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Community Gardens and Urban Farms
[Slackerland] (C) Copyright: City Farmer

People often call our office looking for a community garden plot to rent. Others call wanting advice on how to set up such a garden in their neighbourhood and want the names of books to help them plan what they envision.

No central government body administers community gardens in Greater Vancouver, a city of nearly two million. Each site has a unique history and is autonomous. A site with ten plots leased year by year might run with no charter, whereas another with 400 plots is structured formally as a non-profit society.



Community Gardens in Greater Vancouver and Victoria
Updated June 17, 1998
Where are the gardens and who do you call?

Canadian Community Gardeners Listserv.
Subscribe by emailing cancommgardens- subscribe@yahoogroups.com with the word "subscribe" in the subject line. 




 
Growing Vegetables on an Allotment - based on our experience of
an allotment in Leeds
 
"Welcome to our allotment
diary - some of the things we have learned over the last few years on
our plots on the Seacroft Hall Allotment site.   Sadly, after two
seasons in which our plots were trashed by vandals, we are moving to a
different allotment site. We're getting back to growing enough organic
vegetables to be self-sufficient for most of the year - with all the
pleasures of starting afresh!" Posted June 15,
2004




 
The Fitzwater 2000 Garden Association
 
"The
residents, in partnership with Philadelphia Green/PHS, cleaned and
fenced theses lots and turned them into an award winning Community
Garden-one that has won city wide recognition in each of the past eight
years." Posted March 30, 2004





 
Nanaimo Community Gardens 
 
"The Nanaimo
Community Gardens Society maintains educational and therapeutic gardens,
as well as common land for all those who wish to get involved. The
gardens are located are located at 271 Pine Street, behind the Foodshare
Centre.". Posted November 16, 2003





 
Cawston Community
Garden in Kelowna BC
 
"Three plots are designed
for wheelchair access (6'x2') and 10 plots are designed for general
access (4'x4'). The Committee will be alloting plots based on need and
availability.". Posted November 16,
2003






 
The Garden City
Handbook
 
PDF download. "Over the past two
years, Greater Victoria has lost two of its precious community gardens
to development. The Handbook provides a description of the current
context and circumstances of community gardens across the region. ... It
offers a range of alternatives for ensuring that community gardens are
protected and provides community groups with guidance for starting
gardens and ensuring that they thrive over the long term."  Posted August 20, 2003 




 
Seeds of Success
 
PDF
download. "Cities across Canada and the United States offer models
for creating and maintaining community gardens. Seeds of Success reveals
the range and breadth of possibilities for integrating community gardens
into the fabric of communities and protecting these gardens from
development. ... Within smaller cities, including Inuvik, Waterloo and
Bloomington, local governments and nonprofit groups are adapting
community gardens to the specific needs of their citizens."  Posted August 20, 2003 



 
New Village Journal: Premier Issue: Community
Gardens
 
 Reclaiming the Sacred Commons
(Full article in Acrobat PDF format, 370K) by Karl Linn

The Death of Little Puerto Rico: New York City Gardens Plowed
Under by Urban Development by Sarah Fegusen
 Brief
History of Grassroots Greening in New York City  by Sarah Fergusen

 Resources: Community Gardening 

 Updated May 3, 2003 





 
The
Richmond Fruit Tree Project
 
"Plums, apples and
pears are picked from August through into October from the gardens of
Richmond residents. A fruit tree registry and a fruit identification
program are in the works."  Posted February 13,
2003 



 
The Victoria Fruit Tree
Project



The Nelson Fruit Tree Project
  Posted October 30, 2004 







527 Michigan Street, Victoria, BC, Phone 250-385-PICK
http:///www.lifecyclesproject.ca


Earth Matters PO Box 746, Nelson, BC V1L 5R4, Phone: (250) 352-2140,
Fax: (250) 352-214, Email: info@earthmatters.ca
http://www.earthmatters.ca




 
Growing
Gardens
 
"We serve the St Johns, north, inner
north/northeast and outer southeast low-income areas of Portland,
Oregon. Requests for gardeners come by word of mouth, presentations to
groups such as the WIC (Women, Infant and Children) programs, as well as
strategic contacts made by staff to housing agencies such as the Housing
Authority of Portland and local public schools." 
Posted September 15, 2002 





 
Jerusalem Cityfarmers
 
"Jerusalem
Cityfarmers is a network of people from Jerusalem's diverse communities
working for ecological use of our shared resources - in Jerusalem, in
our bioregion, and our planet. We believe that every individual and
community has untapped potential to create local solutions."  Posted July 28, 2002 






