(2026W) Towards Thriving Rural Communities: Provincial Coalition Building and Agricultural Land Policy

This program is part of the Global Experiential Education Program (GEEP) and is informed by ORICE values. GEEP aims to strengthen the bridge between classroom learning (theory) and application (practice) to address pressing global issues, in this community-based praxis initiative. Students who participate in GEEP can participate in experiential education projects designed and led by global community partners.

Details at a Glance

First Round Application Deadline: September 13th, 2026 (11:59PM)

• Program Type: Co-curricular (Not-for-credit)
• Engagementship Type: Community-Based Policy, Coalition, and Research Engagement with the Dunster Community Association
• Engagementship Location: Primarily remote, with a possible site visit depending on community and student availability
• Duration: 7 months starting October 2026
• Eligibility: Open to UBC-V Undergraduate (60+ credits) & Graduate students 

Program Description

Background

For several years, Dunster community members began an organized effort to better understand the effects of absentee and investor ownership of agricultural land, document gaps in existing policies, and explore community-led alternatives to conventional land ownership and succession models.

In 2025, students from PPGA 391A worked with the Dunster Community Association to undertake an initial policy review, connect with other communities facing related challenges, and begin developing communications and media resources.

From January to April 2026, an ORICE engagementship team expanded this work by conducting outreach across British Columbia and supporting the development of a provincial network. The team helped organize two initial online coalition forums attended by community representatives, regional districts, elected officials, agricultural organizations, government representatives, researchers, and First Nations representatives.

The new student team will enter an active, community-led initiative with existing relationships, background research, outreach records, meeting materials, and recommendations from previous student teams.

Organization Details

Dunster, BC is a small rural community located between the Cariboo and Rocky Mountains, between Prince George, BC and Jasper, Alberta. The Dunster Community Association is a volunteer-driven grassroots organization working to address interconnected community challenges related to agricultural land use, housing, food security, land stewardship, and long-term rural sustainability.

Community members have raised concerns about farmland being purchased by investors or larger operators, land sitting unoccupied or being disconnected from local agricultural production, and the resulting effects on young farmers, local families, volunteer capacity, food systems, and community life. These concerns extend beyond Dunster and are shared by rural and agricultural communities across British Columbia.

The Dunster Community Association is working to document these patterns, build relationships among other affected communities, and identify policy approaches that can protect agricultural land while supporting farmers and the long-term wellbeing of rural communities. Rashmi Narayan serves as the project coordinator and works with the Dunster Community Association to guide this ongoing initiative.

Current Project

The 2026W engagementship team will work with Rashmi Narayan and the Dunster Community Association to strengthen and sustain the emerging provincial coalition. The project will combine coalition coordination, community-engaged research, interviewing, policy documentation, communications, and resource development.

The precise activities will be guided by the priorities identified by Dunster and coalition members. Anticipated areas of work include the following.

Over the course of the seven-month engagementship (October 2026-April 2027), students will work as a collaborative team to:

•   Coalition Network Development and Meeting Support: Support the ongoing development of the provincial coalition and approximately bi-monthly meetings.
  • Assist with agendas, background materials, member coordination, meeting notes, and follow-up on agreed actions.
  • Maintain communication and outreach with existing and prospective coalition members, including communities, farmers, local governments, agricultural organizations, researchers, and policy experts.
  • Help strengthen continuity between meetings and support collective action across communities with different experiences and priorities.
•       Community Profiles and Interviews: Continue developing profiles that document changing agricultural land ownership, use, and sale patterns across BC, and their implications for rural communities.
•       Policy and Coalition Communications Materials: Support the development of accessible materials that coalition members can adapt and share within their own communities and networks
•       Funding and Project Sustainability: Support efforts to secure resources to sustain the coalition’s coordination, research, communications, and advocacy. Contribute to grant applications, including project rationale, activities, intended outcomes, and supporting information.

Through this project, students will gain experience in agricultural and land-use policy research, rural community development, coalition building, professional outreach and interviewing, policy communications, grant development, and collaborative project management. Students will also learn how to enter and contribute to an established community-engaged initiative, building on previous work while responding to priorities and directions identified by the community partner. 

Learn more about previous students’ experiences working with Dunster on page 18 of ORICE’s 2025/2026 Annual Report.

Project Timeline

From October 2026 to April 2027, the selected team of students will spend approximately 3-5 hours per week working collaboratively on the project. Students will participate in regularly scheduled in-person meetings on the UBC Vancouver campus to support collaborative learning, project planning, and team accountability. The remainder of the project work will be completed independently or in small working groups according to project needs and team agreements.

More Information