I have recently gotten a position as an intern for Inner City farms in Vancouver, and I am very excited by the prospect of growing vegetables in the city this summer! The business was started by graduates of my faculty, which is incredibly inspiring. Since I am currently daydreaming about being a farmer someday, I am looking forward to having a chance to get directly involved with urban agriculture.

I feel that my connections to sustainable agriculture and food systems are strongly linked to where I grew up – on a farm in the heart of the Okanagan. In travelling and coming to the city to study, I realized that where I felt happiest and most at home was wandering around the farmer’s markets, admiring local produce and talking with the local producers. Here at UBC I have chosen to focus my degree on the agricultural components of the food system, however, I strongly believe that the disconnect we have from food in our current day in age is linked to a whole host of problems, from eating disorders, to diabetes, to high levels of obesity and depression. I greatly enjoy the ripple effects that local, organic food has within a community, and I truly believe that what we eat has a massive impact on our overall health. And not just physical health, but mental and spiritual well being as well. So many problems we encounter are linked to our diets and our fast-paced lifestyles. I truly believe that starting at the level of growing one’s food, be it meat, dairy, or produce, in a healthy, happy environment (or purchasing it from someone whom you know did) are the beginnings of a healthy, happy life. Thus I am really looking forward to being a part of Inner City Farms this summer. The idea behind their business is to revive unused pieces of land around the city and turn them into veggie-growing plots. This requires the consent of the landowners, of course, but in return they get a beautiful green space and some delicious vegetables! Land is one of the most inhibiting factors for new or would-be farmers, and I think that the model of Inner City farms is an exemplary way to get around that. The veggies are then sold in CSA boxes (Community Supported Agriculture), and thus locals are able to get fresh produce that has been sustainably and happily grown!   

Reflecting on our class of February 12^th, there were several things that came to mind about careers and the choices and sacrifices that we make for them. The alumnus who came to speak with us made a few statements that really got me thinking about these choices. To quote, he said, “Part of the work-life balance is trying to figure out where ‘home’ is” and “You give a piece of yourself, but you leave a piece of yourself. Everywhere.”

I feel that being at such a large university that is internationally connected, many of us students aspire to careers in far-flung regions of the world, or careers linked to international organizations with the hope of being able to travel with our work. Perhaps this impression comes in part from being a GRS student? I don’t know. But what I do know, is that for many people, the choice between life and work can be a difficult one to make. It seems as though there should be a happy medium – a balance that one could strike between the two, but often it seems to be presented in life as either or, not both. Work is so much a part of our lives – indeed for most of us it is our life. In some ways this isn’t a bad thing, so long as you enjoy what you are doing. I do believe that it is of the utmost importance to love your job. Not just to feel somewhat ambivalent about it, to be ok with it, or think it’s alright – but to really love it. Because no matter what, there will be bad days. In addition, working a minimum of 8 hours a day, five days a week, 49 weeks a year for forty years, in my opinion you better be enjoying work, because, like it or not, it is your life. Work tends to define and shape our lives, like it or not. I suppose that’s why a lot of us are at university – with the hopes of being able to find a job we enjoy at the end of it. Or perhaps just to find one with a paycheque that seems to make it all worthwhile. But I would argue that no matter how much compensation you’re getting, with a ratio of 120:1960 (hours off vs. hours worked in a year), you’re better off doing something you love.

It sounded to me as though ­our guest speaker truly loved his work, despite some misgivings about where “home” was for him, and it was inspiring to hear someone speak about their life’s work with such passion.

If I’d been asked at the beginning of the semester, I would never have been able to predict the ways in which this school year has changed my dreams and aspirations. A big part of that the fact that this was my first year in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, which I have been applying to for three years now, from the Faculty of Arts. Having all of my courses centred around what I came here to study has been incredibly edifying. (This may also be due in part to the fact that I have completed first year basics such as the hundred-levels of chemistry and math.)

