Statement to O2 Design

April 7, 2009
To: Doug Olson, O2 Planning + Design

On behalf of the membership of The Friends of the Farm we wish to state that we will not participate in the planning process scheduled for today. The reasons for this are the following:

1. The Friends of the Farm do not endorse any corporate ownership of the Experimental Farm
The representatives of the Friends who attended the charette on February 18, 2009, made it clear that corporate ownership and commercial development of the Farm property was not a position that we could support as it is directly opposed to the mission of our organization. Subsequent consultation with the membership of Friends of the Farm following the charette has re-affirmed this position.

2. The Friends of the Farm has always maintained that the land known as the Experimental Farm be owned by the citizens to ensure its protection and its use as a public green space, in perpetuity. Support for this concept has been well established

• In 2002 almost four thousand Islanders signed a petition to keep the Experimental Farm green and public.

• In 2004, more than 120 people participated in a charette hosted by MP Shawn Murphy and Friends of The Farm. This open public process was well publicized and the outcome was;
o Solid endorsement of the public ownership model.
o Solid endorsement of parks and green space.

• In 2005 the Ravenwood Park Concept Plan was well received by the public at an open house.


3. Without public ownership as a foundation there can be no joint planning initiatives




The objective and purpose of the Friends of the Farm is to provide for the development of a permanent cultural and ecological landscape, and to provide for gardens, arboretum, and agricultural demonstration area with historical and scientific interpretation for the use of the public.