Organic and Sustainable Farming at Zaklan Heritage Farm in Surrey

By Lenée Son

Across the street from a busy road and tucked away behind a tall hedge fence is one of Surrey’s best hidden gems, Zaklan Heritage Farm.

The 8-acre urban farm was founded in the 1920’s by Dragan and Marta Zaklan who immigrated to Canada from Europe.

Continuing his great grandparent’s legacy, Doug Zaklan is leading the farm through a revitalization project along with his partner, Gemma McNeill. The pair met at UBC Farm in Vancouver and share a passion for sustainable and organic farming.

At the farm you’ll find a variety of fruits of vegetables but you won’t find any pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers. “We fertilize with compost,” said Zaklan. “For pests we cover with a Reemay cloth and mostly just make sure things are healthy.”

Pick up fresh seasonal produce from Zaklan Heritage Farm on Saturdays from June to October. They also offer a community supported agriculture program where members get access to the freshest produce available and other specialty items such as eggs.

Zaklan Heritage farm is also home to animals including 95 laying hens. Unlike, free range or free run hens who are restricted to a limited area and rarely, if ever, see the light, the chickens at Zaklan’s are free to roam their large outdoor pen, bask in the sun, and play in the dust. The happy chickens are fed a diet free of corn, soy, and GMO products, which make their eggs delicious and creamy.

A llama affectionately named, Reverend for his unique markings around his neck that resemble the white collar of a minister, protects the chickens from coyotes. Reverend, who is rather fond of the hens never strays too far from them.

If you want to see local farmers in action, know where your food is coming from, and know that your food doesn’t have any chemicals in it, be sure to check out Zaklan Heritage Farm and learn about sustainable and organic farming.

“If you’re willing to eat seasonally and buy from a local farm then it’s going to be tastier, fresher, and more nutritious and you’re going to eat more adventurously and have more of a connection with nature,” explained Zaklan.” All of those things are things that in the past, we’ve taken for granted and traded in for convenience. With that, we lost all the important things so now we are coming back to say being connected to a farm has so much value.”