It’s still just an idea, not even out of its embryonic stage, says the director of sustainable agri-food systems at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
But maybe one day, Maple Ridge could be the second location for an agricultural school operated by Kwantlen.
The first, Richmond Farm School, is already doing well, says Kent Mullinix.
“Maple Ridge will be one of the key partners in the bio-region. We’re confident of that.”
The Metro Vancouver area is currently the focus of a Kwantlen study, in which Maple Ridge supported Kwantlen’s funding application to the Real Estate Foundation of B.C.
With funding secured, the university can now create and implement a bio-region agri-foods plan in the Lower Mainland.
Part of that plan will involve education and could involve the creation of a second farm school – ideally a working farm where students work and learn hands-on horticulture skills.
Richmond Farm School is now in its third year, a joint venture between Kwantlen, Richmond, the Richmond Fruit Tree Sharing Project and the Richmond Food Security Society.
Maple Ridge’s economic development manager Sandy Blue said a second school located in Maple Ridge, should be within easy access from a major road, maybe in Albion or off Golden Ears Way on the grounds of the former Pelton tree nursery.
Blue would like to see a partnership between Kwantlen and a farm such as Bakerview EcoDairy in Abbotsford, a small ecologically conscious demonstration farm on Sumas Way that’s been a big success.
Both senior governments “are pretty interested” in how B.C. is going to feed itself, she said.
Blue said such a project could be part of the B.C. Jobs Plan. Maple Ridge was the first pilot project of that provincewide initiative where industry and government identify projects that can easily kickstart local job production.
Mullinix said the goal is to move beyond the conceptual stage of food self-sufficiency.
“We believe there’s sufficient opportunity to build regional economies around agriculture. I know there is. And that will be our goal.”
Partnerships between Kwantlen and municipalities will be critical, he added.
He said there’s enough agricultural land in Maple Ridge to contribute to a bio-region plan for Metro Vancouver.
The hundreds of small agricultural plots that are now vacant will become useful when agriculture moves from a global model based on cheap fuel, into a more local-oriented food production system.
Such a system cuts out the middle man, farmers make money, consumers get food at a reasonable price and the millions of dollars from the food system stays in the community.
“This is absolutely huge.
“This is why everybody is playing for keeps. Everybody knows it’s huge. This is not a game. People spend more money on food annually than they do just about anything else, other than their homes and their cars.”
Maple Ridge could be an appropriate place for the second farm school, he added.
“Maple Ridge leadership seems to get it and they recognize I think … that sustainable agri-food systems in the 21st Century are going to be the concern of municipal governments and Maple Ridge is stepping up to the plate.”
Rising oil and food prices and the shift from a global economy and the desire to develop local economies are all driving the change in the food production system.
Mullinix delivered a similar message to Maple Ridge’s agricultural advisory committee last March.
