Start them young... Students from Sardis


Secondary School and High Road Academy will have a unique opportunity to get involved in applied agricultural research as a result of a collaboration between UFV and School District 33.


Under the agreement, School


District 33 is going to start transforming a 5-acre space into a show farm on prime land in the middle of Sardis. “We have been working on this


Tall polycarbonate greenhouse is the first of its kind in North America.


horticultural equipment. The outdoor facilitieswill feature soil-


based trials for blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, goji berries and haskap. “Thismaterialwill be available for any


researcher toworkwith in anyway that they can’t do in farmers fields,” says Baumann. “Theywill be able to destroy,mangle and otherwise do stuff thatwe normally can’t in fields wherewe domost of our research.” In addition to the


polycarbonate greenhouse and barn, the newfacilities include a polyethylene- covered greenhousewill house cooler crops, and a newlab for quality analysis. The facilitieswill allowa greater level


Vancouver IslandUniversity, BCIT, Kwantlen PolytechnicUniversity, Okanagan College and Thompson RiversUniversity. They have also brought onMark Sweeney, berry specialist for the BCMinistry of Agriculture, as an adjunct professor, and areworking on bringing researchers fromthe Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre into the fold. For Baumann, it’s


Tom Baumann


of student participation in research at UFV, something thatwill stand themin good stead as the university prepares to launch a newplant science degree programin September 2014. Students in the four-year programwill startwith two years in the trades and technology faculty, followed by two years in the faculty of science. With the newfacilities also come new


opportunities for growers and industry as the research capacity is expanded and UFV reaches out to other organizations as partners in a provincial research hub. “Having a centre of excellence atUFV


meansmany things, it’s not justUFV doing research,” Baumann explains. “As part of centre,we are becoming a hub where other institutions can fit in.We are pulling everybody together and making sure industry has access to every expertisewithin B.C.” So far,UFV has had discussionswith


6 British Columbia Berry Grower • Spring 2014


important that growers and industry remain the focus as the academic programs and relationships continue to grow. “Through the Pacific BerryResearch Centre,


we’ll have industry directing what needs doing. It’s not


some ivory tower research, it’s directed by industry,” he says. “The industry has been very forward


looking and very progressive and that’s whatwewould like to continue to deliver.”


project for the last three years, and now it’s finally coming to fruition,” says Tom Baumann. “We’ll be using the first acre this summer, and expand by one acre every year until the site is filled. I am very interested to put more berry plots on this site.” So far the school district has


leveled the land and put in drainage. Once electrical and water services are installed, the site will be up and running. The plan is to have students


work on research trials installed at the site. The schools will run a summer program for which students get credit. The university students will be paid to guide and lead the summer school students in their work, and industry will benefit from the research. “Everyone gets credit for it,”


says Baumann. “My students get paid, and everyone gets hands- on experience. Involving the students in demonstration research is the best way of learning.”


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