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On October 15th, Harvest will be staged on the Transport Canada Lands, Pickering Lands. Our guests will be Toronto’s leading food and agriculture activists who'll join us in an original, artist-led event called Harvest.
Harvest is offered by Abundance GTA, a volunteer initiative which seeks to reconnect GTA citizens people to the Transport Canada Lands Pickering. It draws its inspiration from poet and conservationist Wendell Berry, who calls for a “land use ethic that is shaped by a sense of affection for land and place.”
Affection hinges on familiarity; on tangible connections and so Harvest begins with a bus ride from Toronto to Pickering. On the bus three renowned poets - Maureen Scott Harris, Maureen Hynes and Nick Power will share their new work inspired by the Lands. On arrival at a farm on the Lands, First Nations ceremonial leader, Cyndi White, will conduct a sacred fire ceremony honouring the place and its ancestors. Then our partners in community-based food justice networks from CaterToronto and Maizal will share a harvest-themed lunch with our local guests, nearby farmers and activists who will share their experiences of the lingering consequences of the Pickering expropriations. This networking opportunity will strengthen farm-to-city connections for a new generation of dynamic farmers and food producers who are part of a growing movement to re-imagine our food supply system and begin the transition to small agricultural production.
Following lunch the tour will continue to Bob Hunter Memorial Park of the Rouge National Urban Park, a newly-created space that protects nearly 10,000 acres of land once endangered by the threat of airport development. Here our artist partners, Kaeja d’Dance have adapted Flock Landing, a public participatory dance performance, specifically for the Harvest project. Guests will be invited to join in an improvisational, moving exploration of the Lands; a musical opportunity to see, hear, taste and feel the textures of the gift of Nature that are these Lands.
