Recipe for Academic Success
Durham College’s School of Hospitality & Horticultural Science is embracing the field-to-fork philosophy. And now, with the new Barrett Centre of Innovation in Sustainable Urban Agriculture, it’s never been more important to teach the next generation why urban agriculture, sustainability and growing locally are so vital to Durham Region and the province.
If you’re like us, you’ve probably thought about where your produce comes from. Maybe you’ve driven by a farm on a hot summer day and have wondered what was growing in the farmer’s fields. Or maybe you frequent nearby farmers’ markets and make a concerted effort when doing your grocery shopping to buy fruit and veggies grown locally instead of buying produce from faraway places. Or perhaps you opt for restaurants that pride themselves on sustainable practices and supporting neighbourhood growers. Maybe you do your part when it comes to the farm-to-table movement, but what if you yearn to do more? The folks at Durham College’s School of Hospitality & Horticultural Science have made field-to-fork their motto and they’re on a mission to educate tomorrow’s culinary, farming, horticultural, hospitality, tourism and event leaders.
The school is Durham’s first post-secondary institution to focus on this vital field-to-fork concept. Ontario has a strong agricultural history and traditions, and the school honours this in its curriculum, which is based heavily on harvesting, storage, processing, packaging, sale and the consumption of food — students are taught to produce local food for local consumers.
They’re given the opportunity to be part of the entire farm-to-table, field-to-fork process: from cultivating crops to cooking meals. Durham College has created a robust offering of programs for those interested in pursuing a career in culinary, hospitality, horticulture, event management, tourism and urban agriculture, complete with experienced faculty and staff, state-of-the-art lab equipment and an unrivalled hands-on component featuring the ability to work on the school’s farm and in its full-service, green-certified teaching restaurant, Bistro ’67.
An important part of the school is the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food (also known as the Weston Centre), and it’s located on the college’s Whitby campus. The Weston Centre encourages students to literally get their hands dirty, and has a slew of incredible features, including farm fields; a living wall that grows fresh herbs; an arboretum; a hydroponic garden in a converted shipping container; demonstrator garden; apple orchard; two greenhouses where students can grow year-round; the restaurant, Bistro ’67; and Pantry, a retail food store with goods (think baked treats, packaged soups, takeout meals, etc.) prepared by students. “I always say the Weston Centre is a unique facility in the country, where we bring together everything from academics up to fine dining, farming operations, partnerships, collaborations and events. It’s become a community gathering point essentially around food. More than ever it’s a destination,” says Rebecca Milburn, executive dean of the School of Hospitality and Horticultural Science. When it launched in 2013, students tried growing produce that year, but the land was heavily clay-based. In the second year, they were more successful — they restored the soil and made it healthier. “In a short amount of time we’ve established a productive farm. We now grow thousands of pounds of food a year. We demonstrate different systems and technologies to our students, but also to our community. In less than 10 years, we’ve gone from essentially having an unusable patch of land and we’ve converted it into this productive farm and built this centre. I always say field to fork is in our DNA — it’s the cornerstone of our sustainable practices,” says Milburn.
An important part of the school is the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food (also known as the Weston Centre), and it’s located on the college’s Whitby campus. The Weston Centre encourages students to literally get their hands dirty, and has a slew of incredible features, including farm fields; a living wall that grows fresh herbs; an arboretum; a hydroponic garden in a converted shipping container; demonstrator garden; apple orchard; two greenhouses where students can grow year-round; the restaurant, Bistro ’67; and Pantry, a retail food store with goods (think baked treats, packaged soups, takeout meals, etc.) prepared by students. “I always say the Weston Centre is a unique facility in the country, where we bring together everything from academics up to fine dining, farming operations, partnerships, collaborations and events. It’s become a community gathering point essentially around food. More than ever it’s a destination,” says Rebecca Milburn, executive dean of the School of Hospitality and Horticultural Science. When it launched in 2013, students tried growing produce that year, but the land was heavily clay-based. In the second year, they were more successful — they restored the soil and made it healthier. “In a short amount of time we’ve established a productive farm. We now grow thousands of pounds of food a year. We demonstrate different systems and technologies to our students, but also to our community. In less than 10 years, we’ve gone from essentially having an unusable patch of land and we’ve converted it into this productive farm and built this centre. I always say field to fork is in our DNA — it’s the cornerstone of our sustainable practices,” says Milburn.
The Centre aims to become an internationally recognized hub of excellence in urban agriculture practices, research, education and training.
Shane Jones, a professor at the school, says Durham College’s program differentiates from other agriculture programs because it’s not just about the growing of food. “It certainly encompasses all the baseline horticultural practices, soil sciences and more, but sowing and propagation of food, food chemistry, post-harvest procedures, storage and processing are also focuses. It’s the entire food chain, all the way up to the consumer using the food. It’s not just about growing the food, which is where a lot of other agricultural programs focus.”
