Programs & Events
The Urban Farm offers a variety of experiential workshops and education-focused events to the university community. From hands-on training in the fields to deep dives into ecology and food justice, there are plenty of opportunities for you to get your hands dirty at the Urban Farm!
The Urban Farm offers hands-on, educational workshops on a range of topics and themes throughout the growing season. Workshops are open to students, staff, faculty, and members of the community.
What to expect
Each workshop includes an educational component as well as a hands-on activity on a different topic each week.
Fees
Workshops are priced based on the cost of supplies and vary depending on the nature of the activity.
- General rate: $10 to $35 + HST
- Student rate: $7 to $25 + HST
All proceeds from workshops help support ongoing programming and operations at the Urban Farm.
Register for an upcoming field workshop
A Black Food Sovereignty initiative at the Urban Farm, the Harvest Collective and Learning Circle offers free, experiential learning modules to the university community on the third Friday of every month. We’ll explore Black food history and the contributions people of African, Caribbean and Black of African descent (ACB) have made to Canadian food systems, demonstrate how to successfully grow and harvest culturally significant crops and medicines and learn about contemporary issues in food and climate justice.
Learn more about the Harvest Collective and Learning Circle.
Throughout the growing season, the Indigenous Foodways program offers a series of meet-ups for Indigenous students and community members that explore Indigenous wisdom and traditions related to land stewardship, ecological knowledge and ways of growing. You’ll learn about traditional companion planting methods and participate in seed saving, harvesting traditional medicines, supporting native pollinators and more.
Learn more about the Indigenous Foodways program.
Spend your Wednesday lunch break taking in the sun and breathtaking views of the city by visiting our rooftop farms this summer!
As part of the Urban Farm’s weekly Summer Open Farm program, visitors have free access to both rooftop sites and can explore the Ecological Market Garden atop the George Vari Engineering Computing Centre (ENG) every Wednesday, along with the Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex (DCC) starting in June until the end of September.
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work on a rooftop farm? Students are welcomed to join us for Workbee Wednesdays, where they will participate in various tasks at the Urban Farm, including weeding, fertilizing, mulching, crop removal and more.
Workbee Wednesdays run on Wednesdays from 2 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. from May through October.
Registration
Before volunteering for Workbee Wednesdays, participants must attend an orientation session, after which participants will be sent registration links for Workbee Wednesday sessions each week. Orientation sessions run on various dates from May to September.
Check back in Summer 2026 for more information on the 2026 Harvest Party!