Guelph, Canada
September 5, 2008
The University of Guelph today officially opened the Guelph
Centre for Urban Organic Farming, where students of all ages
will learn about local organic food production and resource
conservation.
"It's all about preparing younger generations for a different
kind of future," said president Alastair Summerlee during a
grand opening celebration attended by, among others, Guelph
mayor Karen Farbridge and Robert Gordon, the new dean of the
Ontario Agricultural College.
"This innovative centre will provide practical experiential
learning opportunities for our students, which, in the long run,
will help bring about changes and improvements to our food
system," Summerlee said.
Located on one hectare at the northwest corner of the Arboretum,
the farm will also serve as a community networking centre.
Already, three non-governmental agencies — the Canadian Organic
Growers, the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario and
FarmStart — have been involved in both the planning and initial
planting.
The knowledge students gain will be both practical and useful,
said Prof. Ann Clark of the Department of Plant Agriculture, who
helped create the centre. "We are not simply operating a market
garden but also preparing society for greater self-sufficiency
in healthy and nutritious food, with less dependence on fossil
fuel energy and scarce water resources."
The centre will be co-ordinated by Martha Gay Scroggins, a
commercial organic market gardener. She will oversee teaching
and practical learning opportunities as part of U of G's major
in organic agriculture.
The organic major was introduced by a team led by Clark and
Prof. Paul Voroney of the Department of Land Resource Science in
2002. It was the first program of its kind in North America.
It's still the only such academic organic major offered in
Canada.
Students and professors in other U of G programs can also tie
the organic farming centre into various courses, Clark said. For
example, students might monitor trends in vitamin content in
produce, determine food pathogen risks on fresh vegetables,
study the economics of market gardening, or look at ways to
improve soil and water use efficiency.
In the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, students
working with chef Simon Day will use produce to prepare meals.
Joan Knox, the chef at the University's Child Care and Learning
Centre, also plans to integrate food from the garden into meal
planning.
Children from the Child Care and Learning Centre have already
visited the organic farm, which is located near their building,
and eaten vegetables harvested from their own parallel garden.
"Hopefully, we will be growing not only produce but also future
organic gardeners and growers," Clark said. |
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