We currently have the following equipment available for community use:

• Apple Press

• Apple pickers (long-handled basket pickers)

• Dehydrator

• Orchard Ladders

• Pole Pruners

For more info, or to request use of the equipment, contact Tracy Calvert at 250-629-6930.

One of our members, Catherine Sherlock, has been guiding this effort by generously offering her expertise in organizational development, providing tools and feedback.  We have honed our vision and mission statements, incorporating the input from the community visioning event held February 13th.  Our new mission statement reads as follows:

To acquire and steward Pender Island community farmland, to be held in perpetuity for sustainable food production; to encourage community involvement in local, sustainable food production and consumption; to provide community members with access to the land while increasing knowledge and practices of sustainable farming; to create more farmers and increase food security on the Pender Islands.

Board responsibilities have been redistributed so that each member has a clear focus of responsibility.  Our goal is to avoid burn-out and to ensure that we all continue to enjoy the work. We have reformed our teams (not committees) and are actively recruiting new members.  Care to plug in with your ideas and good energy? Contact us. Teams are as follows:

• Land Acquisition: Colin Watson – 250-629-6153
• Land Management: Renee Watson – bumbleflower.renee@gmail.com
• Fundraising: Elizabeth Montague – 250-629-6636
• Communication: Matilda te Hennepe – matildath@hotmail.com
• Activities and Outreach: Anna Lundeen – 252-629-3523

For more info on these teams, check out the new teams page.

Acquiring community farmland is only a part of what we aim to accomplish.  Researching and organizing for the long term, planning a farm landscape, establishing governance and sound funding structure, optimizing the community farmland vision so that it best serves the needs and wishes of Penderites – these are all part of the planning work we can do before the acquisition as well as after.

We value your time and our own. For that reason, we have decided to forego monthly member meetings and to come together for regular potluck gatherings instead. Board meetings will continue on a monthly basis, and all members are welcome to attend. Team meetings will happen more frequently, as needed. However, the potluck gatherings will provide the whole membership and community with opportunities to meet, mix and socialize as well as share ideas and dialog with the teams. Our next potluck is planned to coincide with garlic harvesting – likely mid-July. It’s not too early to start thinking about your favorite fresh garlic recipe . . .

The Farmland Project sales of that fabulous duck and goose compost are continuing at the Saturday Farmers’ Market. Notice of when it’s available is often last-minute for us, so watch for it and be ready to pounce. This rich addition to your garden will reap rewards!

Elizabeth Montague

Cob Wall at Gabriola Commons

We were very excited to have a team from the Gabriola Commons (GC) visit Pender on Monday, April 11, 2011, to meet with the Farmland Project to exchange information and ideas.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with the GC folk; the afternoon and evening was filled with passionate talk, inspiring stories and lots of laughter. The team of ten arrived in the early afternoon, giving us ample time to visit the Community Garden and Hope Bay Farm before dinner. Thanks so much to Debbie Katz and the Community

Garden crew and the Masselink family for sharing their land and stories with us! After the tours, the Farmland Project Board, Membership and the GC team gathered at the Pope residence for one of our best potlucks to date. The house was packed, the food was amazing and we had a wonderful time getting to know each other. Our dearest thanks to Sandra and Nori for their generosity hosting this event.

Good food and good times at the GC Potluck

Wrapping up the potluck, we moved to the Community Hall where we welcomed a crowd wanting to learn more about the Gabriola Commons – it was an awesome turnout. Although the GC team started the event by announcing that they were not professional speakers or comedians, they treated us to an informative and animated presentation that was at times hilarious. For more information about the Commons, visit their website at www.gabriolacommons.ca.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the GC visit, especially to the generous billeters who cared so well for their guests. The GC team was absolutely buzzing as they sailed away from Pender; one guest said, “We were SO charged up from the visit… and blown away by the your group and the positive energy of the your endeavour.”

Chefs give it their all at the Survival Challenge

Twenty of Victoria’s hottest chefs came to celebrate their love for local produce for the Chef Survival Challenge. At this culinary arts performance of epic proportions, we watched chefs from various local restaurants participate in a boot camp style obstacle course, racing over the 27-acre farm to pick the vegetables they needed to create masterpieces for auction.

Participating chefs believe this event highlight their commitment to local agriculture. By sacrificing the luxuries of a restaurant kitchen, they hope to underscore the enormous importance of good ingredients to the creation of fabulous meals and raise awareness about the need to preserve our dwindling farmland for farming.

Nathalie Chambers, a farmer at Madrona, and the organizer of the Chef Survival Challenge, was a guest speaker at Pender’s own Fall Fair in 2010, where she announced that 25% of the proceeds from her event would benefit the Pender Island Farmland Project.

“I was so inspired by The Land Conservancy of BC’s (TLC) campaign to protect Madrona Farm, I’ve made it my mission to conserve farmland and biodiversity in B.C. Now that we have a successful model of sustainable agriculture for the next generation of farmers, I want to share it with everyone,” says Nathalie Chambers.

