Our Mission
The Farmland Trust is dedicated to preserving, promoting, and revitalizing local agriculture.
We do this by:
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Acquiring, restoring, and maintaining farmland with affordable rental rates
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Developing community gardens and the Island’s first commercial food hub
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Offering educational programs on food and farming to foster a sustainable, knowledgeable, and food-secure community
Our Vision
Our vision is to support and inspire a vibrant, thriving, and prosperous agricultural community on Salt Spring and as part of the Southern Gulf Islands, increasing the percentage of local food that is grown, purchased, and consumed for a more sustainable, equitable, food-secure future.
Our Story
The Farmland Trust (Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust Society) was established in 2009 and is a registered charity.
It functions with a working volunteer board.
The need for The Farmland Trust, along with The Root food hub, was identified in 2008’s Area Farm Plan, in response to a loss of agricultural production on Salt Spring and reliance on imported food. Much of the farmland previously in use was being lost, either to development or disrepair.
The Farmland Trust was established to receive ALR parcels (Agricultural Land Reserves) as gifts, donations and bequests, making this land available to reinvigorate local food production – be it small family garden plots or larger farm acreages.
The Farmland Trust’s primary areas of focus have been The Burgoyne Valley Community Farm and the Root Food Hub. The Community Farm is currently divided between four commercial farm acreages, one Community Services farm and 90 family garden plots, all of which FLT leases and manages at affordable rates. See our facilities page for more info...
The Root is the Island’s only community food hub, is fully operational and offers cold storage, washing stations, a seed bank, commercial kitchen, and a robust program of food and farming-related educational opportunities. In our project page you will see more detail and links to our current tenants.
The Farmland Trust is one of nine members of advisory committee The Agricultural Alliance.
Our Team
Meet our enthusiastic and experienced board members.
Jenn Leblanc, Director
Before returning to Canada in 2021 to be closer to family, Jenn ran a marketing agency in Silicon Valley serving multinational tech companies and startups. She has written two business books, Launching for Revenue and Changing Tides: Powerful Strategies for Female Founders and is now working on her first novel.
As a huge proponent of community resilience, Jenn is proud to be part of the Farmland Trust. She wants to ensure the island is food secure and that every islander knows their farmer. Jenn believes this is a critical step in community resilience.
As part of her commitment to local food security, Jenn is head of the Incredible Edibles group of the SSI Garden Club. She’s also a passionate home cook and loves to experiment with new ingredients and techniques, and focuses on local ingredients.
Jenn enjoys hiking throughout Salt Spring, gardening, cooking, traveling around BC, and swimming in our beautiful lakes and ocean shores every chance she gets.
Nicole Melanson, Co-Chair
Nicole has a B.A. in International Development and Sociology, as well as a certificate in Community Economic Development. She has been passionate about organic growing, food security, and food justice for nearly 20 years.
Nicole landed on Salt Spring in 2005 to work on a farm for the summer, and she ended up staying. Today, she lives on a hobby farm with her husband and two sons. She has worked for Salt Spring Coffee, Island Savings, and the WorkBC Employment Centre. Nicole served on the 2013 SSI Governance Study committee and has held several board/steering committee positions including Tree Frog Daycare, The Root, and the Transition Salt Spring Enterprise Co-op.
She currently works as a Housing First Case Management Worker with SSI Community Services.
Valerie Perkins, Director
Valerie credits her love for growing food to her grandmother and seeing the old Victory Garden post war in her native England. She has lived on Salt Spring Island since 1972 and grown gardens in many island locations. She presently operates Rainbow Road Farm Produce and Top ‘O’ the Hill Farmstand, doing what one person can to provide locally grown, healthy food.
In 1969 she quit college to travel the world. After three years and 36 countries, she finally settled on Salt Spring Island as the best place on earth -- a wonderful place to build a house and raise a family. She found employment with BC Ferries for 28 years which helped to support her love of the island and growing food.
Recognizing the high cost of land for entry level farmers, Valerie is pleased to be involved with Farmland Trust’s Burgoyne Valley Community Farm and inspired by the many gardeners who feed their families and the farmers who support our local food supply.
