Gardening in an urban setting
Last year, City Farm School offered a five-day workshop introducing participants to the basics of urban agriculture. But this crash course left many students wanting more, leading the school to create an eight-month internship program offering students an in-depth approach to city gardening.
“What we learned from last year’s project is that students really want continual training throughout the whole growing season. That’s why we introduced the longer program, so students can take part in the whole process, from March to October,” says Jackie Martin, co-coordinator of City Farm School. The school was created in 2011 by a working group from Sustainable Concordia.
In March, students in the program planted seedlings in the greenhouse on Concordia’s downtown campus. The second part of the course is more practical. As the weather gets warmer, and the growing season begins, students begin working in urban gardens around the city where they must complete a number of internship hours each week. While some work on campus, others work in community container or rooftop gardens around the city.
The theory is taught in full-day workshops hosted by guest lecturers from the community, which are held at the school every other Saturday. This week, City Farm School students welcomed guest speaker Jonah Newmark, a local permaculturalist (permaculture is the practice of producing food without depleting natural resources). In the morning, students were taught skills they later applied in the afternoon. This week’s topic was horticulture planning.
“Students learned about the process of designing a garden,” says Martin. “Our speaker taught us how to minimize resource use, take advantage of the landscape, limit the amount of waste and energy put into it, while making sure that we achieve our goals.”
Concordia’s City Farm School is open to all members of the community. While some of them are Concordia students, many of them, like Heike Kalesse, are full-time professionals with a keen interest in urban agriculture.
“I came here two years ago from Germany,” says Kalesse. “I knew that Montreal would be a huge city but I didn’t expect lots of parks and green space. I was really happy to see that there were a lot community gardens. I started gardening in a collective garden in NDG last year but I didn’t know what I was doing, which is why I joined this great program.”
Martin found that Kalesse was not alone in this situation. “We found that there were a lot of people who were interested in doing urban agriculture but who didn’t feel confident or have the skills,” says Martin. “So our goal here is to give people those skills with the hope that they will then go out into the community and hopefully train others.”
The cost for the eight-month course is $300, which covers the fee for guest lecturers. The City Farm School received grants from the Concordia Council on Student Life, the Sustainability Action Fund and the President's Strategic Fund to cover other costs.
Related links:
• Concordia City Farm site
• Sustainable Concordia site (includes more on Concordia's greenhouse)