Dear friends of farmland, please enjoy the moving letter from a supporter of Ontario Farmland Trust below. It has inspired us and we hope it will do the same for you.
Farming is important. It has shaped who I am. I grew up in a farming family and spent my summer picking, packing, and selling sweet corn with my cousins.
Working on a farm was a family and community experience. You are connected with each other and with the land – the land that sustains us.
Now as I look out over the protected farmland at my yoga studio, I try to share that message with my clients. My studio sits on a section of the protected farmland that is known as the ‘Pickering Airport Lands’. So, I am reminded every day of the importance of preserving the land that grows our food.
It is rewarding to provide a space for people to come and be physically active, relax, and connect with where their food comes from.
People have this idea that there are endless acres of farmland, and it can be developed because there will always be lots of it. My goal is to help provide more awareness about farmland loss, so people understand this is not the case. We are losing vast amounts of farmland every day and this is not sustainable. Growth and development need to occur in a more logical way, a way in which our farmland is not paved over, but preserved for the future.
I have been a supporter of the Ontario Farmland Trust for about three years now as a monthly donor. I also offer a community yoga class where I share a portion of my proceeds from the class with the Trust. This offers my students a way to contribute to something that is important to them as well.
People need a connection to the land; a connection to where their food is grown. This is important for our environmental, social, and mental health and well-being.
So, I invite you to join me in supporting the Ontario Farmland Trust and help protect the land and the soil that nourishes us.
Yours in farming,
Ellen Reesor