Daria Zovi, Secretary
Daria studied agriculture and environmental science in Italy and the Netherlands before moving to Canada where she obtained a BSC in Agriculture from UBC in 1997. She currently works as an organic farm & processor inspector throughout BC and is the owner of Quarry Farm on SSI which operates a 35 member CSA. Her Chorus Frog Farm brand concentrates on seedlings and starters for veggies, herbs,
and flowers.
Over the years she has worked on several different SSI farms, been head gardener at Hastings House
Hotel, and established the vineyard at what is now Kutatus Wines. Daria represents ING on the SSI
Agricultural Alliance and is the current secretary.
Jon Cooksey, Director
Jon divides his time between non-profit work and his on-going career as a writer/producer for TV, film and digital platforms. He first came to Salt Spring in 2010 for a screening of his comedic documentary about overshoot, called How to Boil a Frog, in which he acted as writer, director, producer and court jester. That led into activism on environmental and energy issues, and later into marrying his college sweetheart, Pam Tarr. Pam and Jon have since worked together as consultants on the political side, with the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, and later on projects that focused on carbon sequestration through regenerative agriculture, with the American Farmland Trust and the Carbon Underground.
After moving to Salt Spring in 2020, Pam and Jon ran the successful campaign to raise money for the new Community Park on Hwumet’utsum (Mt. Maxwell), which led Pam into her engagement work with Salt Spring Solutions, and Jon into joining the Board of the SSI Farmland Trust. He has a particular interest in using a systemic approach to build out Salt Spring’s food security in a time when multiple factors are making outside sources of food less reliable.
Tony Beck, Treasurer
Tony has been involved with good local food for as far back as he can remember. On Salt Spring he helped shepherd through the 2020 Area Farm Plan (Salt Spring’s strategic plan for agriculture) as chair of the Agricultural Alliance and also sat on the SSI Abattoir Board.
Prior to that he carried out action research on access to good local food for underserved BC populations, and for 12 years coordinated a network against the introduction of genetically engineered foods into BC which led to 20 municipalities across BC passing resolutions against GE crops. Salt Spring, through the work of the various food-based organizations now has the opportunity to build a more resilient, fair, and sustainable food system that can meet the challenges of global warming.
Tony spent five years researching ways in which natural resources support the livelihoods of very poor women in India, and the equity implications of the introduction of high yielding varieties of rice. Professionally he worked for 25 years for the United Nations focusing on poverty, gender and the environment.
Meet Our Program & Services Team
Andrea Palframan, Executive Director
Andrea is dedicated to helping agents of change - non-profits, community-based organizations, and local entrepreneurs - to restore the world's innate beauty.
A strategist, Masters-level researcher and network weaver, Andrea has worked with Indigenous Nations working to protect their lands for future generations with RAVEN (Respecting Aboriginal Values and Environmental Needs) and as a communications consultant for Disability rights organizers, grief coaches, permaculture village founders, Zen buddhist poets, myriad therapists, circus school headmistresses and radical researchers.
At Farmland Trust, she is fortunate to be working with a network of epic change makers whose dedication fills her with wild hope.
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Nick Jones & Polly Orr, Grow Local
Local producers and food justice advocates Nick Jones and Polly Orr co-lead the Grow Local initiative. Launched in 2022 by Salt Spring Agricultural Alliance, the duo worked to identify projects and relationships that develop and strengthen shorter supply chains for the food we eat and increase the viability of island businesses while also reducing our carbon footprint.
Specifically, they focus on project incubation, resource allocation, community building, and applied research within a growing network of organizations, businesses, entrepreneurs, families and neighbourhoods.
Indra Singh, Harvest Co-Ordinator
As the Harvest Coordinator with the Salt Spring Food Share program, Indra is passionate about building community through food sharing and ensuring that food that would otherwise go to waste is saved and shared with fellow islanders. She enjoys engaging with tree holders, volunteers, community members, and our community partners, all of whom contribute greatly to this program.
As a generally curious person, Indra has studied broadly in the biological sciences, creative writing and literature, environmental studies, and social justice fields. Her current area of study and research at York University focuses on how local organizations understand care as a means to create, shape, and transform relationships between community members and more-than-humans, and how these understandings might contribute to community flourishing.
Moe Wendt, Lead Gardener
Moe has been a gardener for 50 years. Originally from northern California, where he founded and operated an independent bookstore for 20 years, he moved to Salt Spring in 2006 with the express purpose of growing as much food as one man could, in an effort to increase food security should times become hard.
