Ottawa Horticultural Society

http://www.ottawahort.org

Community Gardens

Most of us in the Horticultural Society know the joys of gardening, especially in our own back (and front) gardens. However, there are many people in an urban setting who share this love of growing plants, but who don't necessarily have access to land. One answer to this dilemma is the Community Garden.

Community gardens in the Ottawa area range in size from one garden with four small raised beds to one with 150 ten by ten foot garden plots. The gardens generally occupy vacant lands that are owned by the municipal government, churches, health centres, universities, or non-profit housing cooperatives.

I spoke with Erika O'Hara, who completed her Master's Degree in Geography at Carleton University this summer. She participated in a community gardening program, and in her thesis, examined the benefits and drawbacks of this type of gardening. Erika found that people become involved for many different reasons which include the obvious – to garden – as well as other benefits such as getting fresh air and exercise; increasing access to fresh, organic produce; enhancing the urban environment; regenerating local economies; increasing gardening skills; socializing and participating in the community.

Community gardens are extremely accessible to many people, as there is usually no fee for becoming a member. Some gardens charge from $5 to $20 annually to cover basic expenses such as water bills and compost. In addition, tools are often shared amongst the gardeners, and are frequently donated by garden-related businesses or the municipal government. Some community gardens purchase seeds in bulk. For those that don't, each gardener is responsible for their own seed purchase, but the Community Garden Network provides seed catalogues for local companies that offer organic and heritage varieties. The gardeners plant a wide variety of vegetables, many of which are not widely available in Canadian food stores. Flowers and herbs are also grown in community gardens.

Through Erika's investigations, she found that many community gardeners are new to gardening, but workshops organized by the Community Garden Network help to increase gardeners' skills. These workshops are a central activity of the organization by which skills and experiences in organic gardening, composting, herbology, seed saving, canning, and community organizing, are shared amongst the members. They are free and open to anyone, not solely members of the CGN. Cross-cultural communication is also facilitated in gardens that include people from a variety of cultural backgrounds when knowledge is shared about different food crops and cooking techniques.

Most of the gardeners tend to have individual plots and harvest their produce primarily for their own consumption. However, several members volunteer to grow food for the Food Bank, as well as other alternative local food distributors such as the Good Food Box.

In addition to growing extra produce, many community gardeners take on other responsibilities. Many of the members negotiate land tenure agreements with land owners, access funding and in-kind donations from private and public sources, organize community events, and coordinate the maintenance of their community gardens. Thereby, they increase their skills in democratic participation.

Erika states that environmental concerns are a key issue in community gardens, which are seen as a way of connecting people with their food and giving high-density urban dwellers a connection to nature. As well, by producing food locally, long distance hauling of food, with the resulting contribution to greenhouse gases is reduced.

For those interested in community gardening, the best resource is the Community Garden Network of Ottawa (CGN). Contact Brenda Inouye who is the coordinator of the CGN at 244-2804. This is an excellent opportunity for those who wish to volunteer. For more information, check out www.perc.flora.org/PEN/2000-03/supplement/garden.html.

An example of a local community garden is the Britannia Community Garden, located in the triangle between Richmond Road, Pinecrest Road, and Carling Avenue. The garden began in 1991 when 1700 perennials and 1500 annuals were planted. Since then, many new additions have been made, and donations are continually accepted. What began as empty grassland now contains at least twenty-seven flower beds and over 100 trees. Most of the plants were donations from the public and the City of Ottawa. Tended solely by volunteers, the garden offers sixteen flower beds for individuals who may plant any flowers they wish. In addition, eleven beds are maintained communally. The gardens include formal beds, xeriscape, a large rockery, a developing wildflower meadow, and a demonstration compost site. No pesticides or herbicides are used in the garden. Each year, the garden hosts work parties, garden parties, and a plant sale. For more information, contact the Britannia Community Garden through Jack Keating at 721-0341, or Ingrid Kaulbars at 828-8114.

Please contact the OHS or the author if you wish to republish these articles.

Back to index of articles