History of the Friends of the Farm

Friends of the Farm began with a few people who were concerned about the future of the
land occupied by the Crops and Livestock Research Centre - still referred to as the
‘Experimental Farm’ by the people in Charlottetown. Katherine Clough, Dianne Griffin, and
Bert Christie, inspired by the Friends of the Farm in Ottawa, organized a group in 1994 to
consider the future of the land.
In 1996, a document, “A Vision for the Home Farm” was produced, and a public meeting
was held at the Research Station. Memberships were sold to generate some revenue. In the
succeeding years, a small group, representing an informal executive, met from time to time. This
group met with successive directors of the research station; and with mayors of Charlottetown.
Besides Katherine, Dianne and Bert, others involved in these discussions were: Catherine
Hennessey, George Kells, Barry King, Karen Lips, and Kate MacQuarrie. With limited funds,
and no indication that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada would be giving up the land in the near
future, the committee became inactive.
In January, 2002, it was announced that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada may declare
88 acres of the land as surplus and that this land would be turned over to the Canada Lands
Company, a crown corporation. At the same time, the Mayor of Charlottetown announced that a
recreational complex would be built in the centre of the site - between Barrymore Court and the
Confederation trail. The Friends of the Farm Committee organized a public meeting on February
20th to present information and discussions.
On March 4th, 2002, there was a meeting of all members of Friends of the Farm and the
following members were elected to the executive:

Chair - Lloyd MacLeod
Vice-Chair -Ken MacDonald
Sec.Treas. -Bert Christie
Directors -Connie MacKay Carr
-Catherine Hennessey
-Laura Lee Howard
-Gordon MacInnis

Today, 2006, there are over 200 members and the members of the Executive are:

Chair -Lloyd MacLeod
Vice-Chair -Catherine Hennessey
Sec.Treas. -Bert Christie
Directors: -Connie MacKay Carr
-Mike Conroy
-Laura Lee Howard
-Nora Jenkins
-Ken MacDonald
-David Morrison
-Errol Nicholson
-Janice Simmonds