One feature of the Barrett Centre is the focus on organic regeneration. “Ideally, we want to be field to fork to field, so we’re working toward a compost facility with a biodigester that can take up to 250 kilograms of organic waste a day and turn it into nutrient-dense soil that will go through a maturation cycle for 21 to 28 days. The ultimate goal is that the by-product we produce will be used in our gardens,” says Kelly O’Brien, the Barrett Centre’s partnership manager. “We want to identify the barriers to urban agriculture in our community, define them, break them down, document along the way and build out resources for others so we can fast track more producers in our region.” The school has had millions of dollars in investments into the building and its facilities, commanding the attention of private companies and various levels of government. “We’ve even had guests from around the world come to our facility to better understand what we’re doing. We’ve taken this underutilized space right next to Highway 401, smack-dab in the middle of a busy community, and we’ve turned it into a productive farm,” he says. As a result, last year, a private funder announced a $5 million commitment to the school — they want the college faculty, staff and students to replicate the success they’ve seen. “We’ve known for years that what we’re doing is unique and we know there’s an opportunity for urban agriculture to play a bigger role in terms of food security and supply and demand. We are committed to establishing another farm and exploring further urban agriculture opportunities,” Milburn says. “The next phase will be to explore research opportunities and the development of additional academic credentials. We have made incredible progress to convert a barren patch of land into such a valuable resource. Durham College really is leading the way in urban agriculture education.” Thanks to the generous donation from The Barrett Family Foundation the college established Barrett Centre of Innovation in Sustainable Urban Agriculture a year ago. The centre aims to become an “internationally recognized hub of excellence in urban agriculture practices, research, education and training, to address some of society’s biggest challenges including food security, access to safe and stable supplies of fresh food and economic stability, and regeneration of land for local food production.” With a mission to become the college to attend for those who want to gain knowledge and skills in urban agriculture productions and operations, Milburn says the college’s track record and its plan to replicate the existing farm from an economic, social and ecological standpoint were factors in securing the donation. “It further demonstrates that this is a viable career path — you don’t have to have a thousand-acre farm. It doesn’t have to be a mass-production operation. If local municipalities have land they’re trying to service, we want them to know they can use some of that land to grow food to fill food banks with fresh local produce. There’s a lot of potential here,” says Milburn. “We’re also trying to demonstrate the impact of urban agriculture and develop a new generation of urban farmers through our access to training. We want to share our knowledge throughout Durham, across Ontario and beyond.”
One feature of the Barrett Centre is the focus on organic regeneration. “Ideally, we want to be field to fork to field, so we’re working toward a compost facility with a biodigester that can take up to 250 kilograms of organic waste a day and turn it into nutrient-dense soil that will go through a maturation cycle for 21 to 28 days. The ultimate goal is that the by-product we produce will be used in our gardens,” says Kelly O’Brien, the Barrett Centre’s partnership manager. “We want to identify the barriers to urban agriculture in our community, define them, break them down, document along the way and build out resources for others so we can fast track more producers in our region.”
A big part of the Centre is building entrepreneurial spirit in the students – to show them they can be a successful farming startup upon graduation.
Jones says part of the centre’s mission is to change perceptions about farming and advocate for sustainable farming practices — and they’re starting young. The centre is working with students in elementary and high schools to help them reimagine what farming is. “We want them to see it’s not just about straw hats and a person on a tractor on a thousand-acre farm. We want to change the idea of what the food system could look like today, not what it looked like in 1950,” he says. “We’re trying to energize youth to move in this direction, so they see farming differently.”
Another goal is building entrepreneurial spirit in the students — to show them they can be a successful farming startup upon graduation. When not in formal classes or doing formal lab work, students are on the farm performing a variety of roles. And they’re bringing their innovative ideas to staff every day. “We have a student who developed a concept for a therapy garden, so students are going to build it. It’s all about getting students thinking entrepreneurially, but also for those who aren’t necessarily going to go into their own urban farming operation, we want them to understand the principles so they can work in a lab or in product development, for example,” says Jones. “Because they studied here, they’ll have that foundation and really understand how to access food and have a stable supply. It’s really quite exciting.”
The school’s recipe for success is to engage students and involve them in the whole field-to-fork process. The operation of the farm is integrated into the curriculum, as is the management of Bistro ’67. “Everyone is integrated. Culinary students can walk out into the field to see what we’re growing, and horticulture students walk the food right up to the kitchen and can see dishes being prepared. Continuing to offer these experiential and work-integrated learning opportunities for students is really important,” O’Brien says. “We’re developing the labour workforce of tomorrow and just giving them that value-added, hands-on experience while they’re here at the college is crucial.” O’Brien also mentions how innovative culinary students have been. “There are times we’d have produce coming out of the gardens and there would be so much, students would get creative and create other things with produce, so they developed beet ketchup and zucchini cobbler, for example. We’re teaching a different way of looking at food, seasonality, reducing food waste and increasing sustainability. This is instilled in our students.”
When it comes down to it, Milburn affirms the new Barrett Centre will continue the important work already underway. It’s a five-year project, and she’s hoping it’s just the start of a longer relationship that helps solidify what the centre does and why it’s so crucial to have in the community. When students graduate, they’ll take with them the experience of working at a living lab at the highest level. “It’s a unique opportunity for students to really get engaged and bring forth ideas. The Barrett Centre will make some of these ideas a reality. We’ll test them, document them and then share them. Whether it’s a therapy garden, growing mushrooms or vertical farming, it’s about generating and sharing knowledge.” Milburn is optimistic and looking forward to the future. “We’re going to be blown away by what we’ve done to advance urban agriculture and to address food security, as well as the positive social, economic and ecological impacts it can have on a community.”
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