Friday, September 9, 2022 3 Brooklin Town Crier Brooklin was at one time in the heart of a large farming district. And so it happened on Sept.8, 1949, that land owned by Heber Down became the location for Canada's first farm improvement and soil conservation Day. Agricultural experts from colleges and the federal government were concerned about the growing waste of fertile soil on Ontario farms due to wind and water erosion. Thus plans for a demonstration of ways to conserve the ecosystem to sustain plant life were put into place. Two hills of deeply eroded parcels of land owned by Heber Down were chosen from his 100 acre farm, lot 29, on the north side of Highway 7 in Whitby Township. Lots of visitors For weeks, the event was widely publicized on the radio and in newspapers. One attendance estimate had 15,000 people who came to visit the farm, travelling by chartered bus or private cars from major agricultural areas as far away as Ottawa to the east and Windsor to the west. Local and provincial authorities provided the manpower and tools needed to carry out the improvements. On that day, spectators watched half a kilometre of shrubbery bulldozed and cleared out. Jack Coates, who lived on the farm with his parents Dave and Alma, was a young boy and remembers the reaction from the crowd when a giant elm tree stump was blown out of the field with dynamite. The force was so strong that debris was thrown in every direction. Land work done Kilometres of tile drains were dug and laid. Sloped land was terraced creating nearly level areas in the hillside while crops were grown in strips to follow an approximate contour of the land, minimizing erosion. Tracts of elm trees were established to form windbreaks around the windward side of the field. A plan for crop rotation of wheat, barley, oats and corn was to be carried out over a five-year period to replenish lost nutrients. However, improvements did not stop at the farmland. A new shed was also built to house farm tools and equipment to paint farm buildings. A remodelling of the farm house was done in a way to help conserve the time it took for Alma Coates to keep their home running efficiently. Soil around the house was landscaped with low maintenance perennial shrubs and plants to minimize the need for frequent watering while flowering plants provided blooms to attract pollinators. The theory was that the more biodiversity there was in the garden, the less work the farmer's wife had to do. Signs on Highway 7 directed people to the farm so that over time travellers could take note of the results. All these elements worked together to bring about necessary changes and, although the farm has not been in use for years, today conservation agriculture is a worldwide practice. This Canadian First Was In Brooklin By Jennifer Hudgins