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| A glimpse of the interior of the Seaport Farmer's Market, now under construction. |
On a typical Saturday at the Halifax Farmers Market, calls of 鈥渆xcuse me鈥� and 鈥渟orry鈥� reverberate through the morning chatter as shoppers negotiate their way through the crowded Brewery Market.
Charming, claustrophic, filled to bursting, Canada's oldest farmer's market will move to a beautiful, light-filled space almost double in size by summer. The Seaport Farmers鈥� Market is now under construction at Pier 20 on the Halifax waterfront and is slated to open in June 2010.
鈥淭he new building is really important,鈥� says Philip Girard, who makes a weekly trip to the market to pick up fresh fruits and vegetables. 鈥淚 think the old has outlived its quaintness.鈥�
The new building is being designed to meet LEED Gold standards. At 4,050 square metres, it will operate using 85 per cent less energy and 50 per cent water than a typical R-2000 building. Some of its cool green features include 鈥渟olar lanterns鈥� to bring in natural light and heat the building, nine wind turbines to generate electricity, a green roof to collect water and cool the building without air conditioning, and an observation deck with 鈥渙nsite urban agriculture,鈥� according to Keith Tufts, the project鈥檚 lead designer.
Helping to make it happen is the Farmers Market Investment Cooperative, which is offering shares to the public at $50 each. The goal is to raise $2.25 million, which will be used to pay the lease from the Halifax Port Authority. AV俱乐部 half the money has already been raised among 430 investors.
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| A rendering of the exterior of Seaport Farmers' Market. Notice the glass atriums and wind turbines on the roof. |
AV俱乐部 professors Girard and John Cameron are two of those investors and serve on the FMIC鈥檚 shareholder board. Dr. Cameron says the cooperative was created to give community members who believe in local food production a chance to support the new market.聽
鈥淚 feel I need to walk the talk if I鈥檓 going to teach with any credibility,鈥� says Dr. Cameron, professor of International Development Studies. 鈥淭his is a way of following up on my teaching鈥攂y supporting local sustainable food production.鈥�
An information session on FMIC and Seaport Farmers鈥� Market will be held on campus on Thursday, Dec. 10, 3 to 5 p.m. in Room 406 of the Weldon Law Building. Gordon Michael, executive director of the Farmers鈥� Market Investment Cooperative聽 Ltd., will outline plans and provide investment information.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had a lot of questions about the cooperative,鈥� says Dr. Cameron. 鈥淪o this is a chance to share information with the AV俱乐部 community about the opportunities to invest and plans for the new market.鈥�
鈥淧lus,鈥� adds Prof. Girard, with a smile, 鈥渟avory local food snacks will be served.鈥�
For more information, please e-mail john.cameron@dal.ca, philip.girard@dal.ca, or gmfmic@gmail.com.