Earthwise History

Children learn to recycle at the Delta Recycling Society.

Earthwise has always been a leader in sustainability initiatives, starting its life as the Delta Recycling Society (DRS).
In 1979, in response to a municipal garbage strike, a group of concerned Delta citizens founded the Delta Recycling Project to set up community recycling depots.
The idea of recycling caught on, and Delta Recycling Society (DRS) was registered as a Non Profit Society in 1983
Delta Recycling Society was quick to learn that education is the key to sustainability, successfully establishing the first blue box collection program in Western Canada in 1988
The early work of the society was also intricately linked to providing employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Plans laid for the Earthwise Garden.

By the early 1990’s Delta Recycling Society’s recycling initiatives had become so successful that they were awarded a grant to open a regional intermediate recycling facility located in Tilbury Industrial Park in Delta. This facility was opened in 1993.
In 1995, the Society created a Compost Demonstration Garden at its recycling facility in Tilbury Industrial Park to raise awareness about backyard composting and create a welcome green space for local business workers.
Later renamed the Earthwise Garden, the unique, one-acre display garden was the first of its kind in BC, demonstrating ecological landscaping and featuring native and drought tolerant plants.
The Eco-tour program was introduced in 1996 to provide school children with hands-on, experiential learning opportunities connecting with nature at the Garden.
The Garden provided a unique green refuge in an industrial park, where area workers could eat lunch, stroll, or grow food in Delta’s first community gardens.
The Earthwise Garden thenBy the early 1990’s Delta Recycling Society’s recycling initiatives had become so successful that they were awarded a grant to open a regional intermediate recycling facility located in Tilbury Industrial Park in Delta. This facility was opened in 1993.

In 2001, the BC Landscape and Nursery Association recognized the Society for Leadership in Environmental Stewardship for the Earthwise Garden.

By 2004, North America’s recycling industry had grown into a mainstream business, and the Corporation of Delta made the decision to contract with a large private recycling company. As a result, the Tilbury facility and its demonstration garden were closed.
In 2005, Delta Recycling Society officially changed its name to DRS Earthwise Society to confirm its commitment to achieving sustainability through community education and stewardship.

Earthwise Society moved to its new home in Tsawwassen in 2006, creating the Boundary Bay Earthwise Garden on land provided by Century Group.
The new site offered Earthwise Society an opportunity to extend its programs to focus on small scale organic agriculture, establishing the Earthwise Farm on the site in 2008.
The Earthwise Farm at the Boundary Bay garden piloted community engagement and small scale organic agriculture to help people reconnect with food.
In 2008, Earthwise Society celebrated the success of our first season by initiating a 100 Mile Banquet farm to table dinner to draw people’s attention to the importance of a sustainable regional food system to long term food security.
In 2010 Earthwise Society joined other community service providers to establish Delta Food Coalition (DFC) to work together to address local food security. Earthwise Society’s DFC programs took a new look at food security by focusing on healthy food choices and sustainable local food systems.

The Earthwise Garden now

In 2015 Earthwise Society received a donation of 57 acres of land in Agassiz, BC, to develop a destination learning resource for the lower mainland.
From 2016-2020 the Earthwise Garden and Farm in Tsawwassen were redesigned to accommodate the new Southlands development. The community gardens were closed and the Earthwise Farm was relocated to 56th St. in South Delta where it operates today as a teaching farm. Earthwise Society established an additional one-acre farm at the new Agassiz location.
In the face of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, Earthwise Society expanded its DFC programs to address emergency food relief by sourcing fresh, local food and distributing it to people in need.
Today, Earthwise Society’s ecological demonstration gardens and teaching farms in both Tsawwassen and Agassiz serve as a deeper connection with the environment through education, stewardship, and community driven sustainability initiatives.

History