GOLDSTREAM
NEWS GAZETTE
Community News
EDUCATION NEWS
Lookout Lake clean
Teacher honoured
Colwood enlists divers help to clean garbage from lake before stocking it with fish. Page A26
Laura Verhoeven’s hands on approach to science pays off with prestigious Amgen Award. Page A5
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
SERVING THE BEST SUSHI ON THE WESTSHORE 250.590.8686 737 Goldstream Ave Beside Station House Pub
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Watch for breaking news at www.goldstreamgazette.com
Inside ■ Farmer’s Markets open on the West Shore Page A3 ■ Food Festival serves up delights at Fort Rodd Hill Page A3
Kit Warren tends to a crop at his Shadow Mountain Farm in Metchosin. Warren is working hard to establish markets for his produce, including operating his own farm market. The next Shadow Mountain Farm Market takes place this Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 4901 Sooke Rd.
FOOD Edward Hill/News staff
Farming in full swing on the West Shore Edward Hill News staff
C
hickens and goats run free around greenhouses. Fat Yorkshire sows and boars grunt and snort, as little piglets explore the world. Kit Warren’s quintessential Metchosin hobby farm is a world away from the rugby pitch or boxing ring. Warren still looks the part of a scrappy pugilist and national level rugby player, and less so a dedicated farmer. But the Langford-born 37-year-old is working hard to transform his plot of rural, somewhat rocky property into productive land.
With nine acres, Warren’s Shadow Mountain farm has been growing veggies and raising animals for his family for about six seasons. With new greenhouses and more animals, he is amping up the supply to break into the growing business of supplying local food. “It’s not really farmland, but we’ve created a farm and we’ll use what we have. It’s my goal for food security to get other people growing,” Warren said while walking through one greenhouse packed with sprouting fruit trees and other plant starts. “It’s important people know where their food comes from.”
Warren has been better known in the region as a champion tough-man fighter for about a decade. His last bout was Aug. 17, 2007 at Western Speedway’s Summer Slug Fest II, a notorious grudge match against Shane Wilson. “I’ve had 17 surgeries altogether but I’m still playing rugby,” Warren said. “I attribute that to eating healthy food.” The Castaway Wanderer scrum half, known as the “Commissioner,” also played internationally for Canada’s Rugby League team and Canadian Rugby Classics over 33 international squad. Warren said taking up farming wasn’t a big leap for him – he grew up on a 10 acre farm in Shawnigan Lake.
Between running a pressure washing business, boxing and rugby, he learned the ropes of organic gardening through Gaia College at Royal Roads University. He even took a stab at raising cattle by renting space on a Saanich farm. “At eight years old I was on a farm,” he said. “I knew I needed a farm and could raise kids on a farm.” Warren bought the land in 2006, and prides himself on using scrap wood and metals from his Zero Waste hauling business to recycle into outbuildings for plants and animals. PLEASE SEE: Hobby farmer determined, Page A13
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