It was an action packed and full Annacis room at municipal hall for the agricultural advisory committee meeting this past Wednesday. There are many issues for this committee to deal with in the complicated world of farming and land use.
For my part, I was to provide an update on the Farm Roots program operating out of the former Boundary Beach Elementary. Two months into the first cohort and it would seem that the program is thriving.
I had a chance to interview several of the 23 Grade 10 to 12 students involved and you could tell right away they are having a blast and learning a lot. The common theme was that it has been great working outside and in teams.
The young farmers have accomplished much in these early days. They have tilled and are preparing an initial half-acre for spring planting and have designed and built raised garden beds for over-wintering crops. They are learning about crop choices and many other aspects of farming.
This is not normal school. It is not one hour in math, one in French and other hourly classes. They do that every second day back at the high school. But here, at Farm Roots on every second day, they are spending the whole day together working as a team to
tackle some real world problems.
Educators Graham Harkley and Tammy Veltkemp are forging ahead and dealing with some administrative challenges but are extremely happy and grateful for the sense of family that is quickly evolving at the school.
Agricultural advisory committee chair, councillor, farmer and South Delta Liberal candidate Ian Paton is very supportive of the initiative and will be assisting me to gather local farmers and industry stakeholders to speak to the kids about farming and the food system during the rest of the year. He will also be helping to solve some field work issues at the site through his vast network of friends and associates.
The future looks bright for students interested in food and farming here in Delta. On Wednesday afternoon, Brad Semke the project manager for the Southlands, took me on a guided tour of the quickly developing footprint for this major development.
The community farm component of the Market Square on the Southlands adjoins the Farm Roots property and is separated by a hedgerow and an irrigation ditch. Century has offered Project Pickle a couple of acres to enhance and expand its educational programming and has further offered to build a bridge so the Farm Roots property can seamlessly integrate with our presence in the Market Square area.
Farm Roots has a vision to create an orchard at the south of the property where the Corporation of Delta has a dog walk area. Additionally, Century Group will be building two other orchards and has offered management of these crops to the Delta School District, Farm Roots and Project Pickle.
The vision is playing out. A community where agriculture and horticulture are woven into the neighbourhood fabric through partnership and collaboration.
The educational programming available to our kids is second to none and the opportunities are endless.
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.
