On October 6th, Brinkman joined the Vancouver Urban Food Forest Foundation (VUFFF) and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) for a community workday at Burrard View Park in East Vancouver.
Held as part of CAPE’s second annual National Day of Action on Planetary Health, the event brought community members together to support the continued development of the park’s food forest and medicine garden. Volunteers helped move soil and mulch, plant native and food producing trees and shrubs, and contribute to the ongoing restoration of the site.
The event marked Brinkman’s fourth planting day at Burrardview Park and the second to welcome members of the public. Staff and local volunteers worked side by side, trading shovels, hauling soil, and getting their hands dirty in support of a shared community space. Everyone left with a little more dirt under their fingernails, and a little more know-how too, picking up practical gardening tips from the crew and from each other along the way.
The Burrardview Park project is a permanent, permaculture-style community food forest and medicine garden being developed in collaboration with the Vancouver Park Board. Led by VUFFF, the project brings together food production, biodiversity, Indigenous knowledge, cultural learning, and community involvement within an urban green space.
Brinkman has supported the project through site preparation, planting, equipment, materials, and hands-on labour. Team members have helped move soil, prepare planting areas, operate equipment, and take part in planting days as the food forest continues to develop. For volunteers who joined the spring planting session, the return was especially rewarding: a vibrant, biodiverse food forest now stands where there was only bare grass a year ago.
The event also highlighted the connection between healthy environments and healthy communities, a focus of Dr. Melissa Lem, a Vancouver family physician, environmental advocate, and Past President of CAPE, who joined the event with other healthcare colleagues. Her work has helped bring attention to the role nature and accessible green spaces play in supporting human health and wellbeing.
For Brinkman, supporting the food forest project at Burrardview Park is an extension of its broader work in restoration, regeneration, and responsible land stewardship. Whether working across large forest landscapes or within an urban park, the goal remains the same: helping create and maintain healthy, resilient ecosystems.
Thank you to VUFFF, CAPE, and everyone who came out to contribute to another successful community workday. Brinkman looks forward to continuing its involvement as the Burrardview Park food forest grows and develops.
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