Delta's agricultural advisory committee meets every three months and is tasked with updating mayor and council on issues relating to farming and agriculture in our communities. The committee is comprised of farmers, ministry officials, two Delta councillors and representatives from various stakeholder groups, including the Delta Farmers'Institute and the Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust. They know what the issues are around here.
Committee members have insight into the many complexities of farming and land use that most citizens don't, and they have received detailed presentations from Port Vancouver officials, the Ministry of Transportation, Delta engineering staff, Century Group, MK Delta Lands, Shato Holdings and other groups that have interests within our midst. As we all know, there is no clear path to bliss in Delta.
In our last meeting of 2016, I was asked to give an update to the committee regarding the progress of the Delta School District's educational initiatives within the Farm Roots and Project Pickle programs.
The update was well received and in preparation for the next meeting, it was suggested by committee chair Ian Paton that we include a tour of the Farm Roots facility for our next meeting.
That suggestion was fine-tuned somewhat and we decided to tour the school and have our meeting on site as opposed to having our meeting at municipal hall as per usual.
Delta has an agricultural plan, and it is full of suggestions and recommendations to assist our farming community in dealing with issues relating to climate change, irrigation, pressures on farmland, migratory birds, set asides and a whole host of complexities that require careful consideration.
The plan also recognizes the importance of education for the future of farming in Delta and this importance is referenced several times in the plan, including this item: "15. Enhance relationships with Delta farmers, secondary and post-secondary education institutions, agricultural academies, ministries and associations to facilitate events and initiatives to provide new/young farmers with training, mentoring, technical expertise, production knowledge, and access to agricultural programs that would promote knowledge transfer and build capacity in smaller scale farming."
Item 15 is clearly being followed up on in our community and we should be thankful for that. The Delta School District is working toward building a robust inquiry-based learning environment that dovetails nicely with the Ministry of Education's new curriculum.
Farm Roots instructors Graham Harkley and Tammy Veltcamp tasked their students with putting together a presentation for the committee to outline their accomplishments, challenges, goals for the future and observations of the curriculum thus far.
After the presentation, committee members explained to the students what they did in the community and some of the students told us why they chose to participate in a new but long overdue educational idea.
There was a question and answer session at the end of the presentation.
There is a bond building in our community. The meeting last Tuesday will not be a one-off. Relationship building amongst farmers, students and governments will continue right here in our backyard.
Bring it! Mike Schneider is founder of Project Pickle and likes to write about growing, cooking and eating food. He is a Jamie Oliver Food Revolution ambassador.
