'Last hurrah' for urban farm on the move

It was a farewell to this year's harvest and to their home for the urban farm group searching for a new space in Halifax.

On Sunday afternoon, hundreds of people came to sip apple cider and smash pumpkins at the last event forCommon Roots Urban Farm at their current location onthe corner of RobieStreet and Bell Road.

But with the redevelopment of the QEIIHealth Sciences Centre set to start in the spring, the farm has about four months to find a new spot to put down roots.

"This is the last hurrah on this very beautiful site that thousands of people have helped make together over seven years," saidJaymeMelrose withCommon Roots.

"I think the feelings are pretty complicated. People are really proud of what we've done, sad to have to leave it, interested in what comes ahead. And I think people feel really good about what we've built together.I think we've expanded the terrain of the possible."

Melrose said the hunt for the right piece of land "is complicated," but they're open to ideas from the community.

She said one of the best parts about the project is that it brings different groups of people together from newcomers to families and even tourists.

The farm also runs a program in partnership with Immigrant Services of Nova Scotia, which provides a space for refugees who were farmersto practice English and return to farming.

ImeldeNduwimana, who is from Burundi but worked on a farm in Tanzania, is part of thatDeep Roots program. She was dancing at Sunday's event.

She said she grows beans and leafy greens and other vegetables from her homeland.

"In my countryI worked at a farm and here I like to farm because it's exercise for me and vegetables are healthy for me and for other people," she said.

Part of Sunday'sevent had children, and even some adults, smashingleftover Halloween jack-o'-lanterns to be used for compost on the farm.

Eight-year-old Gus Harvey was having fun pulverizing pumpkins on Sunday afternoon. He didn't know exactly why he was doing it but he had a good guess.

"Probably they're going to make a ginormous pumpkin pie."

Melrose said because they're moving, most of the leftover pumpkins will go to a chicken farm instead of being composted at Common Roots.

She said the event wasalso a way to thank volunteers and spread the word of their crowdfunding campaign to generate money to move their soil and greenhouses.

Melrose hopes to be able to sort out the logistics over the winter and move everything in April.

"Because it's a farm it's never perfect. We're always doing it messily," she said.