Upcoming Events

We have a busy next few weeks here at Sandown! Starting THIS week with our weekly Farmers Market today and Flavour Trails on Saturday. Share with friends and family - we would LOVE to see our community showing up!

DATE	EVENT	Location	MORE INFO
Wednesday, August 20th 4pm - 7pm	Co-Op style Farmers Market	Sandown Centre, 1810 Glamorgan Rd	Click here
Saturday, August 23rd 9am - 3pm	North Saanich Flavour Trails	Sandown Centre, 1810 Glamorgan Rd	Click here
Sunday, August 24th 1pm - 4pm	Feast of Fields with FarmFolk CityFolk	Heritage Acres, 7321 Lochside Dr	Click here
Tuesday, September 9th 5pm - 7pm	Integrated Pest Management Workshop	Sandown Centre, 1810 Glamorgan Rd	Click here
Monday, September 22nd 4:30pm - 7pm	Seed Systems & Strategies Workshop	Sandown Centre, 1810 Glamorgan Rd	Click here

farmers market

Today from 4pm - 7pm! We will have fresh plums, radishes, turnips, potatoes, tomatoes (heirloom and mixed cherry), cucumbers, collards, carrots, beans, garlic and more from Headwind Farm, Sandown Farm, and Testbed Farm. There will also be lamb from Country Wools.

Flavour Trails

Flavour Trails is THIS Saturday! Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture is the Trail Hub for the event from 9am - 3pm. Come down to engage in regenerative agriculture with us!

We will have activities from farm tours, flower and vegetable U-Pick, our Co-Op style market, zucchini racing, and games. This a family-friendly event, with activities for both kids and adults!

You can read more about the event this weekend on the Flavour Trails website.

Feast of Fields

Feast of Fields put on by FarmFolk CityFolk is this Sunday from 1pm - 4pm. This is a harvest festival that highlights the connections between farmers and chefs, field and table, and farm folks and city folks. You can learn more and buy tickets on their website here.

Sandown will have some fresh produce and a booth set up where you can learn about all of our community events!

Upcoming Workshops

Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture has two upcoming workshops this September for entrant farmers! They are part of a hands-on workshop series to provide farmers in the region with practical applications of regenerative agriculture. The series aims to increase farmer knowledge and skill around how and why to incorporate regenerative agricultural practices into their current farming methods.

September 9th, 5:00 - 7:00pm: Integrated Pest Management Workshop

Learn how to identify different pests and beneficial insects, understand where to look and when, and distinguish between pest, disease, and environmental damage. This includes covering effective scouting techniques, providing handouts, and discussing management tools to help you protect your crops.

Read more and register here.

September 22nd, 4:30 - 7:00pm: Seed Systems & Strategies Workshop

Learn how to store, clean, and process seeds using a mobile seed trailer, and explore the business potential of growing and selling regionally adapted seeds. The workshop will include identifying hybrid, heirloom and open-pollinating seeds, practicing techniques for saving and storing seeds, and operating seed cleaning equipment.

Read more and register here.

Save the date for the third workshop in this series, a workshop on Soil Management Essentials. This workshop will take place on October 6th, with more details to come.

How does sandown Benefit North saanich?

Here are some of the ways Sandown engages with the land and community in North Saanich!

1. We activate previously unused land

Sandown used to be a horse racing track, and now 12 acres are being used for production of annual and perennial crops, as well as 20 acres that are being used for sheep.

2. Our community gardeners are North Saanich residents

24% are from North Saanich, 67% are from Sidney, 3% are from Sooke, 3% are from Saanich, and 3% are from Central Saanich.

3. We participate in North Saanich Flavour Trails

Hundreds of community members come on-site for farm tours and to engage in agriculture.

4. Our farmers sell at the North Saanich Farm Market and on-site at our new Co-Op style Farmers Market

North Saanich Farm Market takes place weekly on Saturday, from 9:30am-12pm, and our Sandown market takes place weekly on Wednesday, from 4pm-7pm.

5. We engage youth from North Saanich school

We do regular on-site field trips in food literacy with Deep Cove, Kelset, and In the Garden Childcare, in regular on-site field trips in food literacy.

6. We welcome all members of the public

We invite members on-site for events, tours, and workshops.

Check out our most recent Instagram post by clicking here.

Farmer Feature - Ella with fond floral

Ella is one of Sandown’s farmers and runs Fond Floral, a pollinator-friendly, regenerative flower farm dedicated to revitalizing the land and nurturing healthy soils.

Fond Floral is a farm-to-table process, where Ella is involved from the very beginning of planting seeds to arranging beautiful bouquets.

This is Ella’s third season here at Sandown, and she beautifully embodies Sandown’s values of regenerative agriculture and restoration.

Watch her Farmer Feature video by clicking here to see our Instagram!