The Gardeners'
Collective



"The Gardeners' Collective seeks to establish and cultivate organic
community gardens on University of Toronto land and rooftops campus to
feed those in need by donating produce to local food banks, and to act
as models for urban agriculture and environmental education. " Posted July 9, 2002, 2002





Tam O'Shanter Urban Farm (UK)



"Jacko the Donkey was born in 1996, and came to the farm on the 11th
December 1998. He is a very temperamental donkey - sometimes sweet and
gentle, other times naughty and rough! If he comes over to you he might
like to be stroked. Watch out if his ears go back: he may be about to be
naughty!" Posted June 19, 2002, 2002







Community
Greens: Shared Parks in Urban Blocks



"Community greens are shared parks tucked away on the inside of
residential blocks. They are collectively owned and managed by the
neighbors whose homes and backyards, decks, patios, and balconies
enclose the green.These secret gardens bring neighbors together as they
care for and enjoy their community green." Posted
April 21, 2002








Whose Garden Is It?



Governing Magazine/March 2002 - "Community gardens can help
turn neighborhoods around. It's their very success that threatens them."
- "The city accuses garden activists of being insensitive to the need
for low-income housing; the activists say their views are being
misrepresented. The city, says Aresh Javadi, director of a group called
More Gardens, 'makes it sound as if it's housing versus gardens. That's
wrong. It's both housing and gardens.'" Posted
March 27, 2002





The
History of The Allotment Gardens in Copenhagen



"The allotment garden movement peaked during the Second World War
with lOO,OOO gardens. After the war prosperity increased and the
allotment gardens flourished. In the l960's however, when a private car
became within reach for some people in Copenhagen, one just had to have
a summer house, preferably on the North Coast about lOO kilomet- res
away." Posted November 22, 2001





Nuestras
Raíces Organization



Nuestras Raíces is a grassroots organization that promotes
economic, human and community development in Holyoke, Massachusetts
through Urban Agriculture.  Posted November 13,
2001










Green
Thumb



"The largest community gardening program in the USA, GreenThumb is
proud to support community gardens in New York City. We have over 650
member gardens serving 20,000 city residents."
Posted May 13, 2001





Film About
Community Gardens in Los Angeles



"Sweat Equity" is a collection of urban stories about community
gardening activity occuring on the alleys, back lots, freeways and
utility corridors of metropolitan Los Angeles.
Posted May 7, 2001




Games for
Community Gardeners



"Gaia's Garden" - 4 gardeners plant vegies in their organic garden;
bugs want to destroy the crops and predator insects help the
gardeners."
 "Youri's Pea" - How to grow a pea plant with
the help of soil, water, air and sun. Wildlife in and around the garden
interferes with the plant growth. Posted May 7,
2001






A Survey of Community
Gardens in Upstate New York: Implications for Health Promotion and
Community Development



"Community gardens involve the main characteristics that have been
described as important for health promotion in minority communities;
these are social support, an emphasis on informal networks, and
community organizing through 'multiple change tactics'". Posted March 1, 2001




Action Communiterre



"Action Communiterre is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to
social and environmental development through the establishment and
operation of collectively-managed vegetable gardens. We run 10 organic
gardens, known as the Victory Garden Network, in the Notre-Dame-de-Gr‰ce
area in Montreal." Updated May 28, 2006




People, Land & Sustainability: the home page of community
gardening



"This site was initially set up to provide information for an
international conference: 'People, Land & Sustainability: new directions
in community gardening' held in Nottingham, UK, in September 2000. The
web site remains as a meeting point for those who attended the
conference and for all those involved with or interested in community
gardening. "  Updated November 27, 2001





Earth Celebrations



"Earth Celebrations' programs include: theatrical pageants,
educational art and ecology workshops for youth and adults, artist
residencies, exhibitions, web-site, video programs, creative advocacy
campaigns, and partnerships with schools, community centers, and
gardens. Since 1991, Earth Celebrations has been working to preserve the
network of over 50 community gardens on the Lower East Side of New York
City through innovative and creative programs, pageants, and workshops.
"  Updated August 27, 2000




Update...New York
Community Gardens Threatened With Destruction 
New
York gardeners are battling to preseve their community gardens as City
Hall attempts to auction off city owned lots, on which many gardens
rest. Various sources. "...By 3:15 a.m., the police began towing away
cars on the street, while the protesters gathered around a fire. By 7
a.m., the crowd of protesters had grown to 150. They chanted: 'New York
City has got to breathe. More gardens, more peace.' " Updated August 27, 2000 



