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TuesDAY, JuNe 3, 2014
VOl. 26, NO. 7
new public school to open in fall
I
pRogRAM wiLL offer aboriginalfocused education and wraparound services. By Tamara Cunningham The News BulleTiN
TAMARA CUNNINGHAM/THe News BUlleTIN
Lantzville Coun. Andrew Mostad shows off farm-fresh eggs sold along Lantzville Road. Mostad sees the potential for programs that promote urban agriculture, including a map of where people can find fresh eggs, after the district made it legal for residential landowners to sell what they grow.
Bylaw allows cultivation of home-based food sales By Tamara Cunningham The News BulleTiN
Allowing residential landowners to sell what they grow is the first step toward cultivating a culture of urban farming, according to Lantzville Coun. Andrew Mostad. The District of Lantzville adopted zoning bylaw changes that make market gardening and farm-gate sales a legitimate home-
based business. The move comes three years after the municipality went headto-head with Compassion Farm over a commercial food operation, which was not previously permitted on residential lots. Residents will now be allowed to profit from crops like fruits, vegetables, trees and flowers under restrictions that include buffer zones, noise-scaring devices and
artificial lighting. The change is being called progressive by Lantzville Farmer’s Market manager Josh Fuller, who says that it never made sense to him that you couldn’t set aside a portion of your property to make money off like you could on agricultural land. But Marjorie Stewart, spokeswoman for Friends of Urban Agriculture Lantzville Society, believes the
bylaw still leaves huge barriers in front of urban farmers, including the need to create buffers and fencing. She calls the whole process a “mammoth waste of time.” Mostad agrees the bylaw isn’t perfect, but he sees it as the first step in an effort to create resiliency to encourage and enhance urban agriculture in Lantzville. See ‘BYLAW’ /2
W E CO LO U R
DEFININGBROWN’S SOCIAL
Class will be in this fall for students enrolled in Nanaimo’s new aboriginal-focused public school. Vancouver Island West School District will be opening registration for a new one-classroom public school making its debut on Fifth Street in Nanaimo this September. The primary school is considered the first of its kind in B.C. and a potential solution to improve Nanaimo’s aboriginal graduation rates. It was proposed by the Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre last year, and will include partnerships with the Mid Island Métis Nation and the Boys and Girls Club of Central Vancouver Island, which will host the school in its building. Chris Beaton, executive director of the aboriginal centre, said the new Nanaimo Learning Centre will not only give children outdoor and culture-based education, but also “wraparound” services. The programs, all offered under the same roof, will include childcare, early literacy programs and family support workers. The school was previously anticipated to have multiple classrooms for 160 students in kindergarten to Grade 3, but the partners opted to start small at 20 spaces and one room. “That’s one of the challenges of our traditional school model is that we put children into grades based on their age, not their ability and so a multi-grade classroom allows for flexibility,” Beaton said. “They could be doing Grade 2 level math but Grade 3 level English all in the same classroom.” See ‘STUDENTS’ /4
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