Published by City Farmer, Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture

City Farmer History
1984

In 1984 City Farmer was active in research, education, and promotion of urban agriculture.

Demonstration Food Garden

The Demo-Garden is cultivated fence to fence, has fertile soil, is organized on a bed rotation system, has a supply of tools, seeds, and fertilizers, and has an active education program. Head Gardener Catherine Shapiro and her volunteers, notably Heidi Ballaban in 1984, are responsible for the excellent work in the garden which began in 1981.

Next year Chris Ferris, a seasoned gardener from Lasquiti Island, will take over as head gardener. Catherine. Shapiro will continue to teach classes.

The April/May, 1984 issue of Harrowsmith ran a 2000 word story complete with seven colour photos of our garden which gives it a national and international significance.

Global Urban Agriculture

Dr. Yuwa Wong, economist, has prepared City Farmer's first paper on "Urban Agriculture from a Global Perspective". He will continue to work on urban agriculture policy and research.

Community Gardens

In the Fall of 1984, Leslie Scrimshaw, an environmental planner, joined City Farmer and began research on a series of Demonstration Community Gardens to be developed for Centennial year and Expo 86. A Canada Works grant was received in early 1985 for work on this project. UBC Landscape Architecture students have drawn up site plans for two of the gardens.

City Farmer

City Farmer provides information to the community about urban food production, publishes a calendar, writes articles, speaks to the media, and lectures to various groups. Its library continues to expand.

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