Since then, he has planted over 100 fruit, nut, and medicinal trees. Having studied permaculture and food forest design, he farms 5 acres on Salt Spring, emphasizing diversity of plantings, support for beneficial insects and wildlife, soil building, water management, and sharing abundance.
He volunteers his time at the Root, where he has designed and is aiding in the implementation of a food forest teaching and demonstration garden. He also volunteers with the Salt Spring Island Garden Club, where he serves as the Plant Sale Coordinator and the Vice President. Through the garden club, he teaches workshops on pruning and developing tree guilds.
Bayan Harvey, Community Farm Manager
Bayan Harvey’s agricultural journey began in Victoria, Canada, before moving to Norfolk, England, where he grew up on a sheep farm. His early experiences instilled a deep love for farming, which he further developed while studying at Writtle Agricultural College. After moving to Panama and marrying his South African wife, Bayan honed his skills in produce management across various countries, including Spain, South Africa, and Mozambique. His diverse experiences equipped him with a global perspective on agriculture and a practical approach to problem-solving.
In 2023, Bayan returned to Canada, seizing the opportunity to establish a hydroponic operation on Salt Spring Island. Focused on producing high-quality, pesticide-free lettuce, he is dedicated to enhancing the local food system and creating a sustainable, resilient farming community. With a commitment to innovation and sustainability, Bayan aims to contribute positively to the region's agricultural landscape by stewarding infrastructure and relationships at Burgoyne Valley Community Farm.
Shannon Farmer, Operations Manager
Shannon has worked closely with a myriad of organizations that have strengthened her passion for community and nature, and through her work seeks to support initiatives that create a better tomorrow for future generations.
When arriving to Salt Spring Island in 2021, Shannon worked on various farms before starting her own: it was this experience that led her to her work with the Farmland Trust.
In her role Shannon has helped create a vibrant community at the Root, while working closely with the Burgoyne Valley Community Farm team. Shannon also plays a large role in administering the Farmland Trust Learning Centre.
Roy Val Clery, Communications & Engagement
Roy is a community-focused professional with a passion for environmental sustainability, social change, and fostering local connections. Roy leads initiatives like website development, marketing, and partnership-building to support community-driven goals.
With a background spanning community work, digital marketing, design, and horticulture, Roy combines creativity, empathy, and practical skills to engage diverse groups and cultivate collaboration.
Outside of work, Roy enjoys songwriting, music production, and exploring the outdoors, often finding inspiration in nature and local culture.
Our Supporters & Funders
Thank you to all our sponsors, donors, and partners whose contributions to our mission have made such difference.
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Generous funding for our composting toilet at the BVCF
Our Partners
Our Values
Our values underscore all our decision-making and our relationships with stakeholders – from construction to policies, programs to operations, and the delivery of the Farmland offering.
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We engage in listening and learning -- with the community, each other, and the land.
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We conduct our efforts with integrity, transparency, and accountability.
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We RESPECT, RESTORE, and REVITALIZE land for farming and growing.
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We are financially and environmentally sustainable.
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We are exuberant, energized, and optimistic in our approach.
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We are passionate builders of connections, capacity, and community.
Our Promises
Accessibility
Providing access to land, equipment, tools, seeds, knowledge, markets.
Sustainability
For the environment, we need more sustainable models and farming techniques, less packaging, less mileage as we move forward.
Reconciliation
We support active and respectful reconciliation initiatives including land acknowledgement and forming partnerships, food systems, and knowledge systems with the Island’s Indigenous people.
Security
As an island, we can be vulnerable – pandemics, natural disasters, ferries, supply chains. Climate is impacting us all. The more we are able to grow for ourselves, the more we are prepared.
Profitability
We’re committed to make the economics of local farms more robust, empower them to produce at higher scales, and attract young, strong newcomers to enter the tough work of farming. For the future.
Collaboration
We are committed to embracing collaboration with other like-minded organizations and allies to share resources, information, and efforts to advance our collective food resilience goals for the community.
Our Reports
Reports 2024
Reports 2023
Reports 2020
Society Bylaws - Amended April, 2020
Reports 2019
Reports 2018