Michael Levenston is the Executive Director of City Farmer- Canada’s Office of Urban Agriculture. City Farmer is located in Vancouver British Columbia.
BE: How long has City Farmer been involved in urban agriculture and how did it all begin?
ML: We began our work in the spring of 1978 and have worked continuously now for almost 32 years under the name “City Farmer – Canada’s Office of Urban Agriculture”. We are a small non-profit society, not a department of the government. In 1978, no one used the term “urban agriculture” or “city farming”. These terms were oxymorons to those who first heard them used.
At that time food gardens were simply hobby gardens made by householders who enjoyed fresh food that they could grow themselves. But we were 70’s environmentalists and social activists who saw the benefits of using urban food gardening for both ‘green’ education and the transformation of our community.
We began to look at community gardens, roof and hospital gardens, intensively farmed home gardens and school gardens with a new understanding of their potential. We produced a small newspaper in August of 1978 named “City Farmer” to communicate what we were thinking.
Over the next few years we held workshops, started a Demonstration Food Garden, which we still run, and began to do the kinds of things an urban agriculture office might do. We are the longest continuously running group promoting urban agriculture in the world.
BE: What services does City Farmer offer?
ML: Today we run a very active demonstration garden close to downtown in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. We run the regional Compost Hotline from the garden; hold workshops on composting, urban organic gardening, alternatives to pesticides; operate the City’s subsidized worm bin program, the largest such program of any city in the world.
Our garden is open 365 days a year, which allows us to test compost bins, demonstrate the production of many fruits and vegetables, and showcase a wide variety of home ‘green’ technologies such as our compost toilet, green roof, waterwise plantings, etc. City Farmer conducts tours for students of all ages, for dignitaries from many countries, and for the media who request information often.
Our web sites are widely read and have provided the best information on urban agriculture online since 1994.
BE: Has the local food movement had a significant impact on your operation, how?
ML: Every year since we started our work, various movements including the local food movement have lead people to investigate urban farming. For instance, headlines about energy conservation, contamination of food, our bleak environment, and sustainability, bring people to us.
Politicians who promote food gardens and healthy eating, as well as new books and media attention, attract people. Television shows, such as the “Victory Garden” produced in the 1970’s and 80’s, contributed to interest in our work and these kinds of shows continue to promote urban food gardening.
Today the dismal economy might be the most important ‘movement’ driving people towards urban agriculture. Reading an architect’s blog today, I am reminded of the changes that have taken place in just 30 years when she says: “Urban Agriculture has become one of the hottest movements in the sustainable design world.”
BE: Are there any barriers to growing food in an urban setting and if so what are they?
ML: The biggest barrier in our large Canadian cities is finding land to grow on. Real estate prices are very high and every square inch of property is being built on. The term ‘densification’ has become popular and we are losing green space in our city centres. However, in some American cities, where populations are decreasing, there is abundant land available for people to start urban farms. Of course people have to ‘want’ to grow food for this to happen.
BE: Yard sharing appears to be catching on, please describe what this involves and ways people can take part.
ML: The concept is this, if someone doesn't garden in his own yard, he can offer it to someone who doesn't have a garden, but wants some land. “Sharingbackyards.com” is a website where a number of cities including Vancouver feature people looking for gardens and those who have gardens to share. It is a bit like a “Criagslist “for gardeners. There is certainly an interest in backyard sharing but I don’t believe that any large number of people are taking part in this activity yet
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