Large-scale privately funded community garden operation coming to Saanich

Lee Smith and John Espley recently acquired 14 acres of farmland in Saanich. They're planning to offer plots to the public for as little as $120 a year.

Lee Smith and John Espley are about to embark on a project that has been four years in the making. The pair will soon open a new business by the name of the Blenkinsop Community Agricultural Centre, which will be a privately funded community garden on a massive scale.

In recent weeks, crews have been busy putting up fencing and preparing the site.

“Right now, we’re installing irrigation, trying to bring water to every single plot that we are going to have,” said Smith.

“Thousands of feet of irrigation pipe,” added Espley.

In September, the pair closed a deal on three properties surrounding Smith’s Tuff-Turf business on Blenkinsop Road in Saanich. It consists of a total of 14 acres.

By the spring, the goal is to begin to lease out plots of farmland in five-by-10-foot parcels.

“We could do up to 1,000 community allotments,” said Espley.

Half-acre and quarter-acre leases will also be offered, and having a green thumb isn’t a prerequisite.

“We will accept inexperienced people. A lot of farmland that’s available, they’ll only take experienced farmers, so it doesn’t give anyone a chance to learn and start,” said Espley.

The tentative plan is to charge $120 per year for the allotments.

“That’s 10 bucks a month; that’s cheaper than a streaming fee,” said Espley.

A quarter-acre parcel will go for $1,800 a year and a half-acre for around $3,000. There will be a one-time membership fee of $40 for the allotment plots and $50 for the farm plots.

“People are losing their ability to touch soil and grow their own food,” said Smith.

“We do know that food insecurity is a worsening concern,” said Dr. Matthew Little, associate professor at the University of Victoria School of Public Health and Social Policy.

Little agrees with Smith. The need for more housing has come with the densification of communities, and many don’t have land to grow their own food.

“Why not try it? It does seem affordable, and hopefully it just means that there is more people getting out there and being able to grow their own food,” said Little.

With the cost of groceries going up, uncertainty around tariffs and food bank usage on the rise up and down Vancouver Island, the Blenkinsop Community Agricultural Centre could be one way for families to become more self-reliant when it comes to what goes on their dinner tables every night.