What we do
We aspire to strengthen the urban agriculture movement at Concordia and in greater Montreal by growing local produce using ecological pracitces, providing experiential learning opportunities through volunteering, internships and jobs, and networking with other like-minded individuals and organizations.

Our tea atrium is a public space available for studying, plant appreciation, drinking our herbal teas and attending events including educational workshops and music nights. The space offers seating and tables, a beautiful plant collection and demonstrates systems like hydroponics, a balcony garden and a solar dehydrator.

Why we need your help!
Concordia’s greenhouse was built in 1966, facing South-West for optimal sun exposure and where it wouldn’t be blocked by shade from surrounding buildings. It’s composed of a series of separate glass compartments along a corridor, and includes specialized equipment for heat control, automatic watering and latticed blinds for sunlight control.

Over time this equipment has lost functionality, resulting in an unregulated climate. On hot days, the temperature can reach 50 degrees Celsius, resulting in crop loss and difficult working conditions.

Replacing the climate control system will provide optimal conditions for plant growth, research, and community use of our lounge.

The university has agreed to contribute half of the estimated $40,000 cost. We need your help to close the gap, and bring us one step closer to bringing new life to this valuable community resource.

Any amount is appreciated!

Click here to read more OR DONATE!

The Concordia Greenhouse is a fee-levy group at Concordia University. The majority of our funding comes from an undergraduate fee levy. Undergraduate students pay $0.24 per credit each semester so that we can exist, be open to the public, and offer amazing services and programming for our users.

Should you wish to opt-out of funding our organization, you can email us info@concordiagreenhouse.com or call 514-848-2424 x. 5134.
Should you wish to opt out, please bring your student ID card and student account record during the opt-out period and we’ll provide you with a refund. Refunds will be provided in cash at the fee levy rate of $0.24 per credit/per semester (for undergrads.)
You can provide your student record in different ways: by showing your academic record via your own laptop or mobile phone; by logging onto to your myconcordia portal from a computer at our office; or by providing a printout of your record.
We can provide access to those with reduced mobility if you contact us to make an appointment.

REGISTRATION now open until May 4th at Noon

The Market Garden Session lasts for 3 months and is the second component of our Full Apprenticeship Program. Beginning June 4th and ending August 25th, this session focuses on urban farming and entrepreneurship through local markets. Through the summer season, interns work on the land to grow their own produce, develop a communal garden and sell it markets.  It takes place at the NDG farm at the Loyola Campus.

This stream requires 60 hours over the course of three months. If you are interested in applying for the full apprenticeship program, which begins each year in March, you can check out the full program requirements here. Please note that this is Session Two in the full market program. You do not have to be a Concordia Student to apply.  This internship is open to everyone!

What you can expect to learn from this programme:

• fundamental practices of organic vegetable gardening
• principles of garden design and collective management
• experience with managing, promoting and operating a market stand
• an understanding of local food systems, opportunities and challenges

 The programme is divided into two main components – Workshops and Hands-on Apprenticeship.

EDUCATION

Workshops

This series of workshops is designed to familiarize student with the main theories, concepts and practices of organic agriculture.  The workshops will be presented by a number of experienced organic farmers, permaculturalists, and horticulturalists.  The goals of these workshops are to help add depth to the practical training provided in the apprenticeship. Since this is the second series of our full apprenticeship, newcomers will also have an additional workshop at the beginning to give them an introduction to topics already covered in our Greenhouse Session.

*There will be a holiday week from June 23rd to July 1st.

Some small changes may be made to the workshop topics

APPRENTICESHIP

All students must fulfill 60 internship hours to complete this session.   Apprenticeship hours are made up of garden shifts and market shifts.  Hours spent in workshops do not count towards the total number of apprenticeship hours. The schedule will be made with you, and will not fluctuate, allowing you to plan vacation time and work around the garden. During your apprenticeship, you will work with other members of the school to manage the Loyola market garden, as well as managing your own collectively run garden plot.

All students complete 60 internship hours between  June 4 and August 25th to complete the Farm to Market Session.  The schedule will be made with you, and will not fluctuate. The garden shifts will be selected by you before the program begins – they will comprise 44 of your 60 hours.   The remaining 16 hours will be made up of Market shifts.   To select your market shifts you will be presented with a list of dates when our markets will occur.  You will then be given the opportunity to to sign up the markets you will attend in the first two weeks of the session.

