MBA students at the Richard Ivey School of Business will trade their laptops and notebooks for farmers’ gear and garden hoes so they can literally plant the seeds for a sustainable business.
About 70 students will help London City Farming Network, a non-profit organization that runs community farms in London, to plant crops, erect deer fences and build a small barn on Saturday, May 30 at Fanshawe Pioneer Village.
The event is organized by Ivey Connects, a student-run group that aims to inspire students to contribute to the societies in which they operate.
Ivey Connects has also been providing free consulting to London City Farming Network to help it build a charitable foundation that promotes food security through research, education and community action.
London City Farming Network was originally called City Farming Project and began in 2006 when some London residents found a patch of undisturbed farmland in the city and started growing food on it. They grow heirloom plants and unusual varieties of hybrids and sell their produce at local markets and to restaurants.
City Farming Project Founders Rose White and Kathleen McCully would now like to expand the organization under the name London City Farming Network to include a seed bank and education on the lost art of growing food. The students have been helping them with marketing and fundraising initiatives and to create a business plan so they can apply for grants.
“I want to create a business model that others can adopt and create for their own cities,” says White. “The students’ ability to build infrastructure for this has been vital.”
Jordan Wickett, an MBA student who is leading the consulting project, says the students were drawn to the organization because of its potential to create social change.
“I’m a big believer in healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle and this organization is promoting that,” he says. “The project has also provided me with a great opportunity to develop my leadership skills.”
Christine Wessman, an MBA student and co-director of MBA Ivey Connects, says the planting event is a nice complement to the consulting project. She organized the event along with fellow MBA students David Forsberg and Charles Newton Price.
“This event gives us greater insight into the work they do and also allows us to give back to the community,” she says.