In 2015, Allan and Linda Torgerson, then owners of a five-acre parcel of land at 945 Park Avenue in Harewood, asked Craig Evans, founder of Growing Opportunities and Nanaimo Foodshare Society, how the land could be converted to food production. 

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Under Craig's leadership, a wide variety of community members and organizations got to work cleaning away farm scrap piles, removing rocks, ploughing the land, adding organic material to enrich the soil, and building fencing. Today, this former hayfield has been transformed into incredibly rich and productive agricultural land, capable of producing a large volume of local food for members of the community.

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In September 2019, City of Nanaimo purchased this land for $1.38 million for community use.

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Today, the farm is a vibrant community space that hosts farmer’s markets, volunteer work parties, seniors' programming, employment programs and tours for schools, community groups, and the public.

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The farm demonstrates the potential of human-scale agriculture. It invites the community to explore a farm ecosystem with all their senses and imagine a future where food production fosters rich biodiversity, healthy soils and thriving wetlands.

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