Madrona Farm, recently protected by The Land Conservancy, is an innovative model for sustainable agriculture. Located 10 minutes from downtown Victoria, Madrona Farm provides food to over 3,500 homes in the Greater Victoria area. The 27-acre farm produces a diversity of 105 crops, 12 months a year. Through the support of over 4,500 donors and supporters, farmers David and Nathalie Chambers have been provided with the first long-term lease to continue farming while also providing education and training for apprentices.

The third annual Chef Survival Challenge was a great success; we had a wonderful time watching the race, the meal preparations and the plate by plate auction, not to mention the fabulous catered lunch. We also used the opportunity to walk the farm, touring the upper fields, the fall plantings, and checking out the chickens. We deeply appreciate Nathalie Chambers, all the volunteers at Madrona Farm, and everyone at the TLC for their support and their amazing work and dedication.

]]> http://penderislandweb.com/farm/featured-articles/a-culinary-arts-performance-of-epic-proportions/feed/ 0 http://penderislandweb.com/farm/featured-articles/official-recognition-in-bc-of-a-%e2%80%9ccommons%e2%80%9d/ http://penderislandweb.com/farm/featured-articles/official-recognition-in-bc-of-a-%e2%80%9ccommons%e2%80%9d/#comments Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:31:55 +0000 Farmbot http://penderislandweb.com/farm/?p=612 Something amazing has just happened!  The concept of a “commons” has just been formally signed into law in British Columbia.

With the passage of Bylaw No. 258 by the Gabriola Island Local Trust Committee, a new category of land use was added to the Gabriola Official Community Plan (OCP), giving the definition of a “community commons” as -

“land or facilities or uses that serve community needs and provide the community with agricultural, environmental, recreational and social benefits, but excludes for-profit commercial enterprises.”

This definition reaffirms the vision of the Gabriola Commons: managed by a community for the benefit of community members, on land which belongs to a non-profit society existing solely to hold it in trust for that community.

(Technically the Land Act cannot recognize a community as legal owner; however, in the covenant that is currently being drafted, we propose a definition of the community as “beneficial owner”.)

Specifically added to the Gabriola OCP is a description of the agricultural and institutional principal uses supported on the Commons.

“The institutional uses permitted will include non-profit and not for profit enterprises that provide services of benefit to the residents of Gabriola Island. Educational uses also fall under the definition of “institutional” and it is intended that the Commons will be a place for learning about agriculture, food production and sustainability practices.”

Based on this first Bylaw the Local Trust Committee adopted Bylaw 259, creating a new zone: the Gabriola Commons (GC) Comprehensive Development Zone and defining the principal and accessory uses permitted (including such accessory uses as public assembly, food depot, office and storage and “commons accessory commercial”.)

With these bylaws the Commons have established an exciting precedent. As Gabriola Commons Foundation co-chair Bob Andrew said, “We’ve created a ‘Commons’ use in a community plan! There are other places in the Gulf Islands and throughout BC that are looking at that.”

Making historic change isn’t something many of us get to do, but several years of wrestling the vision into regulatory language with the dedicated Islands Trust planners and Trustees have finally permitted this to happen. Gabriolans can be proud of our one small step toward a new notion – a legal, de facto affirmation of the value of the “commons.”

Learn more at www.gabriolacommons.ca

Source: http://www.gabriolacommons.ca/pdf/officialcommons.pdf

In 2010, a five year, “good community process” came to fruition. Ownership of the Gabriola Community Commons was assumed in trust for the people of Gabriola by the Commons Foundation’s Board of Trustees. This was truly remarkable, since it is rare in Canada that “a community” owns land for its citizens to enjoy together. Initially a goat farm, the 26 acres were purchased by a non-profit society (AGES) in 2005 with significant personal loans of Shelagh Huston and Heide Brown. In only five years, not only had the amount of the mortgage been significantly decreased by donations, but a complex system of activities and management had evolved to assure the people of Gabriola and their visitors a place to work the land, play, learn, and be tranquil. This all using non-hierarchical decision making, volunteers, and input from a huge number of people with wide variety of skills and abilities.

On June 26, 2010, at the Annual General Meeting of the Commons, Judith Roux, representing the Board, accepted a token ‘key’ from AGES Foundation member Heide Brown, representing the transfer of the mortgage, assets and liabilities of the Commons from AGES to the Commons Foundation.

AGES, which stands for Amazing Grace Ecological Society, was the group, including Heide and Shelagh Huston, who took on the difficult task of purchasing and paying the mortgage on the Commons property until the Foundation could be formed and assume responsibility.

In accepting the ‘key,’ Judith said, “This could easily not be happening. 15 years ago on Gabriola, when the goat farm came up for sale, we said the community really needs this. We even had a hatching party to see if we could raise, what ended up being an insurmountable amount of money.

