Linking emerging growers, farmers, and food producers with opportunities to grow.
We are committed to developing infrastructure and fostering relationships that build our long term food sustainability within a vibrant and healthy community.
Once upon a time Salt Spring Island was a breadbasket. Changing demographics over the decades dramatically shrank local food production, so that today Salt Spring farmers produce just 6% of the food we eat. The Salt Spring Farmland Trust is working to change that equation by fostering initiatives that support growers and landowners in cooperative partnerships for the good of the community as a whole.
Our Vision
The Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust is dedicated to promoting local food security so we can develop the kind of locally resilient, food secure community we know we can become. To get there, we know we need more farmers to grow more food so that everyone has access to local food year round. To accomplish this goal, we are helping to protect farmland for farming, building infrastructure for food storage and processing, and are actively working to bring more of Salt Spring’s rich, arable farmland into food production.
Between 2005 and 2011, Salt Spring Island has seen a 30% increase in production of vegetables. This is a trend we at the Salt Spring Farmland Trust want to see continue. Since 2013, the Farmland Trust has brought 60 acres of farmland into new and increased production. We are excited to be working with farmers, family growers and community service groups to develop local resilience and a strong farming economy on Salt Spring Island.
Who We Are
Research to establish The Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust Society was started in 2008. It was incorporated as a Society in 2009 and received charitable status under the Income Tax Act in 2011.
Our constitution was created to facilitate a diversity of strategies such as the purchase and leasing of farmland, education and training, sustainable farming practices and to enhance the island’s capabilities. The Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust Society believes that the values we hold and the work we will do will serve this greater community as well.
The purposes of this Society are exclusively charitable and are:
- To promote agriculture on Salt Spring Island by acquiring, managing and leasing land for farming.
- To educate farmers and the public on the benefits and practices of locally produced agriculture.
- To develop and maintain community gardens on Salt Spring Island for the benefit of the community.
What We Do
Our goals are consistent with the existing agricultural zoning regulations, the Salt Spring Island Area Farm Plan and the Official Community Plan. The Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust offers a model that islanders, the surrounding Gulf Islands and the Province can feel proud to support.
We are actively building The Root. The site is on Beddis Road. It will provide quality controlled storage for local farm produce, a fully-equipped processing kitchen for new value-added products and a point of distribution for large quantities of local food year-round. This facility is the first of its kind in the region and will be a model for small and medium-sized communities across the province. Check out its many important features (pdf).
We also operate the Burgoyne Valley Community Farm, a 60 acre parcel of land in the Burgoyne Valley that is rented to farmers to produce chickens, eggs, garlic, and market vegetables. Learn more here.
For smaller scale production and family gardens, we run the Shaw Family Community Gardens, also in the Burgoyne Valley. We lease 96 (20 x 50 ft ) family garden plots for $40.00 per year. Learn more about this project here.
Whether you are a farmer looking for more land on which to produce food, a family needing space in a community garden, or a landowner looking to lease your land for food production, the Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust can help you get started.
Our partners at Salt Spring Island Community Services have been very busy at our Burgoyne Valley Community Farm.
This great video shows the power of community partnerships in fostering food security — and healthy families — on our island.
For Growers
Do you have a passion for farming?
Is land too expensive for you to buy?
Are you interested in pastureland, garden acreage, orchards or livestock buildings?
To find out how to access acreage at the Burgoyne Valley Community Farm, click here.
To find out how to get a space in the Shaw Family Community Gardens, click here.
To learn more about Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust farmland leasing options, click here.
Recent News
Foraging and Feasting for the Root on tap in October
October is the month to get informed about local food. As part of Local Food Month, the Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust is bringing Bill Jones, a chef and author based on Deerholme Farm in the Cowichan Valley, to host a special local food event on October 15th. Bill...
SSI Farmland Trust breaks ground for The Root and launches fundraising campaign
Salt Spring Island, July 12, 2018 – This week the Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust begins construction of the new local food centre The Root at 189 Beddis Road, and officially kicks off The Root community fundraising campaign. “If you love eating produce and foods...
Bee Tour at Burgoyne Valley Community Farm – presented by SSI Farmland Trust
WHAT: A bee farm tour - see bees in their different life stages, have a close-up look into a beehive and possibly a peek into her majesties’ chambers. Find out about the honey bee’s life cycle and the mysterious inner workings of the hive. Taste some local honey! WHO:...
Host a Gathering Place Dinner and raise funds for The Root
Get involved by hosting and sharing dinner with friends and raise funds for The Root, a new community facility for local food storage, processing, and education. This dinner idea is inspired by Graham Kerr’s Gathering Place cook book and his dinner on Salt Spring last...
Help Build The Root
Be part of building a Salt Spring Island institution! Do you love eating produce and foods from Salt Spring Island and would like to see even more available all year long? Do you care about making the island more food self-sufficient, so we can reduce greenhouse gas...
Sun Shelter a Welcome Addition to Burgoyne Valley Community Farm
The Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust is pleased to announce that construction of our Sun Shelter at the Burgoyne Valley Community Farm is now complete and will be ready for the 2018 farming season. The Sun Shelter is a 14ft x 24ft covered space, open on all sides....
Adam Olsen honours Farmland Trust in legislature speech
https://youtu.be/9pir3f2ysEk We are honoured and excited that Adam Olsen MLA made a statement in the legislature about the importance of the SSI Farmland Trust. View his speech here!
The Farmland Trust & SSI Seed Sanctuary collaborate on new community resource
Seed storage at the ROOT’s seed bank, a place to optimally store seeds, is underway and seeds have already been placed in storage. This coming spring, Seed Sanctuary members will be able to choose varieties to grow out and multiply. Then they will return a proportion...
The Root’s Seed Sanctuary at Seedy Saturday, Feb 10
Join us on Saturday, February 10th at the Farmer’s Institute from 10:30am-11:30am for a presentation by Dan Jason on how the Seed Sanctuary at the ROOT will work, and how you can become a “seedperson”. Seed saving is easy, and rewarding in so many ways. Even a little...
Farmland Trust receives $35k grant from Victoria Foundation
“The Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust is very grateful to the Victoria Foundation for this grant and their continued commitment to Food Sustainability in the capital region,” noted Patricia Reichert from Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust Society. “It is so important...