Salt Spring Island Land Linking Workshop

GOT LAND? WANT LAND? Are you a landholder looking for farmers? Are you a farmer looking for land? We want you!

Co-hosted with the Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust

Join us for a workshop on the nuts and bolts of land access. Young Agrarians Land Linking Workshops bring together landholders and farmers seeking land to network, explore possible land matches, and learn how to navigate land sharing and lease agreements.

Our Vancouver Island Land Matcher, Kiyomi Ito will be there to talk about how the B.C. Land Matching Program supports land seekers and landholders, and share key questions to ask, legal considerations, and building and maintaining stable land agreements that are mutually beneficial. Members of the Farmland Trust will be there to talk about the land access context on Salt Spring Island.

Date: Sunday, September 17, 2023 Time: Land Linking Workshop 1-3pm  |  Food Share Potluck 3-5pm 

Hosted on traditional W̱SÁNEĆ and Hul’quimi’num Territories at  The Root, 189 Beddis Rd, Salt Spring Island, BC 

REGISTER: Please RSVP on Eventbrite. 

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/salt-spring-island-land-linking-workshop-tickets-707905543537?aff=oddtdtcreator

We encourage all landholders to join us, whether you’ve just started thinking about the possibility of making land available to lease, or you’ve already put a ton of thought into your vision for your land. Farmers and farmers-to-be of all types are welcome, whether you grow veggies, raise animals (or bees!), or have some other farming project in mind.

We can’t wait to land link with folks from across Salt Spring Island. We hope you’ll make the trip to spend the day meeting farmers, landholders, and potentially sparking connections that will lead to matches, leases, and so much more in the future.

About Food Share Potluck: Following the Land Linking Workshop, from 3-5pm join us for a local Food Share potluck. Bring what you have, and take what you need! Bring prepared food, extras from the garden, eggs, seeds, or soil amendments to trade and go home with something new! If you bring a prepared dish, please include a little card with ingredients if you can for folks with food sensitivities.

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Poster photo credit: Piet Suess

Questions about this event, or about the B.C. Land Matching Program? Reach out to our Vancouver Island Land Matcher, Kiyomi at: kiyomi@youngagrarians.org.

ABOUT SALT SPRING ISLAND FARMLAND TRUST

The Farmland Trust (FLT - Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust Society) was established in 2009 and is a registered charity. It functions with a working volunteer board, with all-new members being inducted in June, 2021. The need for The FLT, 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 bequeathments, making this land available to reinvigorate local food production – be it small family garden plots or larger farm acreages. Under its umbrella, The Farmland Trust’s primary function has been The Burgoyne Valley Community Farm which is currently divided among four commercial farm acreages, one Community Services farm, and 90 family garden plots, all of which FLT leases and manages at affordable rates.

The Root is the Island’s only food hub and looks forward to opening its doors late 2022. The Root will benefit farmers and food producers, as well as family gardeners and the general public by offering cold storage, washing stations, a seed bank, commercial kitchen, and a robust program of food and farming-related educational opportunities.

Check out the Farmland Trust online:

Facebook: facebook.com/ssifarmlandtrust

Instagram: @ssifarmlandtrust

Website: ssifarmlandtrust.org

Stay in Touch

• Join our Young Agrarians Vancouver Island Facebook Group to stay up to date with all events in the region
• Sign up for our e-newsletter to get events and opportunities for your region delivered straight to your inbox
• We welcome cancellations at any time – you can do so through Eventbrite, through the link in your registration confirmation email, or by contacting bclmp@youngagrarians.org. Please let us know if you aren’t able to attend.

UPCOMING VANCOUVER ISLAND EVENTS

Not able to join us for this event? Fear not! Save the date:

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2023

LAND LINKING WORKSHOP – COWICHAN

If you are interested in hosting an event at your farm and bringing together the farming community in your area, please reach out to bclmp@youngagrarians.org with your idea!

GOT LAND? WANT LAND?

Through the B.C. Land Matching Program, Young Agrarians offers support to farmers looking for land for their farm business, and landholders looking for farmers to farm their land. We’ve made more than 284 matches on over 11,300 acres to date! The Vancouver Island B.C. Land Matcher will be attending the event to answer any questions the B.C. Land Matching Program, and our Co-op Coordinator, Emi Do, will be available to talk all things cooperative. For those unable to join us, you can send a message to kiyomi@youngagrarians.org for more information.

The B.C. Land Matching Program is funded on Vancouver Island by the Province of British Columbia, with support from Cowichan Valley Regional District and the Real Estate Foundation of BC.

The B.C. Land Matching Program is funded on Vancouver Island & the Gulf Islands by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative, with additional support from Cowichan Valley Regional District and the Real Estate Foundation of BC.

First West Foundation is proud to provide grants through the Island Savings Community Endowment.