“Then a couple years ago, a friend called me to say, you’ll never guess, but a non-profit group has just purchased the goat farm, to make it in to a community commons.

“So from me, there is an undying gratitude, from the bottom of my heart, that such a dream which we all had believed in an had passion for and had to give up on, has come true.

“I’m grateful, on behalf of the Commons Board of Trustees, to receive the symbol of ownership of the Commons.”

Heide said, “We, on behalf of Amazing Grace Ecological Society, are overjoyed to see our dream come true. The Gabriola Commons becoming a reality.

“It was no small dream, more like a leap of faith.

Our wish for the commons isn’t small either. We hope that the Commons will be cared for, enjoyed and loved by the people of Gabriola forever. We’re grateful for the privilege of being part of this community.”

Today, the land and facilities are accessed by a huge number of Gabriolans, regardless of Commons membership status. People meet to talk, cook and eat, walk, cultivate a garden, dance, do yoga or be a Brownie. People work alone and with others. Activities are managed through a series of Teams, and inclusive decision making has worked. The feeling of the Commons is special, magical. And since June 2010, with enormous thanks to Heide, Shelagh, and AGES, after only 5 years of hard work and companionable cooperation, the Gabriola Commons property now legally belongs to the people of Gabriola, though the Gabriola Commons Foundation.

Learn more about the Gabriola Commons by visiting www.gabriolacommons.ca

Source: http://www.soundernews.com/fullstory/EkZZkkAAFuoGccUgOl.shtml,

http://www.soundernews.com/fullstory/EkZlFVVEVkOKTZBJyx.shtml

We were very fortunate to have Catherine Sherlock, Environmental Consultant and Farmland Project member extraordinaire, facilitate the workshop, keeping the discussion lively and on track.  The afternoon was filled with positive voices: visioning, brainstorming, debating and best of all, laughing. Thanks to wonderful bakers, tasty treats along with coffee and tea kept up the group’s spirit through the intense, but productive afternoon.

After a brief presentation on the importance of healthy – and happy – organizations, we began working on the vision. Catherine asked everyone to close their eyes and imagine the Farmland Project in 50 years. Working individually, in small groups, and then in a large group, participants brainstormed and discussed ideas, forming key words and phrases. Some of the  key ideas that were important to attendees included: Ecological, social and economical harmony, community owned and managed farmland, diverse, vibrant and inclusive, abundant food production, sharing knowledge and connecting with food, land and place. From these ideas, we worked up a draft vision, but then had to move onto working on the mission due to time constraints.

The workshop continued with Catherine guiding the group to brainstorm on “What” the Farmland project does and “How” it does it. More ideas were discussed, and a working mission statement was created, including the phrases:  To acquire, preserve, and manage farmland in order to secure land for farming use; to encourage community involvement in local and sustainable food production and consumption; to connect people to the land, and to increase the knowledge and practices of sustainable farming, creating more farmers and increasing food security on Pender Islands.

This workshop demonstrated the power of  many voices and ideas and brought essential community input into the direction of the Farmland Project. Participants left the workshop feeling encouraged and inspired, and more aligned as to the Farmland Project’s direction. Working in groups is not always easy; one participant commented, “The workshop was really good… a little painful, but good!”  “I felt that I was heard,” said another participant after the workshop, “I think everyone felt like they were heard.”

The next step will be for the Board to take the draft vision and mission and ensure all the important ideas have been included. The mission will become a working or living mission -  used regularly by the Society for strategic planning and operations. We will continue to explore other ways to receive community input and encourage everyone interested to get involved.  Only with your input can we be the best we can be!

Sunday, Feb 13 from 1 -4 pm

Location: upstairs in the Community Hall

Everyone Invited!

The Farmland Project is holding a Visioning workshop on Sunday Feb 13 from 1 – 4 pm. We will be revisiting our dream and design – and refining our vision and mission statements. The workshop will be held upstairs in the Community Hall. Expect snacks and drinks .

It is important that Members and any other interested individuals attend. Why? Because the Farmland Project Society is a community-centered project, representing and striving to fulfill the community’s values, goals and needs. Without your input, the Farmland Project won’t be the best it can be.

Get Involved!

Having input into the direction of the Farmland Project is as simple as attending our meetings!

Read our current Society purpose and vision here.

And here are some brief definitions of Vision and Mission:

Vision: Defines the desired or intended future state of an organization or enterprise in terms of its fundamental objective and/or strategic direction. Vision is a long term view, sometimes describing how the organization would like the world in which it operates to be.

Mission: Defines the fundamental purpose of an organization or an enterprise, succinctly describing why it exists and what it does to achieve its Vision.

It is sometimes used to set out a ‘picture’ of the organization in the future. A mission statement provides details of what is done and answers the question: “What do we do?”

For more info, call 250-629-3829 or email us.