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| 5630 Dunbar St. at 41st Ave. 604-684-4613 |
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Things to do in the Neighbourhood - Visit UBC Farm, now in danger |
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There is a farm on the UBC campus. It is the only working farm left in the city of Vancouver. Surrounded by thick forest it can't be seen from the outside, in fact it doesn't even appear on some campus maps. And it seems that "out of sight is out of mind," as in 1997, UBC’s Official Community Plan was approved. In an effort to reduce commuter traffic flows, it called for a doubling of the campus’s current residential population through the provision of more residential housing. In order to meet these housing recommendations, the last remaining on-campus working landscapes - the vestiges of our agricultural heritage in the South and Mid Campus areas, were identified for development. |
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| Already, the land adjacent to the farm is undergoing a major development called Wesbrook Village, part of the plan for Wesbrook Place, the largest neighbourhood of University Town, a sustainable community with both rental and market housing, a commercial area, community centre, school, playing fields, parks and public open space.
Up to 1,989 new residential units are projected to be built, of which 199 units will be rental housing, 1, 790 units will be market housing, and 796 units will be ground oriented and family-oriented. The map of Wesbrook Place shows the farm completely built over by housing. |
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| Prompted by this threat of development, the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences has become a leading participant in the development public planning process. Students, faculty, staff and community members have come together to develop and promote a vision for agriculture at UBC that is informed by the principles of sustainability and considers and better integrates instruction, learning, research, and community-building. | ||
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| The Farm is a wonderful place, divided into at least 10 different areas that focus on specialty plantings, an apiary and a free-range chicken farm. The UBC Farm is located on a 24-hectare (59 acre) site with 10 hectares (24.7 acres) of cultivatable land.
There are numbered signposts to lead you on a walking tour and each plot is well signed to explain its purpose. The tour can be done in about an hour, but there are sweeping vistas at every turn and I came across a young family simply enjoying lying on the grass, soaking up the sunshine. |
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| One of the most interesting areas is the Maya in Exile Garden. The goal of the Project is to support the Mayan community's agricultural, educational, community outreach, spiritual, and cultural activities. The focus of the garden is education and outreach, for the Mayan community and for UBC faculty and students and the general public.
In this garden, traditional Mayan methods of planting are carried out by Mayan descendants themselves. A hole is dug and a dead fish is placed in as fertilizer. Seed corn, beans and squash are planted. The corn grows up to support the bean vines and the squash provides shade at ground level to prevent weeds. |
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| The Land, Food and Community Garden is the main teaching and education area at the UBC Farm. The teaching and demonstration plots are a central destination for school tours, student projects, and drop-in visitors. The LFC garden is used weekly (at least once) by school tours of 10-60 children as well as teachers, parents and community volunteers.
So this whole concept of turning the Farm into housing makes no sense to me. The Farm has matured over the over 30 years in its current location, as only an organic farm doing its own composting can do. If I was planning to move into Wesbrook Place, I'd want the Farm to stay as a unique part of the neighbourhood. Housing can be built anywhere else, leave the Farm where it is. See a complete photo tour of the Farm. Read more at the Farm's web site. Sign a petition at the Friends of the Farm web site. Nature Vancouver (formerly Vancouver Natural History Society) is also working to preserve the Farm. Read more and get involved at their web site. See: |
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| Other Things to do in the Neighbourhood Newsletters: | ||
Newsletter #147 Newsletter #148 Newsletter #149 Newsletter #150 Newsletter #151 Newsletter #152 Newsletter #153 Newsletter #166 Newsletter #169 Newsletter #173 Newsletter #174 Newsletter # 180 Newsletter #182 Newsletter #196 |
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5630 Dunbar St. at 41st Ave. Phone: 604-684-4613 Fax: 604-266-4515 e-mail: collect@direct.ca |
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