A farm in the south side of Nanaimo is seeking donations to fix their barn.
Chicken Farmer Danyelle Brown says it’s been hard farming in the south side, as building materials have stayed expensive.
“We are just trying to keep farming alive In our community as all the farmland has turned into housing around us,” said Brown. “The cost of building supplies are extremely high and we just wanted to see if we could recycle old or unwanted materials.”
Mossy Rock Urban Farm sells eggs and some garden-grown food, and also works to rescue chickens that would’ve been going to people’s dinner tables. Danyelle says they hope to fix their barn by June, in time for the newest chicks.
“My aim is summer, early summer. By that time the chicks are ready to come outside, they have their feathers and then anyone else who comes in will have a place to go.”
A day after she put out her request for materials, she received some help from the community. So far she’s received some lumber, off-cuts, bricks, pallets, and some fencing.
“We’re not picky. As long as it’s not rotting. We just were really hoping to save some stuff from going into the landfill and, you know, win-win for everyone.”
She says the old structure has needed some repairs because of the leaks, and as they have more animals coming in, they need a safe place to stay.
“We’re really just trying to bring back the farming and give people the opportunity to have their own eggs in their backyard, or somewhere to go to pick up eggs because we do provide eggs at our farm stand when we have ’em. We’re just really trying to keep it going because it’s kind of like a dying thing, like… There’s not many farms left here in Nanaimo in the south area.”
Anyone with materials they’d like to donate are encouraged to contact the farm on their Facebook page.
