Farm Start

IMG_1339, originally uploaded by cabeca dura.

(Toronto adventures continued!)

Farm Start is a short drive from downtown Toronto, though the acres of farmland make it seem a much greater distance. These guys are a bit different from the other groups visited in that they don't serve as a community garden, but rather as an incubator of sorts for new Canadian farmers - so, folks who are new to farming, new to Canada, or even new to both, and who would like to begin their own small-scale market farm.

Farmers must submit an application and business plan, and because they know not everyone is born with both a green thumb and business savvy, they require that everyone participate in a small business workshop where they can focus on just the right bits for their business plan.

I'm awed by how much they've been able to accomplish in such a short period of time (this location has only been up and running for a few months) and by the poignant juxtaposition of the farm to its rapidly multiplying subdivision neighbors. The farmland was placed into a land conservancy, from which Farm Start rents about 15 acres, and the combination of trails and farm plots serves as an incredible example of the many, many ways open space offers benefit.