2023 Courtenay Annual Report

LUSH Valley's Share the Harvest Garden The Share the Harvest Community Garden has been serving the community since it was established in 2012 through a partnership betweens the City and the Lush Food Action Society. This community garden is a place where anyone can have access to land to grow food for themselves and for their community, where gardening education and mentorship are provided, and where social capital is nurtured and grows. This garden continues to play an important role in the lives of not only the gardeners – the volunteers who maintain the garden – but also in the community in the neighbourhood. The benefit is universal and results in an increase in social capital, civic engagement, sustainability and food security. Municipal Support of Food Policy Municipal support of food policy and programs to strengthen the sustainability of local food systems is expanding across the region and province. This comes with the recognition that resilient food systems contribute to the health of people and cities in multiple diverse ways – from reducing inequities in access to healthy affordable food, to reducing the impacts of pollution and climate change and strengthening the local economy. Municipalities are now often participating at food policy tables to advance system changes where resources are leveraged across networks to support projects such as community gardens, food box distribution programs, sustainable food procurement programs, food hubs, and farmers markets.

Farm Route Signs The Comox Valley is known for its rich agricultural lands, with many independent producers/farmers in and around the region sustaining a diverse and ever-expanding range of vegetables, fruit, livestock and grains. Farm vehicles traveling in and around the community may be oversized and traveling below posted speed limits. Following consultation with the Comox Valley Farmers Institute on ways to increase awareness of agricultural activity on local roads, in spring 2023 the City of

Food Systems

Courtenay installed new “Farm Route” signs on sections of 17th Street, Fitzgerald Avenue, and Cumberland Road. The signs identify roadways maintained by the City of Courtenay that are most commonly used by the agricultural community for traveling to and from local farmland. While farm activity generally increases in the spring and fall, commuters should expect farm vehicles on local roads at any time of the year – and give them plenty of space and patience so they can continue their work to grow the food that feeds us.

Beekeeping at Share the Harvest Garden Photo by Alison Peill

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City of Courtenay | 2023 Annual Report