Friends in the blogger world,

Hello! And welcome to my first post based on my experience at a local farm right here in beautiful British Columbia. My class met various eager staff and interns that made up their small community. They actually all live together on site, (which I assume enables them to take care of the farm and its plants and animals to the best of their ability. This farm, named                       , aims to grow all their crops in an organic and sustainable manner. I noticed how this type of farming significantly differs from the typical commercial “grow to sell” mentality.

 

They also  revealed how they also took into account their effect on the environment (such as the quality and nutritional content of the soil they used) as well as future farming implications. Through using crop rotation, planting their produce by food family groups, and by composting their scraps they showed a true kind of compassion and respect for their environment. I was quite inspired by each of the small changes they made to their lifestyles which seemed to make a big difference.

 

Some of the changes they made to their lives included eating local foods that were in season and eating less meat to discourage harmful treatment to animals and to help the environmental factors influenced from poor farming methods. They explained how eating non-local foods required natural resources to transport and how eating local foods can stop this as well as help smaller local farms continue to run.

 

NOTSOFUNFACT: I learned that the compostable waste and garbage you throw away in plastic bags usually end up releasing harmful toxins into the environment. (Maybe not so surprising to many of you but for me this brought up a red flag since I always assumed that any kind of food or natural material would decompose back into the earth).

 

After my trip at Arocha, my class took back some produce and planned to make soups from them. My partner and I wanted to make a leek, kale and potato soup, however, after deciding to attend the #fridaysforfuture climate strike I was unable to make the soup. Nonetheless, I am very happy to have visited Arocha farms and to transfer what I’ve learned into my life… And who knows? Maybe one day I’ll return to complete an internship there.

 

Thanks guys,

-Naomi (your local food lover)