This year volunteers rotate with 5 different farms during the designated work party times for a diverse learning experience.  Hope to see you there.

Mike Nyberg, a former Hali apprentice, will be taking over the Society Lands. Mike’s plan is to build community education opportunities in conjunction with farming.  Expect to see Mike integrating some permaculture design into his land, including chickens and bees.

Derek Powell, with his passion for community, will be farming the former Sundbird land.  Derek is dedicated to making use of every available square inch to support his community with healthy food.

Emily Mc Connell and Ana Ayala will be found working the former Terralicious land. Coming from very different places (Emily from Ontario, Ana from Ecuador), the two met while apprenticing at Madrona Farm where they formed a business partnership. It turns out although they grew up far apart, both their families were fruit farmers. Keep an eye out for their bedding plants this spring, and fresh produce during early spring and late fall.

Last but far from least in our new ventures we are very excited that Elmarie Roberts (Sunbird Farm) is not leaving us. Elmarie will be working with schools, volunteers, apprentices and community groups, giving everyone a chance to learn about where their food comes from and to open up opportunity for the community to participate in the farm’s food basket program as a way of supporting agriculture.

Luckily for us, Ray and Heather (H&R Veggies) will continue to grow their excellent produce. Their knowledge and skills will be a valuable asset for our new farmers all the way from seed to sale.

Unfortunately with the comings, we also must report some goings. First, a big thank you and goodbye to our ever energetic and cheerful 2010 apprentice Jessi Mc Kinnon. Without her hard work there would have been far fewer fresh veggies and fruits to enjoy in 2010. We say a sad and fond good-bye to our long time farmer and friend Marty Snow. We will miss you very much and wish you well.

We look forward to seeing our friends and volunteers at the Farm in 2011.

If you have a business idea that does not fit our Requests for Proposals, please feel free to contact us to discuss your ideas. We are always open to new approaches.

Haliburton is a certified organic community farm within the Agricultural Land Reserve. The farm is 4.09 ha (approximately 9.3 acres), and is located on Haliburton Road in Saanich, BC. The Haliburton Community Organic Farm Society leases the land from the District of Saanich. In turn the Society rents the land and facilities to local farm-related businesses, oversees the Farm as a whole, grows produce and runs community education programs.

The Society’s Vision for the Farm is to be a leading BC model of community-supported, small-scale sustainable organic agriculture carried out in harmony with local ecosystems.

Together we work towards building strong connections to the community we feed and demonstrating the importance of small-scale farming in partnership with ecological sustainability.

For more information, contact us: info@haliburtonfarm.org

Involves Purnima Govindarajulu.

You can also find us at the Moss Street Market every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  April to November.

We support the Victoria Downtown Public Markets on the last Sunday of each month at Market Square from 11 a.m – 3 p.m.