๐ฑ Reimagining Vancouver: From Pools to Permaculture
Neighbours Feeding Neighbours — One Garden at a Time
By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita
What if instead of pouring millions into maintaining a giant chlorinated pool — we filled it with forest, food, and life?
What if Kits Pool, iconic but seasonal and exclusive, was transformed into a coastal permaculture garden, a community-led food forest where children learn, elders rest, birds return, and neighbours feed each other?
That’s the kind of future I dream of — and I know I’m not alone.
๐ Why We Need to Rethink Public Space
In Vancouver, we face a crisis of disconnection.
- Food insecurity is rising — while lawns, lots, and boulevards lie unused.
- Seniors, disabled people, and youth are isolated — while developers hoard empty land.
- Climate stress, mental health struggles, and social divides are growing — while big box stores import what we could grow right here.
It’s time to reclaim our neighbourhoods, not just with protest signs, but with soil, seeds, and solidarity.
๐ฟ What’s Possible Right Now
✅ You can grow food in your yard — and even your boulevard.
✅ Community gardens are supported by the City of Vancouver.
✅ Vacant lots can be transformed — with enough vision and people-power.
✅ Everyone can help — watering, harvesting, planting, storytelling, cooking, teaching, sharing.
This is more than gardening — this is urban regeneration.
Inspired by people like Ron Finley ("Gangsta Gardener") and Jenny Pell of permaculture fame, I believe we need a city where:
- ✨ Everyone contributes — and everyone is nourished.
- ✨ Children and youth get hands-on education.
- ✨ Seniors and people with disabilities have a purpose and a place.
- ✨ We grow beyond survival into abundance.
๐ What If… We Filled in Kits Pool?
Let’s play with the idea:
Instead of 2–3 months of limited pool access each year, what if we planted:
- ๐ Native berries (salmonberry, huckleberry, salal)
- ๐พ Edible and medicinal plants (camas, yarrow, mint)
- ๐ฒ A grove of trees for oxygen, shade, and quiet
- ๐ถ A community gathering space for music, healing, learning
- ๐งบ Raised beds, compost systems, solar lights, community fridges
It could be our city’s first oceanview permaculture park — feeding bodies, minds, and spirits all year long.
๐ Let’s Get Growing
๐ป I’m calling out to neighbours, artists, gardeners, cooks, elders, youth, and anyone who believes another world is possible.
๐ Let’s map local vacant spaces
๐ฌ Let’s talk about how to help each other — not just ourselves
๐ฆ Let’s grow our way out of dependency — and into community resilience
If you’re interested in:
- Helping start a boulevard garden or shared food plot
- Donating seeds, tools, compost, or time
- Hosting a conversation, film night, or skill-share
- Just sharing your dreams for a greener, kinder city…
๐ Please reach out. Let’s make it real — together.
๐ฟ "We are the ones we’ve been waiting for."
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๐ zipolitazcv.blogspot.com
๐ท @zipolita | ๐จ Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita
#FoodJustice #GrowYourOwn #KitsReimagined #PermacultureVancouver #NeighboursFeedingNeighbours #RonFinley #JennyPell #CommunityAbundance #ResilientBC
