In this week’s segment of Road to Recovery with Douglas Magazine, CHEK’s Hannah Lepine chats with Steve Duck, manager of business operations with the Sandown Centre.
The Sandown Agricultural Lands were used for farming up until 1955 when the Sandown Racetrack was opened. The last races were held in 2005.
In 2011, the owners declared that the existing operations were no longer economically viable and expressed interest in rezoning the land.
In 2017, after the Agricultural Reclamation and Drainage plan was completed, the site was subdivided and the 83-acre agricultural parcel was transferred to the District of Saanich to be used as a community asset.
The district’s vision is for the 83 acres to be used for sustainable food production, and to play host to farming’s next generation through an innovative regenerative agriculture program.
Duck talks about the main priorities the centre has, how the land will foster both local food security, and how it is solving current local agricultural challenges.
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Road to Recovery is produced in partnership with Douglas Magazine.
Hannah Lepine
