What happens when you combine the strengths of the cooperative and community land trust models?  In this webinar, lawyers Jamie Baxter and Anna Giddy dive deep into their recent work to support the legal development of a hybrid CLT-Cooperative farmland project in Nova Scotia.Crows Commons is an emerging agricultural land trust project located in Springfield, Nova Scotia, in the ancestral lands of the Mi'kmaq people. The presentation will be followed by a discussion of the challenges, opportunities, and remaining questions.

This webinar is part of the In Soildarity Webinar Series: Transforming Farmland Tenure through Community-Based Stewardship, Access and Equity

The In SOILdarity webinar series is a first time collaboration between the Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts and the National Farmers Foundation, designed to dig deep into the transformative potential of community-owned farmlands. This free series will explore innovative and time-tested models of alternative farmland tenures that prioritize community-based stewardship, equitable access, and long-term sustainability.

First, we'll head to Nova Scotia to hear from lawyers working to set up a unique farmland project, Crows Commons, which combines both the cooperative and community land trust models. Next, we travel to Quebec to explore agricultural land trusts with Protect Terre, an organization that is actively propagating “agriecological social utility trusts”, a model unique to the province. Lastly, we go to the northeast United States to hear from the North East Farmers of Color, whose work demonstrates that for agriculture to be truly regenerative, it must also be reparative. 

Since the founding of New Communities Inc. in 1969, community land trusts have proven to be successful vehicles for shared farmland stewardship. The In SOILdarity series aims to inspire and inform, demonstrating how these models can usher in a new age of equitable and sustainable agriculture.

Donations to the series will be split between the Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts and the National Farmers Foundation and used to support the webinar costs (honoraria and administration).