YouTube – ‪Woman Facing 93 Days In Jail For Growing Organic Vegetable Garden! [...]]]> Everything about this story is bizarre: from a woman being criminalized for growing food in her front yard, to the comment at 2:02 from a man with women’s ankles, to the fact that this important urban agriculture story is appearing on Fox News.

YouTube – ‪Woman Facing 93 Days In Jail For Growing Organic Vegetable Garden! Police State In Action!‬‏.

If there is a looming food crunch, from peak oil or peak soil or climate change or whatever…who [...]]]> The District of Lantzville on Vancouver Island has a curious method of dealing with the food INsecurity that’s inherent with islands but particularly there: it’s lawyering up in a battle to stop a couple from farming organic food.

If there is a looming food crunch, from peak oil or peak soil or climate change or whatever…who are you going to turn to? Tinpot councillors? Their barking dog lawyers? Or your neighbourhood farmers?

Here’s what the local farmer, Dirk Becker, had to say in an email:

Dear supporters of sustainability, local food, food sustainability, and
food security.

Late Friday afternoon, we were served with a letter (posted below) by a
Law Firm from Victoria, informing us that the District of Lantzille,
City Council, is taking further legal action against us. We have been
fighting this fight since September of last year.

After eight months, we are feeling harassed and tired. Our hope is that
people use their networks of email, facebook, twitter, etc. to share
this situation widely. We also hope that people will take action
individually and in groups to bring reason to the situation. As many of
you know, we only grow less than 5% of our food on Vancouver Island,
thus over 95% is imported. Furthermore, there is only 2 days fresh food
supply in our grocery stores. As more people move here, and the
population increases, combined with natural disasters and global unrest,
food, water and climate change are the three big, global issues today.
It is becoming increasingly evident that the local food movement is the
most powerful tool we have to create a shift in our current culture.

We look forward to seeing how people respond to yet another attack on
those who are thinking about the future, our children’s future and doing
their best to create a world that we can all live in. Thank you in
advance for the action you will take.

Yours in service,

Dirk and Nicole

I can’t get the lawyer letter to reprint because of a WordPress glitch, but you can learn more about the farm and the law by googling one or more of the following: Dirk Becker, Lantzville, island food lunacy, wacky Lantville politicians.

Guerrilla gardens going mainstream.

The Tyee – Usufruct Is Not a Dirty Word.

Use a new word in three different sentences and it will become part of your vocabulary. Today’s lesson: usufruct. It means the right to use the fruits of another’s property provided one does no harm. It’s a noun, so it can be used in [...]]]>

The Tyee – Usufruct Is Not a Dirty Word.

Use a new word in three different sentences and it will become part of your vocabulary. Today’s lesson: usufruct. It means the right to use the fruits of another’s property provided one does no harm. It’s a noun, so it can be used in a sentence the same way you would use “property right.” Such as: “One having a usufruct in consumables owns them but not the land on which they grow.”

Chickens scary? Yes, according to the woman who will babysit your flock while you leave your home in L.A.

I’ll take bets on when we’ll get the first reality show dealing with the next logical development out of California to deal with psychologically underperforming birds: the Chicken Whisperer.

The latest indulgence for L.A. urban gardeners: the chicken [...]]]>

Chickens scary? Yes, according to the woman who will babysit your flock while you leave your home in L.A.

I’ll take bets on when we’ll get the first reality show dealing with the next logical development out of California to deal with psychologically underperforming birds: the Chicken Whisperer.

The latest indulgence for L.A. urban gardeners: the chicken sitter | L.A. at Home | Los Angeles Times.

Will Allen is in Vancouver rallying the urban agriculture troops.

Today it included a meeting at City Hall, where Mayor Gregor Robertson is a former organic farmer himself. Even though inspirational Dutch urban planner Jan Gehl was in City Hall speaking in another room at the same time about sustainable urban [...]]]>

Urban Agriculture Guru Will Allen

Will Allen is in Vancouver rallying the urban agriculture troops.

Today it included a meeting at City Hall, where Mayor Gregor Robertson is a former organic farmer himself. Even though inspirational Dutch urban planner Jan Gehl was in City Hall speaking in another room at the same time about sustainable urban design, guess which topic had the buzz? Will Allen’s room was packed with city councillors, senior city staff, Vancouver Food Policy Council members and others hanging on every word. Which included the following:

Right now there’s more excitement than action in urban agriculture. We need to get going with action.

We have hundreds of thousands of urban farms. We need millions.

It isn’t enough to talk about it. You need to have an actual project that you can show people, then they’ll get it.

Aesthetics are important. You don’t want ugly farms with weeds growing around the edges.

Look at the Growing Power example in Chicago’s Grant Park. We grow a mix of 159 kinds of vegetables, edible flowers, herbs and edible fruits. We’ve been there seven years, farming two acres of park that used to be run by the city’s landscape department. It looks so good some people don’t even understand it’s food growing there.

In urban agriculture every square foot is valuable. If you can make $5 per square foot, you’re making $200,000 per acre.

It isn’t easy growing professionally. It takes a lot of skill to know about things like multiple cropping. Training is important.

