Community Mentor Spotlight – Butch Borden

Interview with Paris Farquharson, April 2026

Originally from Toronto, Butch Borden, the community mentor for the BYPTF program, moved to Truro in 1968. After completing high school, he attended the Nova Scotia Teachers College and went on to work in education for 40 years. Butch was introduced to the Department through the Mentoring Plus program, following discussions between the Department and Tracy Dorrington-Skinner of Mentoring Plus regarding the Department’s interest in developing initiatives to help expose local Black youth to careers in agriculture. Using the Department of Public Works’ Black Youth Development and Mentorship (BYDMP) as a model, Butch began mentoring our students in 2021. Driven by his feedback, experience, and involvement, the Department developed the Black Youth Planting Their Future program in 2023.

Butch shared “The Black Youth Planting Their Future allows students to be in meaningful workplaces, while they’re being educated, finding out their likes and dislikes, and then maybe even altering their program while they’re going to school. Today, post-secondary education can be very expensive, and many people end up in careers that don’t match what they originally studied. BYPTF helps bridge that gap. The program offers a variety of positions in workplaces that they wouldn’t get to until later in life, it benefits students in a very positive way. This also opens doors that most likely hasn’t been opened for most students.”

Throughout this program, Butch has been apart of many of the BYPTF students’ experiences. One experience that specifically stuck with him was when the first time the students were taken out to a farm in Old Barns, he was observing the students looking at all the farm equipment and noticed how it wasn’t intimidating or uncomfortable for the students. In fact, most students were very engaged and eager to learn more about the farm and the equipment. For Butch, it was a unique experience to be on this farm with these students in a situation most of them wouldn’t find themselves in if it had not been for this program.

Over the years of being the community mentor, Butch has come to realize the potential for this program is a lot greater than he realized. “I always thought that our young people were capable of being in different situations. It’s not something that everyone sees in our community”. Having spent years in education, he wasn’t surprised by the students’ abilities and capability in these types of situations. Students in the BYPTF program have the chance to show the community and employers how much they are capable of.

Butch notes that while students show growth in different ways depending on whether they are in high school or post-secondary, he has noted consistent progress in their communication skills. Over the past few years, students have become more confident in reaching out, asking questions, and sharing how they’re doing. They’re also getting better at speaking up when something isn’t right, which is just as important. This growth in communication allows for better adjustments in future summers. For example, if a student’s placement is not the perfect fit, they feel comfortable sharing this and Butch will help them identify another opportunity within the program that better aligns with their interests and strengths.

Looking ahead, Butch believes the BYPTF program will continue to be incredibly valuable in the years to come. “These young people are getting the opportunity to see what the possibilities are at an earlier age than their parents or their grandparents did”. He hopes that the students in this program will carry their experience forward by supporting others’ participation, helping set them up for success.

He also recognizes the Department of Agriculture for its role in making this program possible. The effort that they have put in to build, grow, and improve this each year has made a great difference.