March 21, 2011, Toronto – The master plan for a revitalized Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (VRIC) was unveiled at a Canada Blooms reception last week.
Guest speakers included best-selling author and gardening expert Mark Cullen; VRIC chairman and winemaking pioneer Donald Ziraldo; Diamond + Schmitt founding partner and renowned architect Jack Diamond; and VRIC CEO Dr. Jim Brandle.
“In 2007, the provincial and federal governments saw real value in what industry was proposing at Vineland,” said Ziraldo, “a new research and innovation mandate for Canadian horticulture that would make us leaders not laggards on the world stage. Today we have the team of researchers and the industry and government partners to make it happen.”
With a focus on fruits, vegetables, wine, flowers and plants, Vineland science is already delivering on nutritionally enhanced varieties of produce, locally grown ethnic cultivars, production practices that conserve water usage, and highway tree plantings that significantly reduce greenhouse gas pollution.
Vineland’s research is particularly relevant as world food shortages and price increases are changing global food economies. “At Vineland, we offer the horticulture industry a responsive and efficient environment to conduct research, and a place to align business and science interests such as commercialization and technology scouting,” said Brandle. “If we truly expect to raise the bar for Canadian horticulture, we need the tools and the resources to compete with the best in the world.”
The new 25,000-square-foot centre will include state-of-the-art research laboratories, a business convergence centre and impressive meeting and conference facilities that will support sustainable and leading edge food and flowers innovations in Canada.
Vineland is funded in part by Growing Forward, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.
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