Sprouts are an easy way to get started. At Growing Power I grow 3,000 trays of sprouts every week.

The most important thing you need is passion.

You can never get too cocky and think you’ve got it made. I just had a talk with an 80-year-old farmer, and I asked him, Jake, how’s it going? He said, I’m just learning how to farm. You have to stay humble, and be willing to learn. It becomes a lifestyle.

You need to hire professional people who like what they’re doing. You can’t make money using interns and students. It’s an important principle to have everyone you hire make a living wage. Otherwise you won’t be able to keep them.

The most important connection is with your local community. You have to get them engaged. If they don’t want you there, you shouldn’t even start farming.

How can you explain to business people that urban farming is a viable business? It’s not a viable business at this point. We’re just at the infancy stage. You have to educate people. You can’t do it just by saying urban agriculture. You need to connect them with projects.

We’re at a prime time to make this work. The situation has never been better.

That’s the question being asked near Nanaimo and throughout British Columbia as a 2.5 acre organic farm has been given 90 days to shut down because…it’s a farm, when it’s supposed a yard. The area is zoned residential. But what do the words “farm” and “yard” really mean as we [...]]]>
Is it a yard or farm?

That’s the question being asked near Nanaimo and throughout British Columbia as a 2.5 acre organic farm has been given 90 days to shut down because…it’s a farm, when it’s supposed a yard. The area is zoned residential. But what do the words “farm” and “yard” really mean as we stride into a precarious food future?

A letter from farmer Dirk Becker:

Farmers Dear friends and supporters:

We have recently been instructed by the RDN, at the request of the District of Lantzville, to cease “all agricultural activity” on our 2.5 acre farm due to us being “residentially zoned”. This followed a letter in September telling us to “remove the piles of soil from the property” (which we worked out with the Bylaw Enforcement Officer and agreed to and moved the one pile in question within 48hrs).

Our goal is to have the bylaw updated to reflect the current awareness and future needs of our communities. Yes, we could apply for rezoning, however this would only help “us” not the many people who are urban farming or SPIN farming.

We are writing to you because this issue impacts all of us on Vancouver Island. Many of you are aware that only 5% of our food supply is grown on Vancouver Island, thus 95% is imported. It may shock you to know that there is only 2 days fresh food supply on Vancouver Island. That means, that any disruption in ferry service, trucking or problems at the US border (75% of BC’s food comes from California) would have a dramatic and immediate effect on our food supply.

To us, “urban farming” is much more than a growing “trend” throughout North America. It is the way of the future; and the future is now.

Each year:
- land prices increase, preventing new farmers – especially younger ones – from acquiring land.
- remaining farmable land (even including the Agricultural Land Reserve) is forever swallowed up by development, further reducing our ability to sustain ourselves and increasing our already extreme dependence on imported food.

In light of this, we strongly believe it is our responsibility as individuals and as a community to stop and reverse this trend of complete UNsustainability and at least work towards a model of self-reliance.

Our intention:
That together, we see this as an opportunity to “change the system”. Please understand that we do not want the focus to be “us”. When you read the attached letter we received from the RDN, keep in mind what they are saying means: ALL “urban farming” and SPIN farming is illegal! (Small Plot InteNsive – where young farmers use people’s city backyards to grow food for sale). This includes: honey, vegetables, meat, eggs, plants, flowers, fruit, nuts – you name it! Of course, this affects Urban and SPIN farmers at the Bowen Road Farmers’ Market as well as other farmers’ markets in Canada where municipal bylaws have not been updated to reflect support for sustainable, local food production.

We are asking:
That you contact the individuals whose information we have provided below beginning with Lantzville Council members (and anyone else you feel compelled to). We suggest that you approach this issue in the more general terms of local food and sustainability rather than what “the authorities” are doing – focussing it on our specific case merely limits the potential for us to work towards meaningful change in broader terms.

Please share whatever is important to you about this issue (links are posted below). In your letter, make sure you ask questions, especially if you want a response. If your children would like to write, that would be great.

It is likely that Lantzville council and the RDN will respond by telling you that we can apply for rezoning (which may or may not pass). This certainly does not help the SPIN farmers in downtown Nanaimo! Again, our goal is to have the existing bylaw changed for the benefit of our entire community
(much like what Victoria and other cities have done – http://postcarboncities.net/node/3686 )

Here is a brief background of our property, which lends some context to our current activities (before and after photos attached):

The previous owner, Billy Binns, used an excavator and dump truck to mine and scrape the land bare. He had a soil screener set up on the property, selling the soil, then sand, then gravel, which resulted in lowering the level of this property by about four feet. When we assumed ownership of this property, all that remained was gravel. There were no worms, no grasshoppers, no birds, no butterflies; essentially – no living creatures!

