Application for plots in the four community gardens will be on-line November 14th - they go quickly.

News 100 redBy Pepper Parr

November 1, 2016

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The winter snow isn’t even on the ground yet – but there are people at city hall planning for community garden usage next year.

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Former General Manager Scott Stewart listen to Amy Schnurr at the opening of the community garden at Central Park. Rob Peachy who played a major role in making it happen is on the far right.

This is one of those programs that came out of a community initiative that took just a little arm twisting to get the city onside – but they made it work and now it is a program with four community gardens located in the city
“Next year will be our sixth growing season with the community gardens program,” said Rob Peachey, the city’s manager of parks and open spaces. “We are once again accepting the applications in November to give our gardeners more time over the winter months to plan and prepare their gardens for the spring.”

There are four community gardens residents can apply to:

• Amherst Park,
• Central Park,
• Francis Road Bikeway, or
• Maple Park

Next year’s planting season will run from May 1 to Oct. 22, 2017. There are a total of 125 plots available, which includes 10 raised, accessible plots suitable for persons with limited mobility. Applicants may indicate a preferred garden location and plot style on the application.

Michelle Bennett paces off the distance for the Community Garden Burlington Green hopes to be able to convince the city to go along with. The BG’s got 85% of the money through a provincial government grant, and now want 15% from the city. The site is also the second choice as a location for the Freeman station that a community group is determined to save.

Michelle Bennett paces off the distance for the Community Garden Burlington Green hopes to be able to convince the city to go along with. The BG’s got 85% of the money through a provincial government grant, and now want 15% from the city.

The cost to rent a plot for the season is $50. Water, soil and compost are supplied and all plots have full sun. Plots will be allocated by lottery at the close of the application period, and all applicants will be notified of their lottery result by early December 2016.

Community garden applications will be available online beginning Nov. 14 (online address is shown below) at the Seniors’ Centre, or City Hall, 426 Brant St., at the Service Burlington counter.

Completed applications must be received by the city no later than Nov. 30, 2016 for the 2017 planting season. Applications received after Nov. 30 will be entered into the draw for 2018 garden plots.

It was about six years ago when Michelle Bennett and Amy Schnurr of Burlington Green appeared before Council asking them to support their initiative to get a provincial government grant. The two woman were going over some literature about a provincial government program that was part solid idea and part pilot project. It fit the BurlingtonGreen mandate like a glove but there was a hitch. They had to have some real, cold hard cash participation from the city or from an organization that was on a par with the city.

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Michelle Bennett inspected a number of community gardens as she researched what might be possible back in 2012. Here she looks over a garden in the east end of the city.

The two woman put together their application and got it off to Queen’s Park who got back to them saying they liked the idea but there was nothing about the city’s participation. Burlington Green people have no problem delegating to city hall. It didn’t go all that well during the first round. Both woman brought more enthusiasm than solid business case to the city council committee but they were on to something and that was enough for Council to ask staff to take a look at it and see if they could make something of it.

Three of the four people who made the Community Garden project happen: former General Manager Scott Stewart, BurlingtonGreen Executive Director Amy Schnurr and Rob Peachey, Manager Parks and Open Space for the city.

That put the BurlingtonGreen ladies into the hands of Rob Peachey, Manager Parks and Open Spaces, who found a way to come up with things the city could do that would amount to the 15% in cash or in kind the BurlingtonGreen people needed to get the provincial funding secured. A location was chosen that worked for everyone. It had a water line, it was steps away from the library where classes could be held, it was moments from the Seniors’ Centre where BurlingtonGreen hoped to entice some of the members.

From the left: Michelle Bennett Environment, Sam Kawazoye Community Service, Trevor Copp Arts , Mayor Goldring, Wendy Hager, Citizen of the Year, Dan Taylor Junior Citizen and Jim Frizzle, Senior of the year.

Michelle Bennett was given the Community Service award – Environment, for her efforts to make the hardens happen. From the left: Michelle Bennett Environment, Sam Kawazoye Community Service, Trevor Copp Arts , Mayor Goldring, Wendy Hager, Citizen of the Year, Dan Taylor Junior Citizen and Jim Frizzle, Senior of the year.

The provincial funding was for a “teaching Pilot”; a program that would figure out the nuts and bolts of how to get a community garden up and running; what you had to do, what you shouldn’t do and where you go for help – that kind of thing.

This is one of those projects that came out of a community initiative and caught the imaginations of city council and was put into the hands of a city staffer who knew exactly what had to be done and got it done,

That first community garden led to three more.

Citizens can apply for a community garden plot for the 2017 growing season in one of the city’s four locations between Nov. 14 and 30, 2016.

They can go online at: www.burlington.ca/communitygardens

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