As suburban development expands into rural areas, the urban/rural divide gets blurred.
A new “agriburbia” is emerging, where food producers and suburban development converge, creating new and complex challenges. The University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), located in “agriburban” communities such as Abbotsford and Chilliwack, will present Life in Agriburbia, a panel discussion and exhibition on the issues that arise when suburbia and farmland converge.
The event will be held at the Abbotsford campus on Wednesday, Oct 1. Following the discussion, UFV will host an opening reception for an exhibit on Life in Agriburbia in the UFV Gallery (Room B136). The exhibit will run at the UFV Gallery from Sept 26 to Oct 10.
Dr. Lenore Newman, UFV Canada Research Chair in Food Security and the Environment, will present at the forum, along with agricultural community representatives Kim Sutherland (Ministry of Agriculture); Amir Maan (Maan Farms and UFV alumnus), Brendan Hurley (Vancouver planner), Hannah Wittman (food, nutrition, and health expert from UBC); and Tom Baumann (UFV Agriculture). The speakers will discuss the impact of the Agriculture Land Reserve (ALR) and how decisions on land use are made.
The Reach Gallery Museum in Abbotsford is supporting the project with its own Life in Agriburbia exhibit from November 8 to 30. The exhibit showcases maps and photographs clearly illustrating the changes to the agricultural and environmental landscape in the Fraser Valley over the past 40 years.
For more information, see ufv.ca/agriburban