Olympia officials want to turn park land into an urban farm. First they need your input
Over the years, it’s become increasingly difficult to hold onto farmland as populations grow and more housing is needed.
Now, city officials in Olympia have launched an effort to curb the issue by turning land in the parks system into farmland for the public to use.
The city’s Parks, Arts and Recreation department launched a survey on Engage Olympia to garner feedback on the urban farm park idea. The survey will close Friday, Oct. 20. You can also participate by phone by contacting Project Manager Sylvana Niehuser at 360-753-8068.
According to a news release from the city, the production of local food is a strong value in the Olympia area. And with the loss of farmland, it’s become a challenge for folks to grow and eat local, fresh food, especially for lower-income households. Olympia has a Farmland Workgroup, led by council member Dani Madrone, that recommended the urban farm park idea in hopes land can be stewarded by community partners and dedicated to both agriculture and education.
The city hired a consultant, AHBL, an engineering firm in Tacoma, to conduct a feasibility study. It will refine the vision for the park and determine if the city can take on the project, including whether the city’s urban growth area has any land large enough for an urban farm, or if it should find a partner that can purchase land.
The news release included a definition for urban agriculture from the USDA: “Urban agriculture generally refers to the cultivation, processing and distribution of agricultural products in urban and suburban settings, including things like vertical production, warehouse farms, community gardens, rooftop farms, hydroponic, aeroponic, and aquaponic facilities, and other innovations.”
City officials and their consultant on the project reviewed several different models of urban agriculture that already exist in the Pacific Northwest. They included an educational half-acre farm on Whidbey Island, a 42-acre incubator farm in Everson, Whatcom County, and market halls and farming foundations based in Portland.
The consultant came up with three possible concepts for the urban farm park, and they’re hoping public feedback will help city officials focus on one. The options include what officials are calling a modest culturally-rooted ecological center, a large farming education-focused facility, or a smaller, collaborative community growth space.
The online survey is 14 questions, four of them being open ended and the rest multiple choice.