Garden Shifts

During weekly garden shifts students will work directly with the CFS coordinators on the upkeep of both their collective garden plots and the Loyola Farm.   As a compliment to the full workshop schedule, our staff will offer a series of “mini-workshops” in the garden.  During the mini-workshops we will focus in on some key technical skills, taking advantage of the smaller garden shift groups.  We will also use this time to facilitate discussions on current goings-on in the world of Food Security and Urban Agriculture.  

Collective Gardens: Back by popular demand… collective garden plots!  We have divided one of our main gardens into 6 smaller garden plots. Students will be placed into groups of 5 and will be responsible for designing, planting, and managing the garden plot throughout the year. CFS staff will be meeting with you on a regular basis to discuss the progress of your garden, make suggestions, and answer your questions.  You will be allotted some time each week during the garden shifts to work collectively on your plot with your team members.

Loyola  Farm:   In this garden students will have the opportunity to work in a functioning market garden.  During the garden shifts students will participate in implementing our crop plan to maintain the productivity of the garden.  You will select which garden shift you prefer during registration.  These shifts will remain constant throughout the entire program and cannot be changed as they also determine your collective garden group.

GARDEN SHIFT OPTIONS ( One four hour shift a week, Select one shift)

During registration you will select which your weekly shift.  Once assigned, your shift cannot be changed.

Market Shifts

Bringing your produce to market is one of the most rewarding aspects of this apprenticeship.  Ever popular with our neighbours our ultra local market will take place once again right on site at the Loyola farm.  We will be partnering with the NDG food depot to set up mobile markets in the community.    Students are expected to help in all aspects of the market – promotions, harvesting, packaging and selling.  At the beginning of the summer session, students will be presented with a sign-up sheet listing all of the markets we will hold.  Students  will sign up in advance for the markets they will attend.  Each student must complete a minimum of 16 hours at the markets between June 4th and August 25th.

City Farm School Market: (Tuesdays 2pm-6pm) Ever popular with our neighbours, our ultra local market will take place once again right on site at the Loyola farm.  This market happens weekly throughout the entire season and is solely stocked with produce from our gardens.

Good Food Market:  satellite market at St Raymond (Thursday 2pm-6pm OR 3:30-7:30) City Farm school apprentices will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with the good folks of the NDG Food depot while volunteering at their weekly market.  This market boasts a real community feel and features lots of local and organic produce for sale at very affordable prices.

Verdun CAUS market: (Dimanche 11h à 15h) Organisé par La Coopérative Abondance Urbaine Solidaire (CAUS). La coopérative vise à créer l’abondance pour les citoyens autant en alimentation saine et locale qu’en éducation et en relations sociales. Le marché fermier des berges aura lieu dans l’espace vert aux berges entre les 4e et 5e avenues (à l’est du restaurant Crescendo).

_____________________________________________________________
APPLICATION

REGISTRATION now open until May 4th at Noon

TO APPLY: Please fill out the application form here completely and email a copy of your CV and a brief letter of interest to cityfarmschool.media@gmail.com. When Applying, please put SUMMER SESSION in your header. 

COST: $275 What does the cost cover? The tuition covers the cost of the 4 workshops, materials such as readings and supplies students take home, as well as the training you will receive from the CFS coordinators.

BURSARIES: We are offering a bursary program for those who need financial assistance and a bursary application is available here. We will need your bursary application at the same time as your application to the program. For more information, please email cityfarmschool.media@gmail.com

City Farm School (CFS) is ready to accept new applications for our Medicinal Herbs Apprenticeship program 2018! CFS is an urban agriculture learning program and food sovereignty organization aiming to empower the Montreal community through organic and locally grown produce. This program uses our Loyola medicinal herbs garden to teach apprentices about a variety of plants and their capacity for healing and wellness.

In these courses, you will learn how to grow, use and transform a few local herbs over this introduction to herbalism course.  Taking place at both Loyola City Farm School over the course of 6 months, students will learn the basics of how to grow, harvest, preserve, transform and apply some common herbs such as Yarrow, Raspberry Leaf, Lemon Balm, Marshmallow, Lavender, St-Johns Wort, Comfrey and more. We will also learn how to make, salves, balms, tinctures, throat lozenges, syrups and suppositories to just name a few. There will be courses on botany and plant identification, ethical practices in cultivation and wild-crafting, as well as introductory classes focused on physiology and phytochemistry. Best of all, apprentices get to learn by working with and caring for the plants each week!

