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KPU field lab grows opportunities for students, public


Langley campus offers a wealth of experiences to ensure graduates hit the ground running


by RONDA PAYNE LANGLEY – Taking the


walkway over the highway separating Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Langley campus and the School of Horticulture’s field lab may leave one thinking they’ve stepped into a bio- diverse farm. This farm, however, is designed to bring students the advanced knowledge they need to become valuable assets upon graduation. Gary Jones, co-chair of


KPU’s School of Horticulture in Langley, believes his students get the most out of education when they experience the tools and techniques they will use when they graduate and go to work on farms, in nurseries, as landscapers or in other roles. “We run 21 different


programs,” says Jones. “The idea is students get to play with everything … so they’re not surprised when they go out into the world and see equipment.”


The school’s seven-acre field lab located a short distance away from Jones’ office across Langley Bypass includes a community garden, two glasshouses, offices, a classroom and workshop space, a mechanic shop (students are required to take a mechanics class), five polyhouses, a nursery and a golf green. “In the summer, we hire


three or four students to work here,” notes Jones. “We have to keep the vegetables going year-round so it looks like a standard commercial crop.” One of the students


working onsite this summer is Erik Jensen. He started at KPU in January and expects to graduate in two years. “Sustainable horticulture


really interests me because I think that food production is one of the cutting edges of environmentalism,” he says. “I think food systems is one of our biggest challenges.” Each of the six separate


compartments in one of the 1,200-square-meter glasshouses represents a


Students and teachers work together over the summer at KPU. Student Erik Jensen joins School of Horticulture faculty member Gary Jones at the field lab. RONDA PAYNE PHOTO


different segment of the industry, including tomatoes, cut flowers and nightshades. Each section has different controls and variables based upon what is being grown, growing practices and education methods. “Students do a course specifically on climate control,” Jones says. “If they’re


going to make mistakes, do it here, not out on 50 acres.” Currently, there are eight varieties of tomatoes growing on rootstock. A fall semester course includes grafting. In addition to cucumbers and tomatoes, other crops in the glasshouse include eggplant, hot peppers, strawberries, flowers and sweet peppers. Chemical spraying is done only when necessary. “We might have to spray


once, maybe twice, for powdery mildew,” says Jones. “We spray as little as possible. We try to use organic principles.”


Alongside glasshouse


crops, 17 different varieties of hops are growing outdoors that complement KPU’s new Brewing and Brewery Operations program. “What we’d really like to do


eventually is to grow enough hops for the program,” Jones explains. “It’s really interesting seeing the difference in the size and the smell of the hops.” A large community garden,


currently on hold, sits on the west side of the field lab. It allows outreach to the non- farm community. “Essentially it’s a garden


where kids would walk with a teacher,” notes Jones. “They got some science, got some physical exercise, got some biology and some botany perhaps.”


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majority of the site’s 10 bee hives and a pair of worm- composting bins. Jones says the composters replicate similar systems in Cuba.


“We wanted to see how it


works in a temperate climate versus a tropical climate,” he explains.


Different fish


To the east are KPU’s polyhouses, each with different irrigation and heating systems and uses. A pair of aquaponics


systems occupy one of the houses, part of KPU’s urban agriculture program. The system combines crop production with aquaculture, and Jones would like to see how different fish species fare in the system. He’s curious to see if trout


would survive, for example, and have a different impact than tilapia on the associated crop.


The other polyhouse was built in partnership with the BC Landscape and Nursery Association (BCLNA). The landscape construction class works its perimeter. The benefits of the


relationships with organizations such as the BCLNA are numerous, explains Jones. Connecting with industry groups keeps the school’s 12 faculty current with industry practice while students develop contacts within industry.


The eastern point of the site runs up to Logan Creek. Jones sees this as being beneficial to helping students better understand the environment and ecology. “We are extremely aware


that we are part of an environmental watershed,” he says.


COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • AUGUST 2017


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