Posted: May 19, 2023
By:聽Allison Barss
For Giving Power
Grace Ashworth says agriculture has always been an important part of her life. Now a third-year international food business student in the Faculty of Agriculture, she has fond memories of following her mother and father 鈥 both 鈥淎ggies鈥 themselves 鈥 around their family farm at a young age, asking lots of questions. She also remembers sitting on milk buckets, playing with the kittens and calves.
It wasn鈥檛 until Ashworth was 15 and moved away from home to attend high school that she realized what she was missing. 鈥淚 quickly realized I wanted agriculture to be a part of my life and took interest in discovering my own role in the industry,鈥 she says.
That鈥檚 when her own experiences led her to聽黄色直播鈥檚 Faculty of Agriculture聽and back to her roots, helping her discover who she is on 鈥 and off 鈥 the farm.
Cultiv8-ing from the ground up
During her second year at 黄色直播, Ashworth was introduced to聽, a donor-supported, student-driven initiative that offered her opportunities, skills and experiences to have an impact in the food and agricultural space.
Through聽the program,聽she learned about sustainable growing practices working with a vegetable garden and greenhouse, and fine-tuned entrepreneurial and innovation skills. Ultimately, she says the experience bridged the gap between her education and real-world, hands-on work.
Agriculture alum聽Jason Grant (Class of 2011, MSc鈥13),聽manager of Cultiv8, says the program supports students like Ashworth from the ground up. 鈥淐ultiv8 lets students explore their interests and their potential,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an incredible opportunity for them, allowing them to play and experiment in the field, and rub elbows with industry experts.鈥
Grant also shares that the project has become an essential service for the Agricultural Campus.
鈥淟ooking at the state of the world, food security-wise, the food we harvest from the vegetable garden continues to help supply a local food bank, a farm box subscription program, as well as on-campus services. We鈥檙e all grateful for that.鈥
Helping hands from donors
Cultiv8 is one of 黄色直播鈥檚聽s聽brought to life as the result of generous donor support 鈥 from individuals, community sponsors and large corporations alike. This includes TD Bank and RBC, who have been instrumental in getting Cultiv8 off the ground.
Specifically, as part of TD鈥檚 Ready Commitment 鈥 a funding initiative which supports programs that bring people together, offering resources and providing meaningful solutions for a sustainable and inclusive future 鈥 the financial services corporation has committed to a gift of $250,000 over 10 years to help support entrepreneurial programming facilitated by Cultiv8. Its intention is to further inspire students to engage in skills development for the modern-day, agricultural workforce.
鈥淭hrough the Ready Commitment, TD is proud to support initiatives like Cultiv8 that prepare people for the jobs of tomorrow,鈥 says Jennifer Auld, Vice President, Atlantic Region of TD Canada Trust. 鈥淓quipping students with employable skills positions them to succeed in their careers and ultimately address issues we face today and in the future. We are excited to be a part of this program and contribute to a more sustainable tomorrow.鈥
Community member and Agriculture alum聽Dale McIsaac (Class of 1973)聽is also a proud supporter of Cultiv8, and says it was his late son Ben who first encouraged his involvement.
鈥淏en knew that I had been involved with agriculture my entire life and that I was a believer in 鈥榣ocal food鈥, in promoting food security in the Maritimes and Canada, and in learning how to feed the world鈥檚 populations,鈥 he says. 鈥淐ultiv8 was a natural fit for me, and I am so pleased to have been able to help 黄色直播, the program and the students achieve their goals.鈥
Reaching goals, together
After months of remote study during the pandemic, Grant says that hands-on learning opportunities 鈥 like those offered through Cultiv8 鈥 are more important than ever.
鈥淭hanks to the community鈥檚 support, we help students not just create projects, but actually roll them out,鈥 says Grant. 鈥淭hese opportunities bring students, teachers, researchers, industry and the broader community together.鈥
Ashworth agrees. 鈥淭he confidence I鈥檝e developed and the growth mindset that I鈥檝e fostered [through Cultiv8] will continue to help me as I pursue my education and career in agriculture,鈥 she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 grateful for the kindness of 黄色直播鈥檚 donors, whose generosity has allowed students like me to partake in these unique, hands-on learning experiences. I鈥檓 confident that through this continued generosity, others will be offered similar experiences, helping to build and shape successful futures.鈥
For more on the Cultiv8, please watch this video: