Terry Panda visits the UBC Farm

Embarking on my first video blog project this year, I asked the very kind people at the UBC Farm if they would be interested in telling us about some of the fantastic work they’re doing. Andrew Rushmere, both caretaker and Field Academic Coordinator, was happy to oblige.

The Farm’s mission is “to enable UBC to be a global leader in the creation of new patterns for sustainable and healthy communities integrated with their surrounding ecology, through exemplary, academically rigorous research, through transformative learning, through innovative cross-faculty and interdisciplinary collaboration, through socially responsible community engagement, and through international dialogue and knowledge-dissemination.”

Quite the important project, both for UBC and its students, don’t you think?

In the video, Andrew tells us about the incredible success that the Aboriginal Community Garden and smokehouse brings to the farm due to the hard work of the participating community members. We also take a look at the diverse range of crops grown on the farm, and provide some very helpful information for students looking to get involved.

Having only participated in the farm as a consumer (Saturday markets 9am-1pm through to late October!) I was overwhelmed at the contributions that the UBC Farm makes not only to the UBC community, but to Vancouver as a whole. The work they’re doing is not only valuable to students who participate, but it resonates with UBC’s principles of community and aboriginal engagement, not to mention our focus on sustainability.

If you’re looking to get involved, do some research, volunteer, or donate (as two-thirds of the Farm’s operating budget comes from grants and donations) there’s some important information below. Enjoy the video!

Field Academic Coordinator                                                                                                                                                             Andrew Rushmere, ubcfarm.learning@gmail.com

Urban Aboriginal Community Kitchen Garden Project coordinator Mary Holmes, maryeholmes@gmail.com, 604-729-1659

UBC Farm Volunteer Coordinator Gemma McNeill, ubcfarm.volunteer@gmail.com, 604-822-5092

Donations Marcia Thomson, marcia.thomson@ubc.ca, 604-822-0623 or Mark Bomford mark.bomford@ubc.ca

UBC Farm Website