The Compost Education Centre is committed to creating an accessible space for everyone.

Context

Historically, Lekwungen lands were primarily prairie meadows. These meadows were cultivated through controlled burning for staple crops like qʷəɬáʔalʔ (Camas). Upon their arrival, the Hudson’s Bay Company chose Camosack (Victoria Harbour) because it was bordered by gently sloping meadow that was suitable for farming without the need to clear the land (presently Míqәn or Beacon Hill Park). Since then, “Victoria” has been known as the Garden City because of its mild winters which are ideal for growing whole and nutritious foods. The legacy of “Victoria” would be impossible without the thousands of years of Indigenous hands-on regenerative soil practices (HORSP).

Given this legacy of HORSP as well as inequities of the colonial food systems on these lands, we understand that our vision to cultivate resilient communities, which enable the land and all living beings to thrive, is reflective of a desire to feed communities and return nutrients back to lands that were not ours to begin with.

Since the onset of colonization, many other systemic inequities along the lines of religion, race, class, and gender have prevented everyone from accessing food and processing wastes, resulting in disconnection from land and community.

As an organization, we are curious and mindful about our role and responsibility in cultivating healthy relationships with all people and beings while being respectful of these histories.

Our Limitations as an Organization

• Our staff are predominately comprised of settlers
• We are an able-bodied and predominately white-led organization
• We primarily teach settlers how to do hands-on regenerative soil practices
• Our education is contingent upon the availability of treaty and non-treaty lands for hands on regenerative soil practices.
• We have limited funding allocated for accessibility improvements to our site as we are constrained by the physical space that we operate in
• As a non-profit organization, we are accountable to colonial institutions and capitalism, which influences our ability to distribute wealth and power within our organization and beyond
• Our physical location influences and limits the communities and individuals that we can serve with our work

Our Commitments: the work we are doing

• The CEC commits to reducing financial barriers to accessing education related to hands-on regenerative soil practices. Read our Financial Accessibility Statement to learn more.
• The CEC commits to creating physical space for equity-deserving groups through the leveraging of our demonstration site and teaching room. Contact us if you’re interested in using our space.
• We commit to advocating on behalf of equity-deserving staff, board, volunteers, visitors, and guest instructors to ensure cultural safety
• We are here to try new efforts and are grateful for the opportunity to learn from them.
• We commit to supporting staffs’ personal commitments to movements rooted in social justice. (hyperlink future blog about staff justice and equity days)
• We commit to ongoing collaboration with local Indigenous-led organizations
• The CEC is a registered Certified Living Wage Employer and is committed to providing living wages to all employees and provides an annual cost-of-living increase.
• The CEC is committed to maintaining reciprocal relationships with the more than human beings who visit and live on our site.
• The CEC has funding allocated to reduce program access barriers for people living in far reaching CRD Municipalities.
• All the CEC’s hiring practices are created in alignment with the British Columbia Human Rights Code and the British Columbia Employment Standards Act. These practices center diversity, equity, and inclusivity.
  

Our Commitments in Action

Mindful of our limitations and in alignment with our commitments to anti-oppression practices, we invite you to follow our journey by exploring the blog posts below.