plenty of fresh, affordable and healthy food for sale. There will also be local vendors, artists and activities for children.

“Food for sale at the market is purchased from farmers through FoodShare, a non-profit food security organization in Toronto,” says Sue Levesque, executive director of the York University-TD Community Engagment Centre, one of the organizers of the market. “The food is from local sources whenever possible. FoodShare is providing logistical support and guidance until the project is completely locally sustainable.”

Proceeds from fresh food sales are used to purchase the next week’s food. It is a non-profit venture. Local vendors will also be on site and will keep their own proceeds.