Field Trips

We’re pleased to be offering 6 exciting and diverse pre-conference field trips! All Field trips take place on the first day of the conference: Wednesday May 15th, 2019. Buses leave from and return to the Victoria Convention Center. Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your bus departure for registration.
    1. -SOLD OUT -Wild Harvest Foraging Workshop and Coastal School Visit – Sooke Area
      Full day (8:45am – 4pm) – SOLD OUT
      Focus: This trip will explore the linkages between student food literacy, wild foods and forest stewardship, including a visit to a school with a thriving local foods program and a foraging hike on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. 
    2. Salt Spring Island Farm to School Tour – Salt Spring Island
      Full day (7:30am – 5:oopm) – $100 (Less than 10 tickets remaining)
      Focus: This trip offers an opportunity to explore an island-wide approach to Farm to School, including tours of projects based in schools and in the farming community – each contributing to one of the most vibrant and inspiring sustainable food systems in B.C. We will stop in at two different unique farms, with guest speakers and lunch being catered by a farm-to-table focused chef. We are also excited to announce that Dan Jason, author and seed saver, will join us for a discussion over lunch.
    3. SOLD OUT Indigenous Foodscapes 
      Full day: (9:15am – 4pm) SOLD OUT
      Focus: This trip will highlight approaches to Indigenous food sovereignty and ecosystem restoration by exploring connections to the land and language. It will highlight Indigenous youth engagement in reclaiming spaces and growing the next generation of leaders. We are excited to be invited for a tour of PEPÁḴEṈ HÁUTW̱ to start the day.
    4. SOLD OUT -Urban Food Systems Walking Tour – Victoria
      10 am – 2 pm (SOLD OUT) – Expect to walk appx 3 km in total during the tour.
      Focus: This walking tour will showcase sustainable food systems in urban schools and how youth can be empowered through food by exploring a number of innovative, urban school food initiatives including the value of partnerships between schools and with small-scale urban producers. This walking tour will be hosted by Farm to School BC, CRFAIR, and LifeCycles Project – leaders in food security and youth engagement in Victoria. 
    5. Integrated Sustainable Food Systems for Students – Cowichan Valley
      Full Day(9am – 4pm) / $75 (Maximum Capacity: 45)
      Focus: This trip will provide an opportunity to visit the incredibly unique and innovative OUR ECO Village in the Cowichan Valley to explore holistic approaches to education through applied permaculture, and integrated systems. This field trip will touch on topics such as farming in the face of climate change, cob construction, green technology and sustainable animal husbandry. 
    6. Growing in the City: Urban Farming and Campus Food Initiatives                                                                                                                                                                              9am – 1pm / $40 (Maximum Capacity: 40)
      Focus: This trip will explore sustainable food systems in Victoria’s campus and urban settings; including the UVIC campus garden and food bank, procurement and food literacy initiatives, and urban farming for local businesses at TOPSOIL, an innovative urban agriculture model ideal for schools with limited space. Come explore the diverse ways in which community-based food procurement can transform our food systems! Oh, did we mention we will be driving around in an Eco-bus???

    All field trips include lunch, and transportation via bus, and/or ferry unless otherwise noted. A minimum number of registrants are needed for each tour. If capacity is not reached one week prior to the tour, the field trip will be cancelled and you will be refunded.