Bulletin - March 2024
From empowering urban gardening with EDGE participants to gearing up for a vibrant growing season with Common Roots Urban Farm, our initiatives are blossoming. Experience the taste of success with Stone Hearth Bakery's delectable bread creations served at the Juno Awards, showcasing our community's culinary creativity. Plus, discover how our collaboration with GEO Nova Scotia bridges digital divides, offering access to technology for all. Join us on this journey of growth and connectivity!
EDGE Goes Green
This month, EDGE participants embarked on a unique outing to Akoma Hydroponic Garden (formally Very Local Greens) farm in Dartmouth. Initially operating in two 40′ reused freight containers designed for year-round growth, Akoma transitioned from commercial farming to educating people about home gardening.
Exploring the farming containers, EDGE participants encountered automatic grow lights, regulated watering systems, and a plethora of plants. With everything controlled by a smartphone, Akoma Hydroponic Garden believes this could be the future of green farming.
Inspired by their outing and back at the workshop, EDGE participants assembled indoor garden growers. Now, the space is flourishing with hundreds of plants, including eggplants from the Newcomer Women Program participants. Two EDGE participants who were so passionate about what they learned, are now applying for a COmmit2Act grant, nurturing their interest in sustainable urban gardening.
Rockin' Rolls for the Junos!
We might be a bit biased, but we like to think Stone Hearth Bakery stole the show at the Juno Awards hosted in Halifax on March 24, 2024. Our bakers made some special and classic breads for the Junos’s feast! Attendees might have tasted our classic focaccia slider buns and sea salt focaccia rounds, even special creations like onion rolls and Scotch Baps. Rumor has it, our dinner rolls might just form a band — they're still jamming about the doughlightful experience they had at the event! A huge shout out to the Events East (Nova Centre) for supporting social enterprise and our community's culinary creativity.
The Juno Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in Canada's music industry, presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Spring Sprouts at Common Roots
Common Roots Urban Farm, nestled in Woodside and Bayers Road, is gearing up for the upcoming growing season. Despite occasional wet days, they're busy cleaning up from winter, pruning garden beds, and preparing for community plotters. Indoors, they're starting seeds, ordering supplies, and connecting with volunteers and partners. Stay tuned for more updates as the garden comes to life in May!
EDGE Unveils New Workshop Space with Colour and Cookies
In celebration of EDGE's fresh digs, courtesy of a new funding agreement from the Department of Community Services, the team threw an open house where they shared all milestones and accomplishments they’ve already made in their short time in the new space.
Visitors of the open house were able to marvel in the work-in-progress mural that the winter cohort started. They painted a background of vibrant golds, reds and blues. Then, the spring cohort decided what images to paint on the mural wall. This group decided that this program is about growing and sketched out the outlines of a flower garden for the wall.
The spring cohort has been working away at the flowers, but not without help from visitors and other team members at MetroWorks. Part of the open house event was inviting the guest to pick up a brush and make their mark on the community mural by painting a flower. Over the next month or so the goal is to finish the painting and possibly add some words to make the space extra special.
And what's a celebration without treats? The EDGE participants made cookies for the open house. That morning, the young adults headed over to the confectionary kitchen at Stone Hearth and our lead pastry chef, Christine, taught the group all the steps to making cookies like measuring, weighting, mixing, and scooping the ingredients.
Empowering Connectivity with GEO Nova Scotia
MetroWorks proudly continues its partnership with GEO Nova Scotia, a non-profit program aimed at bridging the digital divide in our province. Through MetroWorks’s dedicated referral agents, we help people in our programs get access to essential online resources such as high-speed internet access and devices like Chromebooks through the GEO Connects program.
Our EDGE and Newcomer Women programs have leveraged this partnership to extend digital access to newcomers, youth, and rural residents, fostering learning and employment opportunities at no cost. The impact of the GEO program on our MetroWorks community has been profound, impacting lives and providing digital inclusion.
Founded in 2022, GEO Nova Scotia, GEO stands for Get Everyone Online, and is committed to its mission of ensuring universal internet access. With a focus on technology, skills development, and community engagement, GEO is paving the way for a digitally connected future, one person at a time.
Merrill Joins the Options Team
Options has a new team member: Merrill Rasmussen! Merrill is the new Customer Service Facilitator and is excited to pass on her passion of creating memorable customer experiences to the Options participants. Merrill has customer service and sales experience through her work in retail, food and beverage, catering, tourism, leasing management, real estate and even owning her own bed and breakfast. You can catch Merrill facilitating workshops and coaching participants during on-the-job training in the AMP cafe and Options Clothing used clothing store. Welcome to the team, Merrill!
Recognizing Dedication: MetroWorks Service Awards
This month, MetroWorks had the honor of celebrating the outstanding dedication of our team members who have been with us for 5, 10, 15, and 20 years. Our internal event was filled with gratitude, featuring a delectable meal from Stone Hearth Bakery, a captivating slideshow highlighting photos of our year's accomplishments, and a special interactive performance from The Big Sing.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to each and every team member, whose unwavering commitment has played a pivotal role in enriching our community and driving our social enterprise initiatives forward. Here's to many more years of success and impact as we continue to support individuals on their journey towards employment, empowerment and opportunity.
From EDGE's beginnings into urban gardening to Common Roots' preparations for the upcoming growing season, our commitment to sustainable practices and community engagement shines through. Stone Hearth Bakery's delectable creations for the Juno Awards showcase our dedication to social enterprise and culinary innovation. The utilization of digital resources through our partnership with GEO Nova Scotia further highlights our mission of digital inclusion and accessibility within our programs. As we celebrate these achievements and milestones, we reaffirm our commitment to fostering empowerment, opportunity, and community resilience across Nova Scotia. Together, we embark on a journey towards a brighter, more inclusive future, where every individual's potential is celebrated.
