The whole community is invited to a good old fashioned open house to see the place where the Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust is developing The Root. What is The Root and how will it benefit farmers, food makers and the community? We invite you to join us at the site on October 28 to have a look around and hear more about this latest piece in the agricultural infrastructure for Salt Spring.

There will be SSI Farmland Trust members on hand to answer your questions, and scheduled presentations on key aspects of the site. We will also be providing local, seasonal refreshments – all examples of value added products which might come out of the Root production kitchen.

The day’s speakers include Donald Gunn, the architect and building designer who will give an overview of the buildings. Food garden designer Erinanne Harper will talk about how permaculture gardens will be used at the site, and the importance of developing agricultural ecosystems that are sustainable and self-sufficient. And Dan Jason from Salt Spring Seeds will provide more on what is planned for the seed vault at The Root. We are offering two times to catch the building and permaculture presentations.

Speakers Schedule:

12:30 Donald Gunn, architect and building designer, will give an overview of building plans

1:00 Dan Jason, SS Seeds, will discuss seed saving and the seed vault planned for the Root

1:30 Erinanne Harper, garden designer, will give a permaculture presentation and site tour

2:00 Donald Gunn, architect and building designer, will give an overview of building plans

2:30 Root community partners (speaker TBA)

3:00 Erinanne Harper, garden designer, will give a permaculture presentation and site tour

The Root is a not-for-profit facility being built at 189 Beddis Rd that will help Salt Spring become more food self-sufficient. It is a project of the Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust.

The goal is to increase local food production by making it easier for all local growers to increase our community food production. We’re working to increase access to local food at farms, in gardens, in grocery stores, and everywhere. The Root is a place where local food can be stored and processed for year-round availability.  The Root will also be a centre for all things having to do with food education on food sustainability & safety. It provide seed saving, permaculture production, food preserving education, and incubator opportunities and training for food processors.