Since 1999, we have made a tremendous effort to heal the land, beginning slowly – one wheelbarrow at a time. It has been a gradual, organic process – from planting a few fruit trees and having a small growing area, to expanding with more hand-made soil using wood chips from local tree companies and a small amount of horse manure from local, Lantzville stables. Now we have 4 kinds of bees, several types of dragonflies, numerous types of butterflies, frogs, toads, snakes, and hundreds of birds and much more! We have dedicated our time to supporting hundreds of community members who have sought guidance on how to become more sustainable in their own lives; from educating people on how to support sustainable local initiatives, to teaching families how to grow their own food. Three years ago, we also started Nanaimo’s most successful farmers’ market, The Bowen Road Farmers’ Market at Beban Park.

Healthy, fresh food is the cornerstone of healthy families and communities. As time goes on, the importance of this issue will continue to grow. We hope that you feel the same way and we thank you in advance for your support.

Yours in service,
Dirk Becker and Nicole Shaw

PS: Please, if you would, “cc” us in your communication with authorities so we can keep track of the progress.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Topics and links related to these matters:

- Food security: The average meal has traveled 1,500 to 3,000 kms to get to our dinner tables, a model which is only affordable so long as the oil industry experiences no upset, whether resource, market, or technology-based.
- urban agriculture, http://postcarboncities.net/node/3686 ,
http://victoriavision.blogspot.com/2007/08/urban-farming-and-food-security.html ,

http://www.cityfarmer.info/category/urban-farm/

- transition towns, http://transitioncowichan.org/
- emergency preparedness
- ongoing increases in population
- sustainability

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contact info:

District of Lantzville Councilor’s phone numbers and email addresses:

http://www.lantzville.ca/cms.asp?wpID=465

Mayor Colin Haime said this email should also be used: council@lantzville.ca

Regional District of Nanaimo Board of Directors phone numbers, mailing and email addresses:

http://www.rdn.bc.ca/cms.asp?wpID=1886

Brian Brack, RDN Bylaw Enforcement Officer and
Lantzville Emergency Program Coordinator Alternate
250-390-250-390-6530
Email: bbrack@rdn.bc.ca

Twyla Graff, Chief Administrative Officer, District of Lantzville
Telephone: 250-390-4006, ext.116
Email: twyla@lantzville.ca

Chris Midgley, Manager of Energy and Sustainability
Regional District of Nanaimo
250 390 6568
email: cmidgley@rdn.bc.ca

Great news for urban farmers: The NFU is a critically important voice for farmers…and they’ve just decided that city growers ought to be part of the team.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE [...]]]>

Great news for urban farmers: The NFU is a critically important voice for farmers…and they’ve just decided that city growers ought to be part of the team.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday December 8th, 2010

NFU OPENS MEMBERSHIP TO URBAN FARMERS

Saskatoon, Sask – National Farmers Union (NFU) membership is now open to urban farmers, according to a resolution passed at the NFU’s 41st Annual Convention, held from December 2-4 in Saskatoon. The NFU constitution, states that, membership is open to any person that is engaged in farming in Canada.

Newly elected, NFU Youth Vice-President, Paul Slomp stated that “young and new farmers are supporting themselves and feeding their communities by producing fruits, vegetables, grains and some cases livestock on lands within city boundaries.” Paul, a livestock farmer from Eastern Ontario, went on to say, “These farmers tend to be well-educated and innovative in their efforts to reclaim unused acreage. The NFU is very inclusive and our members have diverse operations. It makes sense to include urban farmers in the organization. Membership in the NFU will give these farmers a forum to bring policy to all levels of government, and allow them to contribute both their expertise and their concerns to the betterment of all farm families.”

“These plots may be small but these skilled farmers use them quite extensively, returning from $5000 to $10,000/acre,” said NFU Women’s President, Joan Brady. Brady, who operates an intensive market garden on 3.5 acres in Huron County went on to say, “communities are increasingly concerned about planning for their food needs for the future. Food production in the cities will act as a buffer to the insecurity of a global food system, well beyond the control of the average Canadian.”

The NFU is a non-partisan, nation-wide democratic organization made up of thousands of farm families from across Canada who produce a wide variety of commodities, including grains, livestock, fruits and vegetables. The NFU was founded in 1969 and chartered in 1970 under a Special Act of Parliament. The mandate is to work for policies designed to:

1. raise net farm incomes from the marketplace;

2. promote a food system that is built on a foundation of financially-viable family farms which produce high-quality, healthy, safe food;

3. encourage environmentally-sensitive practices that will protect our precious soil, water and other natural resources; and

4. promote social and economic justice for food producers and all citizens.

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For more information, questions about NFU policies, or questions about membership, please contact:

Joan Brady, NFU Women’s President (519) 237-3139

Paul Slomp, NFU Youth Vice President (613) 230-0684

Kevin Wipf, NFU Executive Director (306) 652-9465

Why? What does it all mean? Is is nefarious? Is someone dumping turnips illegally? Are the producers trying to cut supply to drive up [...]]]>
I did not just fall off the turnip truck. But these turnips did. A whole whacking pile of them, silently reeking away at an obscure street end in Ladner outside Vancouver.

Why? What does it all mean? Is is nefarious? Is someone dumping turnips illegally? Are the producers trying to cut supply to drive up the price? And why don’t more people eat them in the first place? People, they’re turnips, they taste good. Kind of.