City Farm is a unique, urban response to a contemporary societal dilemma where our citizens, particularly young people, lack opportunities to:
* Connect with nature
* Engage in recreational activities in an adventurous way
* Connect with the growing and harvesting of their food nutrition and hence a rural farm experience, and
* Participate in community democracy and transformation
City Farm works to provide a range of farmed based activity opportunities to meet these societal shortcomings in support of both individual and community development ? on a daily basis. Success in other jurisdictions such as Europe and Scandinavia, have ensured widespread support of these initiatives with significant user visits and associated outcomes.
Cityfarm has undertaken a substantial review of City Farm conceptual underpinnings and logistical requirements to provide a sustainable, urban City Farm initiative. Putting those learnings into practice we now have three successful seasons of operation under our belts. Our organization is pleased to support the provision of a City Farm experience in Winnipeg through Cityfarm Day Winnipeg.
As envisioned, Cityfarm Day Winnipeg will showcase core City Farm based activity offerings as a way for the local community to get a sense of the look and feel of such an initiative. As such, the event will be designed to allow the community to experience a City Farm setting similar to those found extensively throughout Europe and now in Edmonton:
* Engage in a more adventurous way, day-to-day activities that are typical of those found on the farm.
* Participant engagement in the various activities on their own terms versus being formally led through set activities. In this way leaders must be adept at animating the spaces and will be oriented accordingly.
* Transformation of the each designated space into a special ?place? for participants as well as an overall transformation of the site. Versus building a formal farm, most City Farms have their beginnings in this way and emerge and grow with the community and its participants.
* Observe development of participants in even this short, 1 day, event as they acquire new skills, build on them through play, and grow to identify with and understand the various activities associated with farm life.
At its core, the event will provide a set of activities drawn from 3 of the 4 identified Cityfarm Edmonton practice areas including:
* Soils, plants and foods ? e.g. decorating small pots and planting seeds/seedlings, working and playing with soil, preparing planting beds, cooking bannock over a fire, eating the food, and composting.
* Adventure recreation ? e.g. constructing small huts, playing games, constructing ?found art? creations, circus activities such as stilt walking, and engaging in sport related activities such as orienteering and soccer.
* Nature on the farm ? e.g. Nature walks, tracking nature on the site from weather to animals and birds, art and nature, and science and nature as it relates to the farm.
Activities will take place within 4 designated activity ?spaces? on the site with each space having 1-2 leaders and 3-4 volunteers.
In addition to the activity areas, it is recommended that 2-3 information booths be set up to promote the City Farm concept, Community Gardens and Kinsmen and their vision for the Winnipeg Cityfarm initiative.