Canada: Calgary urban farmers break ground on 15 acres of vacant city land

The “three pillars” of the project are land restoration, sustainable food production and community development.

By Yolande Cole
Calgary Herald
May 9, 2019

Excerpt:

The first compost was spread at 1920 Highfield Crescent S.E. on Wednesday as representatives from the City of Calgary, non-profit partner The Compost Council of Canada and a team of urban farmers celebrated a five-year lease being signed for the vacant piece of land.

Mike Dorion, one of four members of a core team behind the urban farm, said a range of produce will be grown at the site, including lettuce, tomatoes, beans, carrots, beets and cauliflower.

“Since I’ve been running my business working with soil, I’ve always wanted to be a farmer . . . and this actually gives us the chance to really dive into it and do the research, figure out what works, what doesn’t work and get down to the nitty-gritty of it,” he said.

“And then hopefully showcase a model that we can repeat and repeat and repeat, because this city’s got lots of vacant land that’s not doing anything, so let’s put it to use and put value to the surrounding community.”

The lease signing follows a “couple years of hard work,” said Kristi Peters, sustainability consultant with the City of Calgary. The project came about as a result of the city’s food action plan, which aims to support more local food production and access to local food for all Calgarians. Peters said the city identified the parcel of land in 2016, but many changes were required before the interim lease could be finalized, including changing the land-use designation.

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