7 . ’ ’ , . ; Esquimalt, Wednesday, June 29, 1988 Preservation of agricultural land, the continucd provision of an adequate domestic water supp- ly, and the creation of a healthy . community in the Capital Regional District. were the. sub- jects of the winning entries in the CRD’s 1988 high school student essay contest. Fiftcen essays were entered in ‘ this year’s contest, from which * three cash prize winners and two ‘runners-up were choscn by a - pancl consisting of regional board ‘directors Ron Warder Linda . Michaluk of * North Saanich and Bob Clark of > Sooke. . > * student at Laura Haughton, a Grade 11 Stelly’s Secondary * School in Central Saanich, won : the $400 first place prize for her “essay, Farmland Preservation - - An Important Investment. oe” was Although only two per cent of of B.C.’s acreage is classified as arable land, 65 per cent of the land in Central Saanich is in the Agricultural Land Reserve, and this subject is therefore of consid- erable local interest locally, Haughton suggested in her essay. Preservation of good agricultur- al land helps assure a continued supply of affordable food for the citizens of this area. It also ensures that the best farm land here will be preserved for future gencrations, Haughton said. _ “Existing arable land in the province must be _ protected. When necessary, small: amounts of farmland may be removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve for development,” she said. **When all details ‘of the issue are considered, one can sce that | controlled farmland preservation is an integral part of a balanced ‘Top_essa essay in CRD contest: Preservation in the Co munity: z © | By LAURA HAUGHTON | The Capital Regional District -(CRD), an area including Sooke, : Victoria and Salt Spring Island, -has recently been required to sup- “port an increased number of resi- “dents. One of the. most obvious - methods of adapting to this popu- ‘lation growth is to use farmland + for residential or commercial pur- * poscs... However, most farmland in the “CRD is protected by the Agricul- > tural Land Reserve. The purpose ‘ of this. reserve is to safeguard the “mere two. per cent. of British >Columbia’s ‘acreage ». which is ‘classified as arable land. Is farm- -land preservation inhibiting - the , : “CRD’s development? Or, is. the. : Agricultural’: Land» Reserve a “necessary part of the community? oe -~ This essay will discuss. the issue: © of farmland: preservation from the. ret ; point of View of. the..consumer,. ey ~ the urban dweller and the farmer. “In 1986, 256,311 people. were . sion. which decides if the land. withdrawal will ,be - -authorized. The . ‘commission : must. “consider: all “aspects of the: request, includ: ing, the motive for the bid. oS ‘eliminate a land shortage, many | iv ' réads, “schools, , taker; © Allens: physics... Lee Robson; western civiliza- | —Hiving. in’ the CRD: The Capital: ~ os : Regional. District predicts. thatthe a “number. of Tesidents will increase + to.308,890 by the year 2001. This: * growth will have a major impact “on the community... |: “For -cxample,:.more ‘dwellings, sewers, | utililics,.” stores, ‘churches, recreational “facilities, businesses and cssential services such as health care will “be. required by the region... The “needs created by a larger popula- “tion will cause a shortage of land ‘available for subdivision and de- : velopment, To solve the problem, “Jand could be removed from the | : Agricultural Land Reserve. : If farmland were removed from ‘the Agricultural Land Reserve to “more people could ‘be accom- ‘ modated in the CRD, Agricultural ‘land could be developed to mect ‘the demands: created) by these ‘ people, Hundreds of houses could — “be built on: subdivided farmland, ' Parkland School — m te Profitable businesses could be constructed on regions previously reserved for crop production. In some arcas. of the Capital. Regional District, the process of using farmland for urban pur- poses is planned. In Central. Saanich, a munic- ipality in the Capital Regional District, 65 per cent of the land is included in the Agricultural Land Reserve. Presently, there is “acreage outside of the Agricultur- al: Land Reserve available for de- © velopment, although mayor Ron Cullis predicts that there will be . “three or four significant applica- tions in the future for exclusion of land from the reserve.’ He perceives that many people : in Central Saanich desire a’more varied use ‘of: farmland in “the. community. : - In. order.