Walking from the pulsing buzz of downtown Vancouver, going South over False Creek I could not think that the view of nature and urban landscape could be more beautiful and integrated. I was wrong. Continuing my walk, along Burrard Street and turning right at West Sixth Avenue, I was surprised with the diversity of plants I found growing there and the burst of colour between the street and a largely abandoned rail track. A closer inspection revealed an array of species and garden designs, as this small strip of land was producing vegetables and flowers for the local residents. This was the real integration of nature in urban. Whether a single tomato plant or a pot of chives sitting alone on a window sill or a balcony, or the rejuvenation of an abandoned lot, city folk have been producing food for the body and soul for perhaps as long as there have been cities. This is urban agriculture. Except for sporadic bursts of interest and activity, for example the essential Victory Gardens during wartime, urban agriculture has gone largely unnoticed and under appreciated and under valued. In recent years there has been a change, and the interest and enthusiasm in this phenomena has been ignited once again.

Urban gardening is not new, and there have always been people teaching gardening and food gardening, but in 1978 there was a gap to be filled in that no one was teaching this kind of gardening from an environmentalist's perspective. Only a handful of people talked about Urban Agriculture in 1978 because urban was consumption, whereas agriculture and farmer were production and rural. It was a challenge to the status quo of the time to have backyard gardens referred to as Urban Agriculture. Urban was "go to the supermarket and buy your food, or go out to a restaurant for dinner." At that time policies were more focused on the large commercial operations, and didn't see agriculture as fitting within the urban context. This situation has improved in recent years, particularly in cities like Vancouver in which there is an active promotion of sustainable initiatives in the city. There was a tacit understanding that farmers were the people who actually knew what plants were and how to grow them, even though in the centre of cities people have always grown food on some scale. As society became more affluent through the 50s and 60s, there was a tendency to move away from such activity. Distant in the past were the urban "Victory Gardens" promoted as a civil effort during World War II, as a vital part of the food supply supply in war torn Europe and throughout North America. After the war the food gardens were increasingly replaced with a monoculture grass species, until the urban food garden became a distant memory.

The Society was celebrating its 25th year as a non-profit society and charitable group, promoting urban agriculture primarily, but also associated with conservation and environmental issues, and the use of appropriate technologies. Mike defined their raison d'etre as: "We are urban and we are into green things, food, healthy non-chemical lawns, turning organic wastes into compost for application to the soil for food production in the city, water conservation, and an array of other environmental issues."

The origins of City Farmer were in the post-energy crisis of the 70s and it started as an energy conservation initiative. Food was the issue they chose as a means to reduce energy consumption. For the urban dweller, to have food produced closer to their door (that is within the city) is the most direct way to reduce energy use. "The Society basically was a go down the back lane and look at home gardens, and say we want to know how they're growing this food, and how much they're growing. And really to let other city people know who might have only lawns and vacant lots that there is something different, maybe more productive, more conserver oriented that they can do with their time."

City Farmer is a catch name, that while meaning the same thing as urban agriculture, also says that you can do something different as a city person and have fun with it. Since it was founded in 1978 the society has basically been about water, waste, and food. Their work can be reduced to plant, soil and sunlight, and then the "trimmings" can be tacked on. Those trimmings, or issues, can be quite fashionable, and do change with the times. The energy crisis that was so front and centre in the 1970s has given way to issues such as organic waste diversion, water conservation, pesticide free cities, and organic food production within the city, among others. City Farmer is in a fortunate position for many reasons, but a very important one is that it is supported, in part, by the City of Vancouver. The City is very green, and for example, with a mandate is to reduce costs composting is part of its solid waste management. The City therefore is a supporter of City Farmer's compost hotline. The compost hotline has been operating since 1990 and serves the whole lower mainland. The staff respond to over 5000 calls per year on a range of questions. The questions can be very basic, such as "Where do I get a bin?" to I have flies or a rodent, what do I do?" In addition, there are backyard demonstrations at the garden, and the staff are in demand to give talks. Composting, an activity that was shunned not so long ago, is a very hot topic and people are genuinely interested in composting their organic wastes.

The Society believes in responding to the needs of the public rather than pushing their agenda, but they are also very proactive. Outreach is a very important activity for responding to people's interests and for creating an awareness of alternatives. Also, outreach combined with demonstration is a way to have something for the public to come and look at and to experience the potential. The public will ask questions, and sometimes the topic is new, so it has to be researched. For example, two current issues are the West Nile Virus and pesticide free lawns. The West Nile Virus has resulted in screening being placed on the water collection tanks or the addition of an insecticidal soap to the holding tank. The lawn issue is really becoming important as municipalities are moving toward banning pesticides within the city. The City itself is a lot greener, and is advocating green practices. The Society is responding with workshops and demonstrations on low input, pesticide free landscapes.

Promoting local initiatives is also important for the Society, and so a contest for the Best Food Gardener in Vancouver was held in 2000. The entrants were from across the city, and were nominated by friends and relatives. It was a wonderful learning experience, as they came to experience the tremendous knowledge and expertise that existed within the city, some of which has been passed down through the generations. The three first place winners were elderly gentleman, all over the age of 70, of Mediterranean origin. One of the many exciting experiences was the discovery of a tomato that had been carefully selected over many years by one of the gardeners. It had a large tomato at the end of the truss and others were a smaller paste type and it just burst with flavour. This tomato may be available in the future as Rocco's Favourite. An important discovery was the value of the experience that exists among the many varied gardeners of the city. For example, knowledge of what works in the local region, seeds selected and collected over years, thus assuring a plant selection that is going to be most suited to the peculiarities of the city environment are a few of thediscoveries. While the knowledge is there, it is not so present in the younger generations of today, and there is a deepening disconnect with the food production chain. According to Mike and his team, preserving and disseminating this information to as wide a population as possible is an important part of the what City Farmer is about.

A need is emerging in that not only is the knowledge of how to grow food being lost, but also that of how to prepare the food being produced. Therefore, talk of urban agriculture, that is food production within the city, needs to be complimented with discussions on how to prepare food. The group has identified that there is a need to expand the reach from "garden to plate." Based on this need a very important part of outreach and education is the use of the internet. For these reasons City Farmer has been on-line since 1994. For Mike the evolution of the internet since that time has been very exciting, and it is astonishing the kinds of connections that can go on. At the local level outreach is mainly focused on activities centred around the garden and on telephone consultations, whereas at the global level outreach is via the internet web of connections. The internet has speeded up and expanded the reach, the interactions and the sharing of information globally.

The 25 years plus with City Farmer has given Mike a very unique perspective on society. He has a belief that through education, society can move in a very green way over time. His organization is contributing to this by having the answers to many of the problems that are current in peoples minds. He feels that most people respond with, "What can I do?" rather than "The sky is falling." The society is constantly looking for things that people can do in a practical workable way and make them feel that they have a positive effect.

The garden was started in 1981 in order to have something tangible to demonstrate to people that you don't need pesticides to produce food. In 1981 there was little in the way of public education, formally or informally, so they too began with an outreach program, initially as a series of lectures to educate the public on the topic of urban agriculture. City Farmer is still doing this, and I think in today's world the need is still as acute as it was in 1981.

(Read: Harrowsmith Article, 1984)