I have officially quit my long-time summer job as a firefighter, and decided to stay here in Vancouver for the summer in order to pursue work in this field. (Which is terrifying, by the way – I have not had to face so many rejected applications in years.)

I am applying to a couple of the farm internships, and also looking into other volunteering options around the city with organizations and some local community garden projects. My goal is to start working towards a career that is related to agriculture. This is not something I had previously envisioned myself doing, but now I think that one day I would like to have a farm of my own. I grew up on a farm, and I loved it, but I never thought I’d like to become a farmer. Now I think I would. However, that is not to say I am going to begin farming immediately – I have a lot more to learn.

I am interested mainly in the growing and eating parts of the food system (the fun parts!), and how they connect to people. My dream now is to one day have a farm that is economically viable – no easy feat, from what I gather. The goal would be to have a multi-layered system, almost an “old-fashioned” homestead type of farm. The economically viable part would come from some kind of re-connection for people and food, which is where the “a lot more to learn” comes in.

I am currently studying Sustainable Agriculture, and through my undergrad degree would like to get a solid grasp on the tangible and tactile elements to farming: the soil science and growing basics, and the general knowledge required to run a complex farm system. I am now considering doing a master’s, which I would focus on the nutritional side of the food system, and then perhaps a Ph.D in the psychology of food. The idea would be to then integrate these pieces into a farm that re-connected people to their food. I feel that a lot of our problems as a society, from diet-related diseases and chronic conditions, to body-image issues, stem from a disconnect with our food and the natural cycles.

I would like to have a place where people can come and re-connect with their food and the natural environment that it comes from. From the lettuce to the cows and the chickens, and everything in-between. I think that getting your hands dirty is one of the best therapies there is, and I would like to give people a chance to do so. I have started looking into whether farms such as this exist, and there are several related to reconnecting youth, especially those who have trouble conforming to society. There aren’t too many farms, from what I can find online, that seem to be related to giving people a chance to get away from their fast-paced, pre-packaged lifestyles and learn about how things get to their plates. This is what I would like to do. Finding a niche and a piece of land to do this on is another matter, and for now I still have a couple years to get my undergrad, but this course, and this school year in general, has given me an exciting vision for my future, and a big goal to work towards.

I am currently in the process of completing my “Dossier de Candidature” for SciencesPo in Paris. If everything goes as planned, in a few short months I will be catching a flight to one of Europe’s most famed (and infamous) cities. My roommate, who as also travelled extensively, went on exchange to the Netherlands and maintains the opinion that everyone should go on exchange if they get the chance. It is somehow very different to simply throwing your belongings in a backpack and heading out to whatever country strikes your fancy. For one, there is a lot more paperwork!

However, I am nonetheless very excited to be heading off on a European adventure, school-related or not. I chose SciencesPo for several reasons. I have chosen French as my language, and I feel that Paris is the ideal place for me to perfect my language skills. Being at a French university, and surrounded by peers who are speaking the language I intend to become bilingual in, is undoubtedly the best way to improve my fluency. SciencesPo offers courses,like, “A l’origine de la crise écologique : pour une histoire environnementale” and “Agriculture, Food and Globalization” that would be very fitting with my interests and current pursuit here at UBC. My resource specialization is sustainable agriculture, and I am interested in all stages of agricultural business, from farming to marketing to consumption and waste. I would very much like to study how Europe is dealing with current issues of sustainability, and feel that SciencesPo is an excellent place from which I will be able to do so, and also have first-hand experience.

I am hoping to live and work in Europe once I have completed my undergraduate degree here at UBC. I am also interested in pursuing a Master’s degree in the EU, and therefore am keen to study there on exchange to make academic as well as personal and professional connections which may further my studies and perhaps even my career in the future. I would very much like to be in a bigger centre, like Paris, in order to have the most potential at my fingertips.

At the end of December, I hope to get over to Scotland to visit my Gran for Christmas, and then am applying to go to the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands for the spring semester. I have never been to the Netherlands, and am very excited about the chance to live and study there for a few months. It may be a fair while till I’m back at UBC!