-t ~ Sometimes, » landowners eager to scll their farmland to de- velopers for financial reasons, al- though the municipality's “need for. land. designated as. commer- -cial-or residential is not.as urgent as the municipality’s need: for. farmland. Usually, the land.com- mission will only authorize a land - withdrawal when it is ; completely necessary. Agricultural land ‘serves an im- “portant purpose for consumers. A ~Jarge amount of fresh food sold. in grocery stores is produced on lo- cal farmland, These foods include fruit vegetables, grains, milk and meat, For example, Island EF arms, a ‘Vancouver. Island. dairy, . uses mild from: local. farms: to make : yogurt, cottage ce cheese, ice cream and various other milk products. ‘students honored _ atawards day | “Snidents. were honored fora: variety of achievements during “the Parkland) School awards: oaday, June 24.0000 : " Grade 12° outstanding: ; academic students were; Alegebra, Helen. Delecretazy cigani:: Allens: Anna Maeckei ' chemistry,.. Bernadette “English, .Tracey Chisletts ' French, Jocelyn Cross, Tracey ~ Chislett and. Anuthea geography. Bernadette “Allens. German, Sonja ~, biology, _ Roihlisberger, history, Jennifer Spencers journalism, Kerri » Sinelairg literature, Bernadette Ken. Wright, “tian, Focelyn Cross: Awards. ‘for. --academie achievement also went “tor. -Michnel Dujela, Wendyh MacDonald, Aithony Whit “ford, Grade 9; Amanda Morris, Jennifer Shaw and Leif Tompa, Grade 10; Daniel Hooper, Jen. “nifer Spencet, Gregory Tura: “bull, Grade Hho” Saanich renchern’» awards “went to Rod -Nung for. ex. ~ Gellence in industrial education,. Teri Michaud. for, community eervfges, Manda Blecher for ey cellence in business. education, Whit» oustanding . Sand Pepi. Kraje for excellence in performing arts. © > In business education, Wendy: : Smith, received a busary, and Karen. Combs» received: Chamber of Commerce award, Outstanding performing arts students were Shannon, Pearson: “in dance and drama, and Wen ‘it for agriculiumal purposes, “For example, the owners of the Sang Lee farm in Saanich would: like to sell their land to, someone. — who could de velop. it residential- _ly, At the present time, they cane Wright in music, “A. scholarship to study. pre- “school education Michelle Turgeon, ; Outstanding — uthletes.” were; Natasha Kipot, junior female: Terry James, “junior: Kirsten Jacobsen. and .Pammy Braithwaite, senior female; Sean Hern, senior male.” ~The Ted: Clarke | went. 10 Hern, ROMP leadership. went. awards. for to. Downs Anna : MacKeigan won chiizenshipservice awards went to more than $0 students Ine » Grades 9 through 12. ves Students in wil Ni a des Honors student grades: “protected: were awarded, as Were oulstan- ding students in various rovrene The nwards: dav alsiy’ “fentured various special: _tecomnition awards, : In. order. to remove ‘acreage . © from “the. reserve, a:.landowner’. “must: apply to the land commis- =: are’ -ricultural..” the mate; memorial - award in athletics went to Sean Helen. Delucictag, Mare In Ne And for the. Spirit of Parkland award, and THE REVIEW 9781-2nd St Sidney B.C iC, Page BI5 JOY GRANT community.’’ Joy Grant, a Grade 11 student al Stclly’s, won the second place prize of $300 for essay on water supply. Grant pointed out that although | A loss of agricultural land often causes a decrease in the amount — of food which can be produced by a community. Thus, more food must be imported. Food prices will then rise be- cause it is more expensive to im-_- port food than it is to purchase food which is grown locally. A loss of agricultural land in the CRD also aff fects city dwellers. In urban arcas. of Regional . District, loria,. many of the residents depend on. their access to farm- land ~ for recreation and cnjoy- ment. For numerous urban ‘dwellers, a the. Capital drive or walk ‘in the: country’ is av privilege. «Farmland. is’ usually free ‘of the-noise,. pollution, and traffic found. in citics.. Access to orural land: is..also important . to, 2S “people. who. enjoy: life: plains his: opinion of farmlars proservalion: There's. only: so much agricultural land left, (so). - start) looking. ‘flor. we'd beter What Tittle remains at, this pre- cious commoditys” When farmland: iy. fram the: “fe moved Agriculiiral that it would. be more remunerative to selb-their land to developers thanto Continue to use not do so because the land is pro- jweted by the: Agric wbtural Land Reserve, ; In other arcas of the Capital Regional. District, farmers are ox : perimenwing with ew GEOPS In OF ‘der to use their agricultural land to is full, potential, Approximate: . ly NOO ders of land in Central: included. in. a which | Potatues, Lanalacs, ceplan. and Saanich ise quarantine Zone. IN sever) obher doods may. not be commercially produced, However, because this land is by the | Agricultural Land Reserve, farmers arc cont: pelled to grow’ alternative. craps resident of Saanich, Darlene Schultz, enjoys “Land Reserve, it becomes increasingly. difficult for. farmers ‘to’ produce ~ enough food on remaining lind to © emake a provit, Often, farmers dls i cover _ Vides» urban) dwellers. with . an. ‘escape’ from the city. “is unlikely. that. the: community original : state. For this -reason, “numerous municipalities of the -their residential. and. commercial . ‘land to. its full: potential before they remove farmland from. the ~ LAURA HAUGHTON three quarters of the carth is cov- ered by salt water, ‘‘liquid fresh water cquals only onc per cent of the hydrosphere.”’ Canadians use 120 billion litres of water per day but are blessed portant investment ers suchas fan Vanureight are now growing several, highly suc- cessful new crops, on of which is the kiwi fruit. If farmland in the CRD were chased or rented by those who were willing to pay the highest price for it. Therefore, those who could create the: most profit from the use of the land, such as devel- opers, would eventually own most of the agricultural land | in the CRD. “The land would be subdivided and used; for residential. or com- the. Capital “Regional. District would become. almost. nonexis- tent. In: the past, many Canadian ..cities. quickly spread. into. the: sur-' rounding farmland when farmers. sold: their land 10 developers for. large.amounts:‘of money... “In.-the. - Niagara - fruit. belt ‘in “Ontario; some. of: Canada’s: best.” | a farmland: has’ ‘been Jost to devel: + OPCTS... However; British Colum- “bia’s. Agricultural: Land Reserve “protects acreage...in the: Capital "Regional District from this fate. “Farmland. is important..to-. the. ‘Capital many reasons, First of all, arable.” ‘and “has. many purposes in. the CRD. Food for the people. of the | “community is” ‘produced - on:.the- Capital Regional District's farm- ‘Regional District land. Also, agricultural land pro-. ~ When farmland is developed, it will. ever return the land to ils CRD are planning to use most of Agricuiaral Land Reserve. Farmland is removed frony the | Agricultural Land Reserve only when it. is necessary to. do so, sometimes, a. municipality: needs a new hospital or school and the spmount of farmland may por have | Hi same impact on agriculture as: “today. More > advance. far ming. = yielding crops. are. enabling fant: ers. to. grow more food on less. — only acreage which is available or sinh for, the location of the caidings is agricultural land, in these the Distriey grows, land reserve in order for it 10 he devel. oped residentially... In the future, a reduction inthe does “techniques” and high and However, land will never coms pletely disappear as a requirement for ‘agriculture, For this reason, the use of agricultural land for ur. ban) purposes ‘should ie mini- - anized.: Preserving farmland i is casential inthe Capital Regional District. Te ~ prevents urbanization from occurs 4 - ring too quickly in a community. Also, ibensures dat We licat stl ‘cultural tand is conserved for fu- {ure generations to enjoy. On Meir handy raver Uae pebh Wy, * developers For this reason, faroye. T he amount of farmhind in BC. ‘is very small, therefore, OXiSTIN GE! ‘prable land in the province: must “be protected. _ sia aniounls of firnvand may he removed from the Agricultiral When Land Reserve far development, When all details of the issie are. - : conside rad, Ong wan ‘Ree int cane - trotted: farmland preservation iS 4 ad nib ro. ahh ibis atl piste wb et Biretenetens “gonmumndty: ‘for c-casesy the withdrawal. of farmland from the Agricultural Land Reserve is essential, As the “population. ...of Regional: nay have to be removed from the” - Capital” Necessary with an abundant supply of fresh water, she said. ‘““Waler is our most important resource because it is vital for hu- man cxistence,’’ so preservation and management are important when dealing with its supply, said Grant. Grant said that the Grater Vic- toria- Water District can currently store and distribute cnough water to serve the more than a quarter D essay contest of a million people who live in the district, and has plans to in- crease the supply to serve an ad- ditional 200,000 people. here in future years. Mardi Verbrugge, of 2733 Somass Drive, a Grade 11 student at Pacific Christian School, was: the winner of the $200 third place prize, with her essay, Farmland Preservation - To Be or Not to Be? DISTRICT OF NORTH SAANICH PARKS COMMISSION : North Saanich Council is accepting applications from individuals in- & terested in serving on the North Saanich Parks Commission. The § Parks Commission will advise Council on all matters related to the ‘| acquisition, disposal, enlargement, development and maintenance } of local parks, trails and beach accesses. Five appointment will be & made from the municipality at large, and it is hoped that all areas of @- the municipality can be represented. Interested persons should forward their names to Mrs. Joan E. § Schill, Municipal Clerk, 1620 Mills Road, P.O. Box 2639, Sieney, Es B.C. V8L 4C1, cidade 1988. PARKDALE SHELL ¢ CORNER i DOUGLAS & \ SAANICH RD. 1988 | J ritish ~Colurblir’ Suinsner » Gaiith.. MR. BUSINESSMAN: " WASH & WAX WITH THIS COUPON. - “Phone Listings Wyour, Bisiness Phone Numbor is now or ‘Vins bean tocently chang: ¢ od, ploato callus and we'll run It free of charge for n parlod of thied | montha, Thie servica limited (a tha Rovlow's Trading aren, ‘Company Namo _ ci Anna's. Fabrics. .. cee ce ye BORER (9) Bie Q- Tires venwes eee ees BORM2T2 ee, Elactrolux of: on Canada vs seeseseesesess +s 6520600 47) Gartside Marine Engines vs 855-4543 en Leland Rady Taning . 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