On Saturday, September 26, we welcomed people to our farm on Highway 6 for the Protect the Foodbelt Barn Mural Community Celebration. (Read about that here.)
Farmers, agricultural organizations, elected representatives, community members, musicians, volunteers and families came together around one shared concern: the future of Ontario farmland.
At the centre of it all was the nearly 50-foot mural created by Anishinaabe artist August Swinson, now facing thousands of vehicles travelling between Guelph and Fergus.
But the event was never meant to be the end of this campaign.
The mural was designed to keep working after the chairs were put away—to make people curious, start conversations and encourage more Ontarians to ask what's happening to the land that feeds us.
And we're already seeing that happen.
A producer with CBC Kitchener-Waterloo drove past the farm the same day as our event, saw the mural and wondered what it was about. That curiosity got her to visit the Foodbelt.ca website, get in touch with me, and tomorrow morning you'll hear our interview about the #Foodbelt on The Morning Edition with Craig Norris and Josette Lafleur. We'll be talking about the mural, farmland protection and why this conversation matters.
That's exactly what we hoped would happen.
The event is over. The mural is up. But the conversation is just getting started.
If you've already signed this petition, thank you. The next thing you can do is help more people find it. You don't have to pay a cent (and let them know that too.) You can just share this link with your socials.
Also, remember, only the official paper petition works in the Ontario Legislature. Change.org helps us spread the word, but the paper petition is your voice in the legislature.
Please share this petition with someone who eats. Because every person who eats has a connection to farmland.
Tune in tomorrow (October 1st) to the CBC KW morning show to hear my segment at 7:20 AM ET.
Shawna Percy
Foodbelt.ca | #Foodbelt