What's new at Sandown? Check out what we've been up to this month!
Join us for the Flavour Trails community celebration and support your local farmers on August 19th and August 20th!
We were featured on CHEK news Rising Economy series! Check out the video below:
"When it comes to growing food, our most precious resource is soil. But according to a 2022 RBC report, more than half the world’s upper levels of topsoil — where 95 per cent of our food is grown — have disappeared in the last 150 years due to modern, intensive farming practices.
Restoring the health of our soil is critical to our food supply, our economy, and mitigating climate change because healthy soil stores carbon. A small but very important part of the movement to save our soil is happening in North Saanich at the Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture. On the site of the former Sandown Racetrack, farmers, scientists and volunteers are focused on reviving the soil and fostering a new generation of regenerative farmers."
We had over 50 soil enthusiasts come to Sandown Centre on July 16th to learn about biologically active soil from scientists Charlotte (Pacific Forestry Centre), Brooke (UVic Ecogastronomy Lab), and Matthew (UVic PhD student), who have been conducting research on site! We discovered nematodes under a microscope, interacted with different soil aggregates, and toured Matthew's research plot!
Were you at Soil Sunday?
- yes
- no
Volunteer day: Join us this Sunday, July 30th in the cool forest to clear the forest from invasive English ivy. We hope to see you there! RSVP to info@sandowncentre.com so we know how many snacks to bring. All are welcome!
Photos from the field
We are looking for volunteers for Flavour Trails!
Interested in helping out?
Send us an email at info@sandowncentre.com
Check out this French CBC article about the culinary component of the Franco-Canadian Games of the North and West (JFCNO) at Frozen Coast Farm.
"My experience at the farm was fantastic. Seeing how the food we eat grows makes you feel good to see people picking it with their hands," - Haly Wolensky, a participant from Saskatchewan.
"The carrots from the farm are fresher, sweeter, and crunchier than the ones from the store," - Martine Lune-Roy, a participant from British Columbia.
Exciting News! Stay tuned for an integrated farm stand, community garden gate, and signage coming later this year. We are thankful for the generous contribution from DeeBees as well as the designs from ReWood. More info to come soon!
Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture
www.sandowncentre.com
info@sandowncentre.com
The Sandown Centre is located on the traditional lands of the SENĆOŦEN speaking W̱SĺḴEM (Tseycum) peoples of the W̱SÁNEĆ First Nations. We respectfully acknowledge how colonialism disrupted ties between Indigenous peoples' and their traditional food ways and seek to reconcile this through thoughtful, collaborative, and inclusive land care. We are grateful for the Tseycum peoples’ careful stewardship of these lands and waters since time immemorial and to this day.