Our History
Formally known as the City Farm School (CFS), the City Herbal Apprenticeship Program (CHAP) is an initiative by the Concordia Greenhouse Project to develop partnerships in urban agriculture and to provide financially accessible herbal education.
City Farm School was started as a pilot project of the Concordia Greenhouse in 2011, serving residents and students near both Concordia campuses, and with time the project rapidly expanded with new partnerships throughout the city. Eventually CFS’s base shifted more towards the western part of the city, in N.D.G. This is where past apprentices and coordinators created the Loyola Farm, an urban garden on Concordia’s Loyola Campus that grew and continues to grow a variety of medicinal herbs, vegetables, and mushrooms.
CFS took on many shapes and forms over the years, and eventually came to offer two streams of education, the Market Gardener Apprenticeship and the Medicinal Herbs Apprenticeship. Apprentices gained hands-on experience following the growth of the Loyola Farm for an entire season, and participated in selling their produce and herbal medicines at the weekly market stand.
As of 2022, CFS ceased offering the well-loved Market Gardener Apprenticeship. Because of this, we’ve decided to change our program’s name to the City Herbal Apprenticeship Program to better reflect our current offerings and structure as a whole.
CHAP strives to carry on CFS’s legacy of approaching environmental and herbal education as a collective and interactive experience. We continue to work closely with the community, hosting our yearly Herbal Apprenticeship Program, as well as participating in the weekly Loyola Farmer's Market, and offering volunteer sessions in our gardens located at the Loyola Farm.
Our Gardens
Our gardens at Loyola Farm, and Concordia University, are located on unceded Indigenous lands. The Kanien’kehá:ka Nation is recognized as the custodians of Tiohtià:ke/so-called Montreal, historically known as a gathering place for many First Nations. Today, it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples. We respect the continued connections with the past, present and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples within the community. 10% of CHAP tuition payments are donated to BIPOC-led initiatives and Indigenous Land Back projects on Turtle Island.
The perennial herb garden at Loyola Farm is the main teaching and demonstration site of the City Herbal Apprenticeship Program, and is the oldest garden plot at the site. Originally created in 2010 as theRealiTea garden by members of the Concordia Food Systems Project, this garden boasts many varieties of perennial medicinal and culinary herbs. CHAP’s apprentices tend to this plot for the duration of the program, and learn about the ins-and-outs of maintaining a perennial herb garden. The herbs are harvested and dried right on site, and are transformed into herbal medicines made by our apprentices which can be found at the weekly Loyola Farmer’s Market.
The other garden that we manage is the food forest, located adjacent to the herb garden. Created in 2012, this garden is planted with a diverse array of fruit trees, berries, and nuts, alongside a variety of flowers and herbs, helping to create a dynamic ecosystem that nourishes each plant as well as the whole. We have hosted a number of workshops in this garden in the past, and have plans to offer another food forest workshop at some point this summer. Stay tuned!
If you are interested in learning more about market gardening and urban agriculture, check out the many educational and volunteer oppurtunities offered by Loyola Farm’s other garden groups, Sankofa Farming Cooperative, People’s Potato, Coop CultivAction, mind.heart.mouth, and the Concordia Pollinators Initiative.
CHAP Coordinator Bio
After participating in the City Farm School Herbal Apprenticeships in 2019 and 2020, Kelly Zwicker has since taken on the role of the City Herbal Apprenticeship Program Coordinator. In addition to her experience as an herbal apprentice, she has over ten years of self-study education in the field of herbalism. With her hands-on approach, Kelly is passionate about sharing knowledge on the use and cultivation of medicinal herbs, and believes that everyone can benefit from learning about our powerful plant allies. Whether you’re interested in growing your own herbs, making herbal medicines, or simply nerding out about plants, Kelly is up to the task of helping you start your herbal journey.