The Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture hopes a series of guided walks on their North Saanich property every Saturday this month will help connect people with local nature.
“It’s a chance to walk around with various experts and really get a chance to see their particular perspective on what they see as being interesting,” said Jen Rashleigh, the centre’s director of community and partnership engagement. “The more we connect with people who are stewarding the land, the more we value it.”
The next walk (Aug. 14) is being led by James Miskelly, a biologist who the centre said observes the land like a forensic investigator as he searches for clues about what the pre-settler landscape looked like, the current health of the wetland and its possibilities for the future.
At the Aug. 21 walk, participants will get to meet and buy produce from the centre’s farmtreneur program growers. The new program mentors emerging growers and gives them access to land as they launch their businesses.
“We’re really getting serious about exploring the best practises and philosophies of regenerative agriculture,” Rashleigh said.
The farmtreneur program, she said, can show how agricultural practices don’t need to just adapt to climate change, but can actually help mitigate the problem. Rashleigh added it’s also important to show that combatting climate change can be a joyful endeavour, as they’re getting to promote local food and grow some really tasty produce.
The last event is one that local bird watchers will want to mark on their calendars. Rashleigh said the Sandown property is a “birders paradise,” with 115 species having been identified on the site.
“I think it’s this unique combination of meadows, forests and wetlands that really makes Sandown Centre such an important place for birds,” she said.
Ann Nightingale, a local birder, will lead that walk.
People can register for the walks on the event’s webpage (bit.ly/3m1d1ed). Spaces are limited and attendees are reminded to wear proper footwear and weather-appropriate clothing.
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