Alumni & Friends - Ways to get involved and give back
Vice Principal Academic & Dean

U of T Scarborough Campus Farm Project Application

Located on North Campus, east of the Pan-Am Sports Centre, and beyond the Morningside Athletic Fields, is the U of T Scarborough Campus Farm. The 10-acre, brownfield site is dedicated to teaching, research, and community engagement on campus.

The U of T Scarborough Campus Farm provides faculty with the opportunity to use the farm as an outdoor classroom for lectures, seminars, tutorials, hands-on workshops/class field trips; as well as for research work; and community and industry partnerships.

The teaching application is for the annual use of the allocated raised beds. If the request is to plant in the ground for more than one season, a separate application would be required and reviewed.

The research plots provide faculty and their students an opportunity to carry out research studies on the Campus Farm. Each research plot is 5 metres x 5 metres.  The research application is for the annual use of the research plots. If the request is for more than one season, this would trigger a separate evaluation.

The Campus Farm does not offer allotment plots or allotment garden beds.

Guidelines:

Requests to use the Campus Farm are reviewed and approved by the Campus Farm Program Committee. This approval process includes an operational review by the Office of Business, Operations, & Strategic Affairs.

The Program Committee may include the following members:

  • Associate Dean Undergraduate Programs & Curriculum, Committee Chair
  • Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences (or designate)
  • Chair of the Department of Human Geography (or designate)
  • Chair of the Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences (or designate)
  • Chair of the Department of Sociology (or designate)
  • Director of the Culinaria Research Centre (or designate)
  • 2 faculty members-at-large
  • 1 faculty member from a tri-campus unit with related expertise & interest (e.g., Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape & Design)
  • 1 graduate student or post-doctoral fellow
  • 1 undergraduate student
  • 1 staff from Community Partnerships & Engagement
  • 1 staff from the Doris McCarthy Gallery
  • 1 staff from Library
  • 1 staff from Indigenous Initiatives
  • Staff from the Office of Business, Operations & Strategic Affairs
  • Campus Farm Coordinator
  • U of T Scarborough Grounds Supervisor
  • (consultation with Occupational Health & Safety and AccessAbility Services)

 

Application deadline is January 15, 2024. Questions about how the farm can support your course and/or research can be directed to  undergrad.initiatives.utsc@utoronto.ca.

Application:

What will the farm be used for?
Research Projects
Is the research:
Including the use of chemicals, biologicals, radiation, X-ray, Ultraviolet, Electromagnetic frequencies or Laser, imported soil, non-native plants/animals, imported or invasive parasites, invertebrates, genetically-modified plants or organisms and energized equipment. Also including the generation of hazardous waste and impact to the environment (e.g. noise, emissions and effluents to air, water or land, etc.).
Will the project require Research Ethics Board approval?
Teaching Projects
One file only.
30 MB limit.
Allowed types: txt, rtf, pdf, doc, docx, ppt, pptx, xls, xlsx.
Is this the first time that the course is involved with the Campus Farm?
Semester of the course:
How often will the farm be used?
In what way will the farm support teaching or research? Select all that apply.
Has Community Partnerships & Engagement been included in the discussion?
Has Indigenous Initiatives at U of T Scarborough been included in the discussion?
What will be done at the farm? Select all that apply.
Specify the human resources who will be involved. It is mandatory for teaching staff to be present during the class visit. Select all that apply
How will the project be funded?
What will be done with the produce or plant material grown? It is not permitted to sell produce grown at the farm.

Describe how much and/or type of space is needed:

  • Growing area: Specify the number of 4’ x 12’ teaching raised beds OR the number of 5m x 5m research plots OR the total growing space in square feet or square meters
  • Observation/discussion/and site visit: Indicate if specific location is to be used/requested
  • Duration: Include start/end dates (i.e. growing season starts on May 1 and ends on Oct. 31)
What infrastructure is needed? The farm provides farming tools and equipment (e.g. shovel, hand tools, garden gloves, wheelbarrow…)
How did you hear about Campus Farm?
Every visitor (‘One time only use’) of the Campus farm is asked to sign a visitor agreement prior to coming to the farm. The agreement sets a series of guidelines on the operation of the Campus Farm.
Every user of the Campus farm MUST attend an orientation session prior starting work at the farm. The orientation session will review how to access the farm, and the guidelines on the operation of the Campus Farm.
Every user of the Campus Farm is asked to sign a user agreement prior to starting work at the farm. The agreement outlines a series of guidelines on the operation of the Campus Farm. The application will only be accepted if the user attends the mandatory orientation session.