A new event in the East Kootenay took place for the first time on Thursday, June 7. Organized by Tammy Hampton, a seed technician with Monsanto, The Pizza Farm is a program she first saw at a Monsanto Facility in Saskatchewan.
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“It’s a way to sort of engage kids so they can learn where their food comes from,” Hampton explained. “So I went [to Saskatchewan], seen the program, thought it was wonderful, wanted to bring it to the kids in the East Kootenays. That’s where the concept came from.”
In total there are 13 different activities that the kids cycle through, nine minutes at a time, with a one minute break in between. Each step involved has something to do with where the food they eat, specifically pizza, comes from.
There is tomato and pepper planting, as well as wheat, canola, onions, garlic and herbs. There is farming equipment they can go inside of. There are chickens, goats and cows. There are worms, illustrating the importance of good soil. There are bees and information about their crucial role in pollenating plants. There is information on irrigation and water. Community Connections are also involved, planting potatoes.
Next Friday June 15, the event will open up to the community from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
“t won’t be staged quite the same because we can’t stage nine minutes for everybody to sort of go through that but certainly open so that people can come out, wander around, check out the different things that are going on at all the stations and maybe partake in some of the events.”
The Pizza Farm is located at 6895 Ha Ha Creek Road, Wardner. Turn right before the Wardner Bridge onto Wardner Road from Highway 3 and follow the signs labelled “Pizza Farm.”
