A Message to Our Prairie Urban Farm Volunteers and Friends
Many of the events unfolding across the world, including the
pandemic and the eruption of protests against violence perpetrated by
police against Black, Indigenous, other people of colour, and LGBTQ
peoples, have brought several essential conversations to the forefront
and highlighted the importance of kindness, inclusion, allyship, and
anti-racism. While PUF has always openly welcomed diverse volunteers and
groups to the farm, we haven’t yet directly addressed our stance and
values relating to this important topic. We want
to take this time to emphasize our strong support for inclusion and
anti-racism at the farm.
We believe PUF’s biggest strength is its volunteers. Over the years, PUF
has grown and flourished through the hard work and dedication of
volunteers of all ages, races, abilities and genders, each of whom has
contributed to a community based on mutual respect
and support. This diversity has fostered a wealth of knowledge sharing
while also uniting us through our collective commitment to growing
healthy food in a sustainable manner.
As such, we want to encourage all of our volunteers to continue to
enrich our community by sharing their unique ideas, experiences and
perspectives and to listen to others who are sharing theirs.
We also recognize that discrimination occurs in a variety of ways. This
includes, but is not limited to, stereotyping, racial profiling, bias,
and differential treatment. Victims of discrimination often remain
silent for fear of criticism, inferiority, mockery,
or humiliation. To ensure that we are providing an inclusive space for
everyone to feel safe, respected, and valued, we invite everyone to
please share any feedback, issues, or concerns in the event that you or a
fellow volunteer or visitor experiences any behaviours,
actions, or words that do not reflect our commitment of inclusivity,
respect and diversity.
If any volunteer or visitor experiences any form of discrimination, you
are encouraged to discuss the incident onsite in a constructive manner
if you feel comfortable doing so. Bringing awareness to the situation
may lead to valuable and educational conversations that could bring
greater awareness to everyone about how to show respect for diversity.
If you prefer to speak privately to a mentor, do not hesitate to
approach any one of our PUF mentors on site, or online via email or
Slack. Remember that PUF is a safe space to share your concerns, and we
are here to support you.
We are all responsible for sustaining a zero tolerance environment
against racism and discrimination. Although it takes courage, we believe
the most important means of doing so is to bring attention to acts of
discrimination when they occur and t turn a hurtful
moment into a learning moment. Individuals may be unaware of how their
words and actions may be hurtful to others. Let’s all strive for active
communication, awareness and positive change.
On Saturday, October 2, local permaculture and food forest expert Dustin Bajer joined PUF volunteers at the Farm to discuss the principles of food forestry, its many benefits, and how we can get started with our own food forest at Prairie Crab Farm. Creating food forests is a way of supporting a richly productive agricultural landscape that work with nature, rather than against it, saving volunteer labour in the process.