Apprenticeship applications open here:  http://www.cityfarmschool.com/introduction-to-herbal-pharmacy/

The Greenhouse’s house plant sale is back!

Tuesday, March 6th, 5-8pm.

Here at the Concordia Greenhouse, we pride ourselves in giving back to a community that keeps supporting us. One of the ways we bring a little more freshness into your life, is with our house plant sales. There’s so many options to choose from, you’re not going to be-leaf it! You can be sure to find something to fit your taste and beautify your space!

Grown right here in the greenhouse are the following varieties:

Jade plant & other small succulents
Lemon geranium
Basket plant (Callisia fragrans)
Mother-of-thousands
Arrowleaf philodendron
Snakeskin plant (Sansevieria)
Cylindrical snake plant (Sansevieria cylindrica)
Weeping fig (Ficus benjamina)
Fiddle leaf fig (Ficus lyrata)
Prickly pear cactus
Crown of thorns
African milk tree (Euphorbia trigona)
Boat lily (Tradescantia spathacea)
Cuban oregano
Swiss cheese plant (Monstera deliciosa)
Blue star fern (Phlebodium aureum)

To give you the most choice, we are partnering up with three vendors;

Vivarium who are bringing kokedamas, Living Art and more! Kokedamas & Living Art are a creative way to incorporate plants into your home decor to change your living space up. You can also mix it up with some tropical fruit plants, or invest in an edible plant; the green gift that keeps on giving.

Hydroflora Concordia – Hydroponically-grown plants. They will also be selling their cement planters made from recycled molds.
Prices range from $5 to $50.

Neumark Design providing edible house plants, herbs, fruit shrubs and other perennials.

Available varieties:

Tropical fruit houseplants:
Fig trees
Passion fruits
Citrus including lemons, limes, Buddha’s hand citron and others
Papayas
Coffee trees
Babaco

Other Edible Houseplants:
Black Pepper
Lemongrass
Cardamom
Bay leaf
Spanish Lavendar
Aloe vera
Lemon Verbena

Other plants: 
Succulents
Chocolate Mint
Mountain Mint
Lavendar
Rosemary
Thyme

Prices range from $4 to $30, and we would love it if you could bring your own bags/boxes so we can keep the event as sustainable as possible!

FACEBOOK EVENT

Four Seasons Growing Internships (4 positions available)

LOYC 420: Internship in Sustainability

Interested in food security, and growing your own food year-round using organic methods? The ​Concordia ​Greenhouse Project​ is looking for undergraduate​ students interested in taking the Internship in Sustainability credit LOYC 420 with for the Winter 2018 semester. During this internship, you would learn how to grow greens year long in a greenhouse context, focusing specifically on planting, harvesting, pest control, fertilization, packaging and deliveries. The internship requires 120 hours – to be completed between January 8th, 2017 and​ April 13th, 2017.

​This internship will build students’ experience with small business planning, food security and ecological growing methods.

​Experience working with plants an asset. If you are interested please send your CV and cover letter to Charleen Kotiuga at fourseasonsgrowing@concordiagreenhouse.com by Monday, December 11th at 5pm.

Please contact Dr. Rebecca Tittler (rebecca.tittler@concordia.ca) for enrollment details.

Note: This internship can be in conjunction with other internship programs (with department approval).

The Concordia Greenhouse is looking for a Concordia student intern in the Communications program for an internship starting this semester!

Tasks include:
-Publication of weekly newsletter
-Graphic design: Signs, posters, brochures
-Social media
-Outreach events, such as tabling at information kiosks on campus
-Assist with social events
-Special outreach and media projects

This internship will build students’ experience with graphic design, working with clients for design projects, event hosting, product creation and marketing, teamwork, newsletter editing, social media and more!

(Required time: 8-10 hours weekly – total 120 hours)

Contact Sheena Swirlz at info@concordiagreenhouse.com for information or to send your CV.

Deadline to apply: December 8th, 2017
Availlable for credit through COMS394 and LOYC420

We would like to thank our 2016-2017 Board of Directors for the past year of work and welcome in our newly elected board!

Welcome to the team! Looking forward to an exciting year ahead!

Emmerika Alexander – Community member

Popz Dominguez – Concordia undergraduate

Darren Shield – Community member

Prisca Ayassamy – Community member

Susan Carmichael – Community member

Diana Moallem – Community member