On September 3, multiple U of T faculty, staff, and students sent a letter to UTSC’s Office of the Vice Principal and Dean (OVPD) outlining their concerns about the non-renewal of UTSC Campus Farm Coordinator Béatrice Lego’s contract, which ends on November 8. 

In the letter, the UTSC community expressed concerns over the transparency surrounding Lego’s contract expiration and the future maintenance of the farm. 

UTSC Campus Farm 

The UTSC Campus Farm is a 10-acre brownfield site — a vacant or underutilized place where past industrial or commercial activities may have left contamination such as chemical pollution behind — dedicated to teaching, research, and community engagement on campus. Five acres are allocated for teaching and community engagement, while the other five support research studies for UTSC faculty and their students. 

The Teaching Farm features a small orchard, an Indigenous garden is a place that lets students learn about Indigenous cultivation methods, Indigenous foods, and food sovereignty — or the ability for communities to control how food is produced, traded, and consumed — and has 30 raised planting beds. Numerous crops, including tomatoes, kale, garlic, potatoes, and herbs, have been successfully cultivated on the farm. Food grown by the farm is donated, given to student union food banks, or taken home by those who work or volunteer at the farm, as it cannot be sold. 

UTSC also has a Campus Farm Master Plan, which aims to better connect the space with UTSC by furthering it as a community space for healing and wellbeing as well as research and learning opportunities.

Impacts of the removal

Farm users say that Lego’s removal will have both immediate and long-term impacts on the farm and its operations. Lego’s role as UTSC Campus Farm Coordinator — which she has been for six years — involves guiding research, teaching, community engagement, planning for experiential learning opportunities, and managing the farm. 

“The indefinite lay-off of Dr. Béatrice Lego comes as a disturbing shock to the entire Farm community, including staff, students, Indigenous collaborators, youth groups and other community partners, with no consultation that pertains to academic success,” wrote the letter.

Paul Pritchard, a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at UTSC and a member of the Red River Métis, told The Varsity that “the farm does not run without Lego.”

“We are now in a position of complete unknowing… which is totally destabilizing for what we do,” said Pritchard. “There’s just so much work to be done, and all of this has come to a standstill in many ways.”

The change has created uncertainty regarding upcoming and ongoing course plans, projects by pre-tenure faculty, and student positions. The letter stated that two work-study positions for the 2024–25 academic year have been cancelled.

“The farm is crucial to me as an Indigenous student because… it’s a safe place for us to build [a] community,” said Pritchard. “I’ve been a TA for those classes and watched how students learn to get their hands dirty. They learn about plants, and then they come back the next year.” 

A lack of trust 

Farm users are concerned about transparency, as there was no consultation regarding Lego’s removal or the transition plan. 

Marc Cadotte, a professor of biological sciences at UTSC who sent the letter on behalf of the signers, wrote in his email obtained by The Varsity to the OVPD, “I would personally say that this is one symptom of a larger shift over the past 6 or so years towards greater administration and insufficient consultation and reduced empowerment of those that deliver the mission of the institution.” 

The letter outlines that there have been very few visits to the farm from the administration, indicating negligence regarding the farm’s importance and needs. 

Farm users also report that they have been requesting infrastructure and safety support, such as security cameras, Wi-Fi, and Campus Safety patrols, which have only recently begun to be implemented following an incident of vandalism at the farm. 

In a statement to The Varsity, a U of T spokesperson wrote, “Last month we experienced an act of vandalism, which was the first incident of this kind since the farm opened six years ago.”

“As a result, we installed trail cameras to monitor the site after hours. Additional safety features will be considered once infrastructure is in place.”

Danielle Kwan-Lafond, an assistant professor of sociology at UTSC who conducts teaching, research, and work-study positions on the farm and co-signer of the letter, wrote in an email obtained by The Varsity to the OVPD about concerns over the lack of administrative response. 

“So much of this feels like the result of neglect and a refusal to hear the many requests that have come over the years; almost always via Béatrice, who has been faculty’s only line of communication to the Dean’s office about the Farm,” wrote Kwan-Lafond. 

Concerns about the future of the farm have also arisen. In a Reddit thread posted on October 17, students discussed the possibility of the farm being replaced with a park. 

Simon Reyes, a former work-study student at the farm, wrote in a statement included in the letter: “The UTSC Farm and Indigenous Garden are irreplaceable spaces for community, learning, and reconciliation. It would be a shame… to lose this space, and Béatrice as the Farm Coordinator who is extraordinary when working with students and teaching the importance of urban agriculture and farming.” 

How will the gaps be filled?

On September 30, the OVPD sent an email to the UTSC community calling for nominations for the position of Special Advisor on Teaching and Pedagogy at the Campus Farm. 

According to the email, the role will involve “[promoting] a holistic understanding of agriculture and its pedagogical implications… to enhance both pedagogical effectiveness and… understanding of sustainable practices and their application.”

Farm users say they were informed that this position would be implemented as part of the Campus Farm Master Plan, and that the Office of Business, Operations, and Strategic Affairs would provide operational support. However, they were not aware that Lego’s position would be terminated along with these changes.

Liat Margolis, associate professor at the Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design and co-signer of the letter, said to The Varsity the changes will not be sufficient to fill the gaps left by Lego’s position.

Just as chemistry labs have technicians with expertise in protocols and equipment, she said, the Campus Farm requires someone who possesses the knowledge and practical skills to support its initiatives. 

“What’s different here [from the chemistry labs]? “It’s the exact same, only there’s a complete disrespect and disregard to the fact that growing [a farm isn’t] something somebody from Grounds can just pick up and add to their todo list on a daily basis… That’s a completely different job description,” said Margolis.

The letter demands the renewal of Lego’s contract for at least 12 months, consultation and transparency ahead of any changes, protection of the farm from development, and fulfillment of requests for infrastructure.

In a statement to The Varsity, a U of T spokesperson wrote that, “With regards to the co-ordinator role, we want to be as forthright as possible, but for reasons of confidentiality and people’s privacy, we are not sharing more details.”