This greenhouse effect is good for BC

Most people think horticulture is just about ornamental plants. It’s not. It’s also about flowers, fruits and vegetables. Deborah Henderson is the newly appointed BC Regional Innovation Chair in Sustainable Horticulture at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Langley, BC. “Horticulture is the art and science of growing plants for every human purpose,” she explains.

With its School of Horticulture plus an Institute for Sustainable Horticulture, Kwantlen has assumed a major role in BC’s agriculture industry. And by securing a LEEF Chair for Dr. Henderson, Kwantlen has ensured that it has the kind of expertise the industry can count on. A youthful fascination with parasite life cycles led her from rural Ontario to Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, and a Bachelor’s degree in biology. From there she moved west, earning an MSc in parasitology at the University of Manitoba and a PhD in entomology (insect studies) at The University of British Columbia. That was 1982.

A purely academic career was not for her, however - - at least not then. She contacted another UBC graduate, Linda Edwards, who had started an integrated pest management consulting practice in the Okanagan Valley. Integrated pest management is a way to manage crop and livestock production so that pests are suppressed in an effective, economical and environmentally sound way.

“I was impressed by what Linda was doing,” Dr. Henderson recalls, “and determined that I could do something similar on the Coast. So I set up a company, E.S. Cropconsult Ltd., and went to work as a consultant.” By the mid-1990s, the company had up to 30 employees, many of them students. “Motor vehicles were our offices, and farms were our meeting rooms.

“Some people may think that integrated pest management is just a way to reduce pesticide use,” she says. “It’s much more than that. IPM methods allow us to replace environmentally harmful pesticides with ‘soft’ and biological alternatives. E.S. Cropconsult representatives visit every farm at least once a week to monitor the situation and adjust recommendations for pest and disease management as necessary.”

All was going well for Dr. Henderson when, in 2005, she was approached by Kwantlen. “It was tempting,” she recalls, “because they had just established the new Institute for Sustainable Horticulture. I could see a unique opportunity to build on what I’d learned both academically and in the private sector for 18 years. The possibility of a LEEF Chair down the road sealed the deal, even though one of the conditions was that I had to help find the $1.25 million in matching funds the LEEF chair required.”

Over the next four years she oversaw the design and construction of the Institute’s two new major facilities - - a laboratory and a greenhouse. Capital funding came from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the  B.C. Knowledge Development Fund. The laboratory opened and her appointment as Chair took effect  in 2009, and the greenhouse is scheduled to go into operation early in 2010.

“Naturally I’m delighted to have a place for research,” she says. “But that’s not enough. Lots of labs are doing research on microbial bio-controls, predators and alternative products. Too often, however, that’s where it ends. The LEEF Chair is an innovation Chair. We want to be proactive, ensuring that our innovations are registered for use and commercialized. This means working closely with BC farmers and other companies in the horticulture industry, and building academic, research and innovation programs to meet their needs. Our new laboratory, therefore, has been designed for both research and early-stage production. We can work with a company through early-stage production here at Kwantlen, while they’re validating and building their markets. This will save many small companies the expense of building their own testing facilities.”

Greenhouses are controversial, there’s no doubt about that. Still, they are much more efficient because they can operate year-round. Greenhouses also enable growers to produce high-value crops not normally grown in this climate. “Our new greenhouse will be as sustainable as possible,” she explains. “It will be a closed system, operating on geothermal energy with computer-driven climate controls. It will be a great site for alternate energy research, in addition to its agricultural research potential.”

Dr. Henderson notes that just four percent of BC land is suitable for agriculture. Thus it’s imperative we use it as efficiently and sustainably as possible. “We have the cheapest food in the world, but that’s not going to last,” she warns. “When food costs more it will be more highly valued. And on the up-side, our locally produced food is going to be in high demand. I’m looking forward to the day when the BC agricultural community can sell what they grow at prices that will sustain them in their businesses.”

The BC Regional Chair in Sustainable Horticulture is supported by $1.25 million from the province’s Leading Edge Endowment Fund, matched by the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Foundation with funds from private donors.

For more information visit www.kwantlen.ca/ish