Students in professor Arnica Rowan’s sustainable enterprise class at Okanagan College never expected they would have to wear gumboots to school.
The class recently made a trip to Lumby to visit a working cattle and sheep farm.
“We drove out to Vale Farms because they are a model of sustainable practices in the agricultural industry,” said Rowan. “This family farm demonstrates that operating an ethically-driven business can be very successful.”
The farm is certified organic, SPCA certified, and sells their grass-fed meats directly to the public through Okanagan farmer’s markets.
“We used to be a conventional farm,” explained Don Hladych, Vale Farms manager. “But once you start farming the way we do now – you just can’t go back.”
The third- and fourth-year bachelor of business administration students learned about niche marketing, the process of becoming an organic farm, and right-sizing a business. They also chased sheep and took a lamb inventory while Hladych performed non-surgical castrations.
The field trip was the first of many connections with the Okanagan green economy for Rowan’s sustainable enterprise class.
“Going green is no longer a fad or a way of capturing a new market,” said Rowan. “It’s a completely different way of doing business that values an organization’s community and environmental impact as much as the bottom line.”
In the challenging course, students learn to do a triple-bottom-line report, an industrial ecology plan, and a green business impact assessment.
“The students love the course because they get to see a whole new approach, and learn how to apply their analytical business skills in a new realm. Plus, it’s a lot of fun.”