Farm School - Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN) approached ISFS in in 2014 to discuss the potential collaboration between them and KPU. TFN knew that they wanted to put some of their land back into agriculture; however, they were not sure how. They saw what ISFS did with Richmond Farm School and liked the idea of having an agriculture training program as well as provide incubator plots to those who wish to pursue farming as a career. For the Nation, this program was a means to provide economic and skill building opportunities for their members.

In this partnership, TFN provides 20 acres of their reserve and ancestral land and KPU has been be responsible for developing the farm and executing the education program. 2015 was the first cohort year of Tsawwassen Farm School. The make-up of the cohort comprised all TFN members. In subsequent years, cohorts consisted of TFN members, members of other First Nations, and non-First Nation students. The program runs 4 days a week from March to November, consists of 300+ hours of classroom learning and 350+ hours of experiential learning. The farm operation has an orchard, market garden for vegetables, a garden bed with traditional plants, livestock (pigs and chickens) and incubator plots. In this program, students gain knowledge, skills and confidence to eventually start their own farm operations.

In addition to running a working and teaching farm on the 20 acres, the farm school strives to serve the TFN community. Community engagement is a vital aspect of the farm school and every year, the team aims to do more with TFN citizens and community residents (2014 – on-going).

So far, the farm school has engaged with the community through the following activities:

• Elders luncheons at the farm: Elders come to the farm for an outdoor lunch and the farm school team cooks lunch with farm fresh vegetables and pork meat. After the lunch, we give the Elders fresh vegetables to take home.
• Canning workshop: The farm school has hosted canning workshops for the general community at the Elders Centre. Member show up with their own jars and we provide the vegetables and fruits and the equipment for canning. In the end, they get to take the canned goods home.

• Donation to the TFN food bank: Having spoken to the TFN Health Department, they advised that the best way to get food to those who really need it most is through the food bank. Starting in 2018, the farm school makes a weekly donation to the food bank throughout the season.
• Community Feast: Annually, the farm school hosts a feast for the community. In 2018, we invited Chef Andrew George, a Red Seal chef and culinary arts instructor from Wet’suwet’en Nation to cook the feast with some of his students. The feast was prepared using farm school vegetables and pork meat. About 60 community members came to the feast.
• Education tours: The farm school offers education tours for children from the TFN day care and the youth centre. They normally come out to the farm, have a short lesson on vegetables then make lunch, with farm fresh produce, to eat at the farm.
• Internship Opportunities: Every year, the TFN youth centre organizes summer work placements for their youth. The youth are required to work one to two weeks at a certain place to gain work experience and farm school is a work placement host every year.
• Incubator plots: For non-TFN members, the incubator plots are only available to them for up to 3 years. For TFN members, they get the plot permanently. During their time on the plots, they get to access all tools, machinery and infrastructure on the farm. They receive guidance and mentorship from farm school staff. They also have the option of selling their produce through the farm school marketing channels. The farm school strives to set them up for success and provide as much support as possible.

Realizing that we can do more activities with the community, we hired a post-secondary graduate Indigenous youth to take on the role of a “Community Engagement Coordinator”. This person will work closely with Caroline Chiu in organizing, facilitating and developing community activities. The entire Tsawwassen Farm School operation is soft money funded.