Cultivaction
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Welcome to Cultivaction

Contact

Erik Chevrier, Ph.D.

Course Information

Meet Time: This Course runs biweekly on Tuesday evenings from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., from May 12 to October 13.

Loyola Farm Location: The Loyola Farm is located at the back of Concordia University, Loyola Campus – TB building. 7075 Rue de Terrebonne, Montreal, Quebec H4B 1E1.

Classroom Location: HU 125 (right map below, the HU building sign is being covered by a smoking/vaping sign on the top).

Welcome to the Urban Agriculture - Tuesday Course

Hello, everyone, we are Erik Chevrier, Ph.D., and Mohammed Al-Duais, Ph.D., and we are your course instructors. This page is your go-to resource for everything you’ll need to fully engage in the course. We recommend visiting it every Monday before our Tuesday class. Here, you’ll find the class plan, supplemental readings, Power Point presentations, as well as any updates or changes regarding meeting times (especially in case of rain).

Every Monday before your lesson, you’ll receive an email with details about the upcoming Tuesday class, including the lesson content and location. This information will also be posted on the course website. If you’re ever unsure about where to meet, please don’t hesitate to contact me using the email or phone buttons in the contact section.

We look forward to to meeting everyone on on May 12th! – Erik and Mohammed

Here is a list of items you should and could bring to each class. 

You should bring:

1 – Sun protection (sunscreen, hat, long sleeve shirt, etc.)
2 – Insect protection (bug repellant, bug hat, long sleeve shirt, pants, etc.)
3 – Proper gardening shoes or boots.
4 – Gloves (we have some but they get sweaty).
5 – Notebook, pen, pencil.
6 – Water to drink.
7 – Basket or bag to take home produce.
8 – Love for growing food. 

Items you could also bring:   

9 – Gardening tools. We have some but you can bring your own if you wish too. 
10 – Food for personal consumption and/or to share with others.
11 – A folding chair.

Course Schedule and Themes

The class plan for each session will be available on Sunday before class. Although class dates are fixed, topics may shift based on weather conditions and the evolving needs and pace of the course. You can access information for each class by clicking the hyperlinks below.

Course Description

The CultivAction Urban Agroecology Beginner Course is a welcoming, hands-on introduction to urban gardening and farming for people who are ready to start growing — whether in a backyard, on a balcony, in a community garden, or anywhere food can take root.

Designed for those new to growing, this course builds essential skills and confidence through practical learning and supportive community. No prior experience required — just curiosity and a willingness to get your hands in the soil.

Through biweekly evening sessions, field visits, and guest growers, you’ll learn the fundamentals of growing food in urban spaces: soil preparation, planting techniques, seasonal crop care, watering, harvesting, and garden planning. Each session blends guided instruction with real-world practice so you can apply what you learn right away.

Along the way, you’ll be introduced to agroecology — an approach to growing food that works with nature while strengthening communities. Agroecology emphasizes healthy soil, biodiversity, ecological balance, and the idea that food growing is not just about plants, but about people, access, and care for the land. You’ll begin to see how even a small urban garden connects to larger food systems and community resilience.

Just as important as what we grow is how we learn together. The course fosters a supportive learning community where participants share questions, discoveries, challenges, and the excitement of seeing seeds sprout and gardens take shape. Growing food can feel intimidating at first — but it becomes far more rewarding when done collectively.

By the end of the course, you’ll leave with practical skills, growing confidence, and the foundation to continue cultivating food — and community — in your own space.

Let’s get growing.

Suggested Readings

  1. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants.
  2. A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism: Understanding the Political Economy of What we Eat.
  3. Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture: Sustainable Solutions for Hunger, Poverty and Climate Change.
  4. Integrated Urban Agriculture: Precedents, Practices, Prospects.
  5. Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture.
  6. The Essential Urban Farmer, Penguin Books.

Join the Urban Agroecology Movement!

The CultivAction Urban Agroecology Beginner Course invites you to participate in a social, ecological, and political movement that is reshaping local food systems. Industrial agriculture drives environmental destruction, climate instability, and social inequities, and global food systems often fail to provide equitable access to healthy food. Through urban agroecology, we work collectively to build resilient, sustainable, and community-centered food networks.

In this hands-on course, you’ll learn how to design and manage productive urban gardens and farms, care for soil and water, plan seasonal plantings, integrate perennial and annual crops, and use agroecological principles to enhance the biodiversity and resilience of your growing space. Whether you tend a backyard, a balcony, or a shared urban farm plot, the skills you gain will allow you to put theory into practice, creating thriving spaces that benefit both people and the environment.

Beyond practical skills, the course emphasizes community-building, food sovereignty, and systemic thinking, showing how urban farming/gardening connects to broader ecological and social change. Participants leave with the knowledge and experience to cultivate productive, sustainable gardens and to actively contribute to stronger, more resilient urban food systems.

Learning Goals

By the end of the course, students should be able to…

  • Grow food in urban (or peri-urban) environments
  • Incorporate SPIN (Small Plot Intensive Farming) methods 
  • Become more self-sufficient by producing a variety of fruits and vegetables at home or in the community
  • Understand community food systems and apply knowledge to urban gardening/farming
  • Cultivate annual and perennial food plants
  • Incorporate permaculture methods into urban gardening/farming
  • Get high production in an urban garden/farm
  • Understand gardening cycles – what to do in different seasons
  • Incorporate mushrooms into your urban farms/gardens
  • Forage in urban areas
  • Use natural methods for pest control
  • Distinguish between weeds and beneficial plants and flowers
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