We’re inviting farmers and supporters from across BC to come together for a weekend of connecting, learning, sharing, and building power together to protect BC’s limited viable farmland. Rising prices, development, investor influence, and more are making it increasingly difficult for young farmers to get started. We envision a food system where farming is a viable career option, land ownership is deconcentrated, farmland is valued for growing food rather than being treated like an investment opportunity, and where Indigenous nations have control over their traditional foodlands.

At this Convergence, led by the National Farmers Union and organized in partnership with the Sierra Club BC, we’ll bring together farmers, activists, and experts to discuss the challenges and solutions for making farmland accessible and sustainable for farmers.

We are beyond grateful to our sponsors, Burdock and Co and the National Farmers Foundation, for making this event possible.

There will be two $50 valued door prizes from Lee Valley Tools.

The weekend events will take place at the Fraser Common Farm Cooperative (Glorious Organics), an award winning cooperatively owned and operated farming collective which is on the unceded traditional and ancestral lands of the Kwantlen First Nation.

The schedule includes:

• Morning coffee and a fun activity to kick the day off at 12PM on Saturday, and 9AM on Sunday
• Each day will include a workshop, a guest speaker, and a film screening from the Depth of Field project
• Guest speakers include Heather Pritchard of the Foodlands Cooperative of BC, Julia Smith of the Small Scale Meat Producers Association, and Tom Harrison of the Saskatchewan Treaty Landsharing Network
• We will strategize and develop a campaign for farmland protection
• Morning coffe/snacks, lunch and dinner are provided both days, with options to bring potluck dishes
• Options for fun activities on Saturday evening

You are responsible for your own evening accomodations, and for getting yourself to and from the event. We will also try to arrange couch surfing and carpooling options where possible.

If you require financial assistance to attend, please reach out and we’ll do our best to help.

If you want to support other farmers by subsidizing their travel costs to attend the event, you make a charitable donate at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/national-farmers-foundation/

(* Please choose “BC Farmland Retreat Fund” from the drop down menu)

Mark your calendar and be part of this impactful event, where we’ll sow the seeds of farmland protection and cultivate a brighter future for generations to come.