Engage with The District of North Saanich on the Official Community Plan (OCP)!

Visit the District of North Saanich to share your insights on Farming and Food Security in North Saanich. Drop-in to the Municipal Hall (1620 Mills Rd) any time from 5 - 8 PM on Thursday, April 11th and show your support for the Sandown Centre. Refreshments will be available, and District staff hope to discuss how to improve planning policies to support farming and the production of food in the District. We hope to see you at any or all of the first 4 scheduled engagement events taking place at the Municipal Hall from 5-8 PM on the following dates: 

• April 11 – Agriculture & Food Security 

• April 24 – Sustainability & Resiliency/Climate, Environment & Ecology  

• May 8 – Rural Character, Sense of Place, Housing & Affordability 

• May 14 – Marine & Waterways

How is the Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture building a more sustainable local food system in North Saanich?

1. We provide land access and mentorship to new entrant farmers, increasing the number of local farmers. 

2. We showcase how farming can be environmentally sustainable by growing food while restoring soil and the surrounding ecosystem. 

3. We are building awareness in the wider community, helping people to engage with local farming and learn how to support the local food economy. 

4. We are educating and empowering youth to connect with local food and healthy eating.

5. We provide a community garden to local residents. People who grow a some of their own food build connections between food and the environment, and are more likely to shop directly from farmers. 

6. We support the North Saanich farming community through knowledge transfer and extension services on ecologically sustainable, climate change resilient farming practices. 

7. The Circular Farm and Food Society (CFFS) wants to work with the District of North Saanich to develop a Community Food Hub on the Sandown lands. This will help address the identified infrastructure gap and increase the food processing and storage capacity of North Saanich and the Saanich Peninsula. 

Additionally: 

The CFFS maintains the full 83-acre Sandown site, which includes managing and reducing invasive species pressure, restoring habitat and biodiversity to the forest and seasonal wetland, building infrastructure to support farm operations and improving the agricultural capacity of the severely degraded land - through the hard work of the on-site farmers and through the Sandown Soil Lab. 

The OCP engagement is a critical time to shape the future of food systems in North Saanich. We hope you can make it to the event to share your support for the Sandown Centre!

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Upcoming opportunities to get involved at Sandown:

Join our Regenerative Gardener Program to learn from our expert regenerative farmer and take your growing skills to the next level. 

Register today!

Looking for a volunteer opportunity? Contact Matthew at stewardship@sandowncentre.com to register for our upcoming ivy pull on April 7th from 10am - 12pm at the Littlewood trailhead (up the road from the main Sandown entrance).

Until next time, stay tuned and thank you for your continued support!