Where good bugs, fish, tiny toads and a bounty of blooms and produce thrive year-round
The air is warm and fragrant as I inhale the sweet scents of viola, begonia and stock flowers. My coat brushes against deep purples, blushing pinks and pale peaches. It feels as if above me there should be a blue sky, with the sun poking out from behind scattered cumulus clouds. But these blooms sit beneath the interlocking triangles of a geodesic growing dome.
The Brew Creek Centre is located about 20 kilometres south of Whistler Village and sits on some 20 acres of forest where ancient cedar trees overlook a diverse range of accommodation options, homes and farmland. The secluded space is available to rent for corporate groups (15 to 30 people) and socially driven enterprises.
“We have always had a deep commitment to sustainable practices, and when the centre first opened it had a small farm. However, in 2020, when the global pandemic restricted some of our regular business activities, we had to pivot,” explains Stephanie Becic, farm manager at the Brew Creek Centre. “We expanded the farm and its capabilities because we believe in fostering and supporting our community, and a resilient local food system plays an integral role.”
Run by a tight-knit group of five core team members, the Brew Creek Centre has a 1,400-square-foot aquaponic facility, a hoop house, two geodesic growing domes, three acres of outdoor gardens and 8,000 square feet of year-round polycarbonate greenhouses. They grow a wide range of produce, including boutique baby lettuces, microgreens, scarlet frills and other mustard greens, and unique herb varieties like purple shiso.
“This is the first place I’ve worked at that’s using organic and sustainable practices at this scale,” says Elliott Davis, lead grower, who worked on farms on the Gulf Islands and in the Okanagan before coming to Brew Creek last spring. “I’m learning so much here, especially about year-round production. We grow a wide variety of vegetables and work with local restaurants to see what produce they want for their menus.”
Educational enrichment is a founding principle of Brew Creek, resulting in a dedicated, passionate team who love to share what they do. They work with the Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) program, which facilitates homestays on organic farms in more than 130 countries, and they are currently exploring the expansion of agricultural apprenticeships and internships in collaboration with local universities.
“Over 20 volunteers came this summer, and some stay all winter too,” says Becic. “They came from Germany, Australia, the States and New Zealand. They get hands-on training where they can see what’s possible, and then they can take that inspiration and start their own sustainable farming operation wherever they call home.”
As we talk, Becic leads me to one of the 4,000-square-foot greenhouses, where I have to watch my feet. Tiny toads hop in and out of the rows of tomato and cucumber vines, providing natural pest control.
“They just hopped in and will be huge by the spring from eating the flies and bugs.” Becic laughs. “We have a great summer here in the Sea to Sky — it’s just short. The prime time is June, July and August, so we must think outside the box to produce year-round.”
Outdoors, Becic points out the expanded vegetable beds that produce beets, radishes, carrots, greens, peppers, broccolini, kale and cabbage, which will be transplanted into the beds in late April. In the winter, the selection of produce is limited to a consistent stock for their restaurant and grocery clients.
Becic smiles as she leads me to the next location, their aquaponics facility. This is a passion project, co-founded by Becic at Custom Grow Solutions and built out of refurbished shipping containers that were once used to transport food across the Pacific Ocean and are now repurposed as spaces for cultivation.
“I believe aquaponics will be a key part of the future in farming,” says Becic as she ushers me inside. We watch her colleague Josh Neate release “good bugs” onto living lettuce, basil and watercress, which all sit with their roots directly in water. There is no soil. “It’s a closed-loop system that mimics a natural ecosystem. We feed the fish, the fish feed the plants (their waste contains ammonia and organic compounds), and the plants clean the water. And if you live in a sunny and warm location, you could run this system on solar power.”
When I ask how efficient this system is, Becic explains that there’s hardly any water loss (less than 10 percent), especially when compared to conventional agriculture, and labour-wise it takes about eight hours per week to maintain. It also generates about 1,000 trays of microgreens every year.
“Projects like this always have a big learning curve, but that’s what the Brew Creek Centre is all about,” says Becic. “At one point we used goldfish. We worked with nearby Pinecrest Estates, as they had an issue with goldfish in their lake and wanted to get rid of them and we wanted them! However, we needed more biomass to produce the number of plants we planned for, so we also added some koi.”
Given the importance of food security in the Sea to Sky, it’s easy to see why Becic thinks aquaponics could be a solution. As we leave, she points at a bucket and tells me that even the by-products of the fish, the sludge, is used.
We go back into one of the two geodesic growing domes, transitioning from the greys and browns of the dormant season outside to the full colours of spring and summer inside. Becic hands me a viola, claiming it tastes like bubble gum. I’m skeptical, but as I chew on the delicate petals, that’s the exact flavour. Begonia (the edible kind) will give you citrus notes, while flox and nasturtium are peppery.
“The biggest challenge for us here is establishing and balancing the ecosystem,” says Becic as she scans the dome. “Everything plays a role and it’s extremely fragile.” Her colleague with the good bugs is back again and Becic explains that, unlike during spring and summer when these beneficial insects enter naturally, in the winter they have to be added to the environment.
“We’re still honing our skills as a new business,” says Becic. “To name a few, we work with Fergie’s Cafe in Squamish and Alta Bistro, Wild Blue, Balam and Mekong in Whistler, as well as places in Vancouver. Having our produce and garlic at the locally owned Creekside Market was a huge win for us, as we want to be accessible to locals.”
The long-term goal is more local collaboration, such as providing education and hosting workshops. They’ve had a few school groups come through, and seeing the children engage and learn about the system reinforces the team’s sense of purpose in what they’re doing.
“We need more small, local farms,” Becic says. “We need to buy local and support our local producers. It all strengthens our food security while inspiring the next generation of farmers.”