NYC Community Garden Mapping Project 
"The
Council on the Environment of New York City announces the launch of the
NYC Community Garden Mapping Project interactive web site.  The maps on
the web site show detailed information about community gardens and open
spaces within the context of their surrounding neighborhoods -e.g.,
vacant lots, abandoned buildings, schools, housing, etc." Posted March 16, 2001 




Troy Community
Gardens Journal Collection



"What the deer see here is a confusing fence of strange vertical
branches and unexplainable straight lines of twine. And inside, where a
great variety of food is growing, the hanging shirts of the children,
parents, and grandparents who work in the plot during the day are filled
with the breath of the nightly  breezes." Posted
August, 2000





Entrepreneurial Community Gardens: Growing Food, Skills, Jobs and
Communities



By Gail Feenstra, University of California, Davis; Martha Goodlett,
Van Ho Cultivating Communities Program, Seattle; Steve Garrett
Washington. "Production: All projects grew fresh vegetables and a little
less than half also grew fresh flowers because of their higher market
value, especially when made into arrangements. Almost half of the
projects (44%) used some of their garden produce to make and sell
value-added products. Much of this occurred on site, but some utilized
commercial kitchen space and other neighborhood facilities for
production. Almost 104 of the projects sold landscaping services,
contracting with individuals or the city, as another way to raise
revenue." Posted June 2, 2000




Gateway Greening



"Since 1984, Gateway Greening has helped transform neglected and
abandoned lots in St. Louis into productive gardens and beautiful
landscaped areas. Our mission is to provide resources and training to
neighborhood groups who believe in their communities and want to reclaim
them from urban decay." Posted November 23,
2000










SEEDS



"South Eastern Efforts Developing Sustainable Spaces, Inc. (SEEDS)
is a non-profit urban gardening and community building organization
based in Durham, NC. SEEDS was created to challenge and support
neighborhood residents, community activists, city government and
corporations by bringing community groups together to transform vacant
land into productive, community-controlled spaces." Posted July 21, 2000





Southside
Community Land Trust (SCLT)



"Located in South Providence, Rhode Island, SCLT is committed to the
belief that city dwellers are entitled to a healthy environment. SCLT's
community gardens produce food and the opportunity for better nutrition
and greater self sufficiency. These gardens provide open and healthy
urban space, transform blighted vacant lots, and offer recreation to
individuals and to families." Posted April 27,
2000











 The National
Society Of Allotment And Leisure Gardeners Ltd.
(NSALG)
 Posted March 20,
2000 
 The National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners
is the representative body for Allotments in the UK. With over 80,000
members and 1600 affiliated societies it is the largest and most
respected organisation of its type in the country. [Current Membership
(1999) is 80,000 members in 1650 Associations, 1700+ individual members,
96 Local Authorities.] Allotments are being built on EVERY DAY in EVERY
part of the country. NO Allotment Site can now be considered safe! There
has been a fall in allotment provision of over 40% in the last two
decades. 




 <
FONT SIZE="4">The Allotment and Vegetable Garden Ring Home Page
List
Posted March 20,
2000 




 Victoria Jubilee Allotments: An Allotment In
Danger!
 An English allotment garden fights
developers. Posted March 21, 2000 







 Plant a Row - Grow a Row
"The
Grow-A-Row program started in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1986, initiated by
Ron and Eunice O'Donovan. That was the year that they produced more
potatoes in their backyard garden than their family could consume. They
decided to donate the excess to the local food bank, Winnipeg Harvest.
Their idea was met with such enthusiasm that the O'Donovan's decided to
encourage their friends and neighbours to also donate their surplus
produce. Since then, over 1.4 million pounds of fresh fruits and
vegetables have been given to Winnipeg Harvest through the Grow-A-Row
program." Posted May 15, 2000 





 Toronto Community Garden Network
 Updated November 30, 2001 
 The Toronto
Community Garden Network is working to encourage a healthy community
gardening movement in the City of Toronto, linking and supporting
community gardeners. We are an organization of 80 member gardens and
over 300 individual members.
 
  




 LifeCycles
 Posted August
2, 1999 
 LifeCycles, 527 Michigan Street, Victoria, BC V8V
1S1 
Phone: (250) 383-5800 
 Home Grown,
Growing Schools, Community Suport Agriculture, Community Gardens,
Sharing Backyards, Demonstration Site, International Partners, Garden
Training Project, Events.



