Around the world people are growing food in cities! From August 15 to 18, the 2012 Urban Agriculture Summit will bring together a diversity of people that are making it happen – design professionals, community groups, social housing advocates, tenants and developers, educators, planners, homeowners, urban growers and others – to share what is working, and to discover what is possible.
From bee-keeping to community and school gardens; from aquaculture to rooftop farming, urban agriculture is becoming an essential element of food security, improving access to healthy, affordable food in a rapidly urbanizing world. Urban agriculture can also generate much-needed skills development and local employment while improving local environmental and community health.
The first Urban Agriculture Summit in Toronto will be action-oriented: attendees will learn new tools to advance urban agriculture in their own communities. Together participants will explore urban agriculture’s current role and future potential in 21st century city-building.
Major Summit themes include:
- Food Security, food sovereignty and city-building
- Planning and design of innovative infrastructure for small & large-scale urban agriculture
- New technologies and innovative practices associated with production
- Scaling up urban agriculture: Supportive programs, policies and governance models
- Best management practices in for-profit and not-for-profit food production
- Building the business case: the economics, financing and marketing of urban agriculture
- Embedding urban agriculture in community development and housing
Target Audiences and Participants
The Summit will engage a wide range of audiences. These include:
- Urban and peri-urban growers and farmers
- Community leaders, workers and residents focusing on food security projects
- Elementary and high school teachers, administrators and students interested in school gardens
- Design professionals, including architects and landscape architects
- Building owners, developers and managers
- Social housing residents and advocates
- Health care professionals interested in food and nutrition
- Policy makers from all levels of government
- Planning professionals
- Chefs and restaurant representatives
- Food retail, distribution, and sourcing professionals
- Academics/researchers
- University students
Main Components of the Program
A variety of approaches will be provided for sharing knowledge, building skills and strengthening capacity:
- Professional and practical training on the organizing, financing, design, installation and sustainability of various types of urban agriculture projects, offered by project leaders or other experts
- Organized tours to exceptional urban agricultural projects throughout the Greater Toronto Area
- Plenary sessions and keynote speakers
- Special workshops to provide advanced knowledge
- Networking sessions
- Hands-on projects to enable the application of skills in real-life settings
- Opening reception and closing celebration
Location
FoodShare and Ryerson University – well-known hubs for learning, growing and increasing access to good healthy food – will host the keynote and training sessions with talks, tours and activities happening throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
The 2012 Urban Agriculture Summit is being organized by FoodShare, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities,Housing Services Corporation, Ryerson University and the Toronto Food Policy Council.
Visit site: http://www.urbanagsummit.org/
Download PDF: http://www.urbanagsummit.org/images/pdfs/2012%20Urban%20Agriculture%20Summit%20multi-page%20Overview.pdf
