With Episode 5 comes an in depth conversation between two (previous) co-farmers and friends on how to find security in a precarious system.

This episode is part of a larger conversation of imagining a relationship to land that is beyond our colonial understanding. We intend to continue the conversation after this series is released, and we encourage you to reach out to producer Maddie Marmor if you have ideas on how to do so.

LINKS

• Cedar Down Farm / IG: @cedardown2
• youngagrarians.org / E-News: Sign Up / FB YoungAgrarians / IG @youngagrarians / Flickr: youngagrarians

Within the Canadian context, ‘public’ lands refers to lands a government has first jurisdiction over – like a park, or ‘crown land’. In this understanding, the ‘people’ of that nation are the first (human) stakeholders who should be considered when making decisions on that land. S&G wanted to find those very few public land scenarios in Canada where food growing was the main consideration, and to hear from those who are farming there – the perks, the oversight, what was possible and what still needs dreaming up.

There is so much potential here – from hydro corridors, to park land, to those strips of grass between ‘private’ property and public infrastructure that a government oversees, where we could be growing food, closer to home, with more hands involved.

We were excited about this one, and we hope you are too!

LINKS

• Beat Box Farm / IG: @beatbox_coop
• County Left Farm / IG: @countyleftfarm
• Rouge National Urban Park
• Parks Canada | Rouge National Urban Park Leasing
• National Capital Commission
• National Capital Commission Farm Rentals

There are so many stories out there of how people come to farming – whether it’s first generation, or intergenerational. The fascinating yet frustrating thing is these stories are almost all different. There doesn’t seem to be a simple, tried and true path to farming. Frustrating too, because the tips and strategies of the ‘how’ are hard to hear and tease out. The crew tries to do just that, focusing on finding the high-level nuances of those strategies, while attempting to build a list of tips for those stuck in the complexity of doing something that feels hard on a good day.

A special thank you to the many, many farmers and farm workers who sat down to share their stories with us. One of the hardest choices of the season was choosing which made it into the show. Thank you again, and to those reading, listen to your farmers – their stories are ones of perseverance, strength and resilience, and certainly sources of great hope.

LINKS

• Tackling Transitions: Informing a New Food Systems Planning Strategy for Ontario / IG @farmerclairesfoodfun
• Crocus Hill Garden / IG: @crucushillgarden
• Wildwood Farm

IG: @chigarden2015 / FB: Chi Garden