THURSDAY, OCT.25, 2018 | EDITOR GABRIELLE PLONKA

4 THE VOICE |

FARMING WITH THE
FUTURE IN MIND

Photos & stories by Kathryn Tindale

ancouver’s only 100-me-
tre market is educating
locals on sustainable
farming practices.

Southlands Heritage Farm, lo-
cated in South Vancouver, sells
only what the farm is able to pro-
duce. Each weekend, the farm
holds a modest market, where
Vancouverites can shop from a
weekly selection of produce, eggs,
and baked goods.

Southlands’ owner, Jennifer
Maynard, grows the food on her
property and brings it to the mar-
ket. She encourages people to
think about their choices and be
aware of their food sources.

“There's zero carbon footprint
because I just walk over with food.
We don't sell anything here that
we haven't grown ourselves,” said
Maynard.

“It's very small scale, but it’s an
example. We try to encourage peo-
ple to think what they're doing.”

Passion for the subject is a requi-
MEA, site for staff at Southlands.

, % According to May-
nard, each employee
is trained in some

® facet of farming

or animal care, and can educate
guests during their visit.

“They're real educators and they
know how to do it,” Maynard said
of her staff.

"T could walk around telling ev-
eryone how to do everything, but
I'm not a teacher."

Hannah Whittman, academic
director of UBC’s Centre for Sus-
tainable Food Systems, believes
maintaining a working relation-
ship between urban and tural
communities is important because
only two per cent of Canadians
grow food for consumption on a
national level.

People living in cities are pri-
marily consumers in the food
system, contributing to a lack of
understanding about sustainable
farming.

“It's important to train new and
emerging farmers in practices of
ecological and organic agricul-
ture,” Whittman said.

“[Not just] to minimize the en-
vironmental impact of farming,
but also to promote food systems
that are socially just."

According to Whittman, urban
consumers can contribute by sup-

porting regulations to support sus-
tainable practices for farmers.

Educating younger generations
about sustainable farming is an
important aspect of Southlands.
‘Their mission statement is simple:
to grow, educate and protect agri-
cultural land. Growing food con-
sciously for the public and educat-
ing a younger generation through
available programs can teach re-
sponsibility and practical skills,
staff say.

Protection and preservation of
the land is another ongoing pri-
ority at Southlands. Without sus-
tainable farms, staff say, there is no
future for locally grown food and a
higher risk of contributing to cli-
mate change.

One visitor came for the pump-
kins, but isn’t able to participate in
Southland’s programs despite her
interest.

“J have 4m —

Ps

nothing to farm,” Jewel Ocampo
said.

“If I had a garden, probably.”

Ocampo is currently renting in
Vancouver and doesnt have the
space, a common scenario in the
city.

Urban farming is not a viable
option for Vancouver since it is not
effective for feeding a large num-
ber of people. It does, however,
function as an informative tool for
food systems, Whittman said, by
teaching people the difficulties of
growing food.

According to Maynard, urban-
ites can contribute to sustainable
practices by purchasing locally
bred, free-range meats.

"It's not a choice between fac-
tory farming, meat and being a
vegan,” Maynard said.

“There's a choice between being
a vegan and only buying ethical
meat that's the real choice."

According to Whittman, city-

dwellers need to be better con-

nected to farming practices, or

risk contributing to the de-

cline of sustainable agricul-

\ture and environmentally
\ responsible food sources.

Animal care is an important part of agriculture education at Southlands Farm: there are chickens, goats and horses on the property.

Southlands market sells local vegetables, home
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Southlands' pumpkin patch runs through Octob