New Neighbourhood Farmer Training Launches on Salt Spring Island

Immersive, community-based program prepares new farmers with land access and mentorship

Salt Spring Island, BC 

A new full-time Neighbourhood Farmer Training is launching on Salt Spring Island in 2026, offering emerging farmers a rare opportunity to gain hands-on experience, deepen their skills, and secure land to grow food for their local community.

Hosted by Island Natural Growers, the local chapter of Canadian Organic Growers, the training is an immersive, community-rooted program designed to prepare emerging growers to confidently start their own Neighbourhood Farm. The first year of the program runs full-time from April through September 2026.

Participants will receive practical, field-based training, mentorship, and direct connections to Salt Spring Island’s food network. In the first year, trainees will be matched with land through established partnerships with local landholders. In the second year of the program,  participants will grow food for the community on their Neighbourhood Farm sites with mentorship from established growers on the island.

At the heart of the initiative is the Neighbourhood Farm model—a collaborative partnership between farmers and neighbours who work together to grow, share, and process food within their community. The program aims to strengthen local food security while lowering barriers to entry for new farmers.

“This program is about more than learning how to grow food,” said Daria Zovi of Chorus Frog Organic Gardens. “It’s about building real relationships—with land, with neighbours, and with a community that values local food and shared responsibility.”

Farming on Salt Spring Island

Salt Spring Island has a long agricultural history and significant untapped potential. According to the Census of Agriculture, there were 196 farms and 290 farm operators on the island in 2016. With just over 1,100 hectares of land being actively farmed, there’s a substantial portion of agricultural land that is underutilised. But combined with a housing shortage, and the steep rise in land prices, emerging farmers have been priced out of the market. 

Enter the Neighbourhood Farm Program

Despite growing interest in local food systems, and knowing that Salt Spring Island can support a diversity of crops and small-scale livestock operations, this program springs from the minds and hearts of a passionate group of farmers who want to mentor the next generation and expand food production on the island.

The Neighbourhood Farmer Training works by pairing skilled training with land access, community integration, and practical pathways to long-term farm viability.

Applications are now being accepted at https://www.ssiagalliance.org/farmertrainingregistration.