 Protest sprouts
at party:
 Uprooting of community garden stirs furor during
Mardi Gras celebration.
 Posted
March 13, 2000 
  "The protesters were upset because a Tower
District businessman had bulldozed a lot that was being used as a
community garden to feed the hungry and homeless. " 







 Berkeley Community Gardening Collaborative

Posted July 16, 1999 
 "The BCGC brings
together diverse members of the community around a common commitment to
urban agriculture and access to healthy food for all residents of
Berkeley. We are gardeners, teachers, community activists, students,
nutritionists, writers, public office holders and others who share
ideas, knowledge, vitality and resources to increase local food
production and improve nutrition."







 Boston Natural Areas Network: Community Gardening in
Boston
 Posted October 10,
2003
"Boston Natural Areas Network helps coordinate activities
related to all of the Boston area's 250 community and school gardens,
involving over 10,000 individuals and families, many of them
low-income."




 The Food
Project
  Posted January 26,
2000
" Each year, through The Food Project's innovative
programs, hundreds of teens from Greater Boston grow and distribute
nearly 40,000 pounds of fresh organic vegetables and in the process gain
the skills and knowledge they will need to be active and engaged
citizens working for a just society and a sustainable environment in the
21st Century."


 Sacramento Community Gardens
  Posted April 30, 2000
"Sacramento's
economically depressed, ethnically diverse neighborhoods are among those
trying to use community gardening as a way to foster entrepreneurial
skills and local pride. At Grant High School in Del Paso Heights, for
instance, about 30 students are devoting much of their leisure time to
watering, weeding and planting their year-old garden."




 Jardin dans tous
ses états
 Posted July
22, 1999 
 Le "Jardin dans tous ses états" est le nom
d'une dynamique d'échanges entre les porteurs de projets de
"jardins partagés" et leurs partenaires associatifs, politiques
et institutionnels.

Ces jardins sont divers, mais portent des valeurs communes de partage,
de créativité, de solidarité entre les
communautés, d'aide aux personnes en difficulté, de liens
retrouvés avec le monde vivant, de respect de notre
environnement...










 'NSW (New South Wales) Community Gardens', Australian City Farms
and Community Gardens
 Updated
March 13, 2000 
 




 Long Beach
Organic
 Posted June 18,
1999 
 Long Beach Organic (LBO) is a not-for-profit
organization involved in turning vacant lots into beneficial green zones
throughout the City of Long Beach. They have just announced the start of
Project GROW, a 21 month, $18,000 pilot project in partnership with
Interval House, a local battered womens' shelter program. Funded by the
California Department of Health Services, Project GROW aims to establish
a model program for statewide women's shelters that will provide healthy
food, horticultural therapy, gardening skills, nutrition education and
job skills.






 Green
Guerillas
 Posted June 16,
1999 
 "Since 1973 Green Guerillas has helped thousands of
people realize their dreams of turning vacant rubble strewn lots into
vibrant community gardens. Each year we work with hundreds of grassroots
groups throughout New York City to strengthen underserved neighborhoods
through community gardening."





 Here's a new Community Garden Forum for you to take part
in.
 Updated November 30,
2001 
  









 Melbourne, Australia Community Garden 
Posted March 27, 1999
"For a small annual fee,
public housing tenants rent their own plot and work it in any way they
wish. The Collingwood gardens provide 120 plots and the Fitzroy gardens
60 plots. Gardens with approximately 130 plots are being developed in
the Richmond public housing estates." 





Alex Wilson Community
Garden
 Posted March 5,
1999 
 Toronto garden named after activist landscape designer.
"We must build landscapes that heal and empower, that make intelligible
our relations with each other and the natural world." 





 Seattle
Tilth Association 
 The Seattle Tilth Association
began in 1978 when neighbors sharing a vision for an urban agriculture
and living environment joined together to remove a bleak expanse of
asphalt and to breathe life into the soil beneath. Today Tilth is
involved in establishing and promoting sustainability in many ways, from
classes for children and adults to radio shows. 




 SLUG - The San
Francisco League of Urban Gardeners 
SLUG's founders
felt a pressing need to support those interested in urban greening,
neighborhood beautification and local food production in San Francisco,
the nation's third most densely populated city. Since it's inception in
1983, SLUG has grown to an organization with 24 full-time staff that
coordinate programs which empower communities and individuals with
education and employment. 







