UPDATE: On Monday council endorsed a motion by Coun. Bruce McDonald for staff to organize a special workshop on the situation. McDonald said there's confusion on all sides on the issue. Both Earthwise and Century will be asked to take part in that meeting.
The Earthwise Society is pitching a plan to seamlessly integrate its operations within the Southlands development.
In an interview at Earthwise headquarters this week, executive director Patricia Fleming showed a proposal the organization has drawn up that demonstrates how most the operation can be made a part of a new Market Square and blend with the rest of the agricultural component of the Southlands.
Having spoken to Century Group, but not directly with the Corporation of Delta, Fleming said the society’s operation is already down to about one-and-a-half acres from three acres due to development preparation works.
“We’ve been really trying to have a conversation that includes Delta because it is a complicated issue and we don’t think everyone necessarily understands how we use the land or even what services we provide,” Fleming said.
The Corporation of Delta issued a lengthy news release last week explaining how Century Group, which received final approval this year to build housing at the Southlands, is transferring 80 per cent of the site to Delta, land that will be used for agriculture, natural habitat and public open space, including a Market Square and greenways.
The Market Square area, however, is to be located where Earthwise currently operates at Boundary Bay Road and 3rd Avenue. The society has a demonstration garden, allotment gardens, a demonstration farm and well as a nearby working organic farm that raises revenue to fund education programs.
“We do have a lot of grants that support our programs, but the revenue from our produce sales last year from our farm produce was almost $45,000, from less than two acres. So losing that ability is hugely impactful to our organization,” Fleming said.
“One of the things we had shown with our less than two-acre farm was to show that small-scale, community-based farming is actually a viable opportunity for young people seeking to get into agriculture. We wanted to show that you could, in a very small area, generate a reasonable revenue stream.”
Fleming said they were aware several of the allotment gardens would be impacted but some of the gardeners will be accommodated with site reconfiguring.
As far as the farm, this spring Earthwise was given a new, but temporary, location within the Southlands. Unfortunately, that location proved less than ideal with sandy and rocky soil, a lack of proper irrigation and access that is only temporary.
It would be difficult putting in the amount of work and resources required to bring that new location up to an ideal standard because the site is only temporary, said Fleming, noting they are hoping to work with Century or the Corporation of Delta for a more suitable farm at the Southlands or within Delta.
One bright spot is that someone has donated a parcel of land that can be used for organic farming for Earthwise, but it’s out in Agassiz, which means it would be difficult to expect local volunteers to travel that distance.
The biggest impact, one the society wasn’t anticipating, is the loss of the separate on-site demonstration farm, said Fleming. Earthwise was aware some of the demonstration section would be impacted, but losing almost everything, including the growing area, will hugely impact programs as well as revenues.
A lot of the funding the society receives is based on what occurs at the demonstration growing field. What’s more, it’s not clear if anything equivalent will be offered as a replacement, since Delta only notes, “Upon completion of the works, the Earthwise Society will continue to have a presence in the Market Square area.”
Fleming said the demonstration farm is to be lost in the coming weeks.
“What we had done is develop a plan for a demonstration farm that would allow us to continue to deliver the programs that we have but using a different model. We always understood that the Earthwise Demonstration Farm would be the feature of the Market Square. I think it’s important to understand that because of those assurances, Earthwise has made a huge investment in this facility. We’ve invested so we can run these kinds of programs.”
