The Hastings Folk Garden was started by the Portland Hotel Society on an empty lot owned by Concord Pacific. Staff, residents and community group members cleared and cleaned the area before planting a variety of flowers, vegetables and fruit trees. Produce is harvested regularly and delivered to community kitchens in the neighbourhood. “It is food grown by local people for local people,” says Shandelle Billows. She and fellow co-founder, Peter LaGrand, said they wanted to create a beautiful space that was open to everyone. Photographer Hendrik Beune came from the Netherlands to Canada in 1970 to study Marine Biology at UBC. After graduation he worked as a marine biologist and for 12 years he operated a shellfish farm on the Sunshine Coast. Hendrik is active in the community advocating on issues related to housing, healthcare and addiction. A past contest winner, he is featured in the 2008 Hope in Shadows book.
Read article.
Life and Times