 Denver Urban
Gardens
  "DUG operates and assists with the creation
and management of over 60 metro-area community gardens and small parks.
DUG's mission is to support transformation of vacant lots into vital
community open spaces. These gardens have become a community focus for
producing food, neighborhood activities and education programs for over
20,000 individuals annually." 



 <
FONT SIZE=4>Lead Contamination in the Garden
 Posted June 4, 1999 
 Areas Around Your Home
You Should Be Concerned About



 






 Greening of
Harlem
 Posted February 23,
1999 
 "In Harlem, there are 1500 vacant lots and 1800
abandoned buildings. There is a major compelling reason to reclaim this
land." 










 Community Gardens in Prince George B.C.
 "There
are 25 individual garden plots; each is a 5 ft by 20 ft raised bed.
There is also a communal herb garden, a large communal bed for potatoes
and squash and other sprawling plants and a special educational garden
for the local elementary school." 














Great ACGA Publications
The American Community
Garden Association (ACGA) has published two of their excellent
publications on the web, "Starting a Community Garden" and
"What Good is Community Gardening". They are must reads!  








Community Garden LISTSERV
"The University of
Arizona has created an email list serve to connect people who are
interested in sharing information about Community Gardening." Look at
the bottom of the excellent ACGA Links page.





Philadelphia's
Southwark/Queen Village Garden
"Southwark/Queen
Village gardeners produced $45,000 worth of vegetables, herbs and fruit
in 1996 according to a formula providedby the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. The average gardener produced $643 worth of food for family
and neighbors." See their community garden by-laws!







Report on
Community and Allotment Gardening in the Greater Vancouver Region,
April, 1997
Norm Connolly, working closely with City
Farmer, has produced a timely overview of the mushrooming development of
Vancouver community gardens. 








 Garden Policy
Approved:  Vancouver Park Board approves a unique
community garden policy. Spring, 1996 




 Community
Gardening: A Vancouver Perspective 




 Community Gardens:
Sample Rules and Regulations 




 The Earth: Plant a City Garden 
 Sylvia
Ehrhardt explores solutions for Apartment dwellers and other city and
suburban residents who don't have access to land suitable for raising
fresh produce. [In Dig Magazine]








Northwest Territories'
Community Garden  
"Our greatest advantage is the long
day length: June 21 has 21 hours of daylight and we only start to get a
true night by mid-August." 








Politics of Community
Gardening in Germany 
Lecture given by Professor Gert
Gröning at the 1996 ACGA conference in Montreal. [8500 word
document (56K) published on one page.]










At City Farmer, on our computer, we keep an ever-changing list of
allotment gardens, their location, total plots available, size of beds,
rental cost, and contact person. This quickly lets us know if there is
something suitable for someone who is looking for a plot.



Many people aren't near an existing site so we will suggest they try
to share a garden with a neighbour or look for a vacant piece of land
which they can make into a community garden. 



 Books on community gardening/allotment/vacant lot gardening don't
remain in stock in bookstores for long after publication so a library is
usually the best place to find them. At City Farmer we have a wide
collection of materials to choose from. 



 Here's a new Canadian book: 





  



 These two are old standards on HOW TO. 





  





 There are also books that look at the WHY of community gardening.
This is a new one from the US. 





 This study focuses on gardens in Great Britain. 






  


And still others which emphasize the HISTORY like this Canadian book.





  



Community gardens and publications about them are beginning to come
on-line. Here is the start of that migration.





 



  



But by far the largest collection of information on this subject can
be found amongst the membership of the American Community
Garden Association (ACGA), a great bunch of people from
such organizations as BUG (Boston Urban Gardeners), SLUG (San Francisco
League of Urban Gardeners), the Green Guerrillas and Operation Green
Thumb in New York City, Seattle's P-Patch, and Philadelphia Green. 

In fact, among the veterans of this association (15 year members), you
will find the world experts in all manner of urban agricultural lore. If
there are those that can be considered professional urban
agrologists this is where they network.


  





The ACGA hold a yearly conference, publish both a regular newsletter
called the Multilogue, and a comprehensive journal first named
the Journal Of Community Gardening, now renamed the Community
Greening Review.




They sometimes produce special publications such as Case Studies
of Entrepreneurial Community Greening Projects by Katherine
Frohardt, 1993. As well, they publish a Membership Directory, and have a
comprehensive 125-slide show accompanied by a printed script. 



ACGA


100 N. 20th St  5th floor


Philadelphia, PA 19103-1495, USA


Phone: 215-988-8785 














 
   
 




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Revised July 12, 2006





Published by City
Farmer
 Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture 
  cityfarmer@gmail.com