HOW TO START A COMMUNITY GARDEN IN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD What is a community garden? Community gardens are places where groups of people come to create a garden and build community. Can be on private or public land, open to everyone or gardened by specific groups of people Can be entirely ornamental through to entirely edible and everything in between. Community Gardens and City of Calgary Parks The City of Calgary Parks values community gardens for their contribution to the health and wellbeing of neighbourhoods. Supports of new community gardens on private and public lands that are open the public. Gardens are set up in partnership between City of Calgary Parks and community based groups with a minimum of 10 gardeners. Community gardens must abide by all policies and bylaws that govern public land. Community Gardens and the Calgary Horticultural Society The Calgary Horticultural Society s mission is To encourage gardening for the enhancement of our environment and quality of life. Its mandate is To educate, promote and support gardening in the Calgary area. The Community Garden Resource Network (CGRN) is a project of the Society which aims to strengthen and promote community gardening in Calgary by creating a network of resources, expertise and collaborative connections to assist with the start-up of new community gardens and ongoing support for established gardens. First Steps: Know why and access resources The first step that is often not articulated before going ahead with the process to establishing a garden is to discuss the reasons why you and your neighbours want to start a community gardening project. Doing so at the beginning defines from the beginning values and directions that the team believes in and ensures that there isn t confusion as the project takes shape. Accessing resources & help: Contact the local community association Contact the City of Calgary Parks Community Liaison staff member for your neighbourhood. Call 3-1-1 to find out the name and contact information.
Contact the Community Garden Resource Network of the Calgary Horticultural Society at comunitygardens@calhort.org Time Lines: In general, if you start in the fall, your garden team will likely be able to have a community garden in operation by the following spring. Some garden groups start in the spring with the aim to have the garden build in by the Fall so that the garden is ready for use by next Spring It all depends on whether there is local support and desire for a community garden, what kind of land approval is needed and how much time is required to write grant proposals & fundraise for the garden. First Meeting: Fun-damentals The purpose of the first meeting is to see how much interest there is in your community for a garden. The City of Calgary Parks requires that there be a minimum of 10 people from your community collaborating in order to accept your garden team s application. The people part is the most important piece of a community garden's success. By ensuring a friendly, welcoming atmosphere you make it possible for people to want to commit to the work. Organizing the meeting: hold it in an accessible location such as a community centre advertise the meeting widely at least a month in advance At the Meeting: welcome everyone that comes, use name tags & ask each person to introduce themselves and say a little about their interest in being part of a community gardening report where things are at right now with possible land sites, relationship with the community association, water options, liability insurance plus the support available Have a discussion about the potential garden to find out what people are thinking: Ask people attending the meeting to share their name and contact information (email, phone) List next steps and set the next meeting date. Invite individuals to take on tasks or join sub-groups so that the project can move forward. Community Relations Support from your community is an essential part of the garden application to The City of Calgary. The garden group needs to provide evidence demonstrating community need for and support for a garden. Any new use of land can create both positive and negative reactions from neighbours. Talk with neighbours & hold an Open House to share the plans for the garden including solving problems Addressing Community Concerns Human Vandalism & Theft occurs Fences do not reduce vandalism and will make the garden appear to be unwelcoming.
Gardeners are consistently surprised how powerful beauty, public information, neighbourhood involvement and garden productivity are as deterrents to destructive vandalism. Plant and Produce Theft also occurs: Most often due a lack of understanding about community gardens. Put into place different strategies to educate the community at large about the garden and make it a valued part of the community Wildlife Visitors can be nuisances in Calgary gardens Some garden groups put up a foot fence to keep out wildlife, but they are not that effective Identify and discuss with your City of Calgary Parks Community Liaison the most common forms of wildlife in your neighbourhood and effective ways to deter them Plant Wildlife Make sure that what you plant around your garden is not on the Alberta Invasive Species List. To understand which plants are on the invasive list go to http://www.invasiveplants.ab.ca. Weeds can harbour disease and pest, and unsightly and may affect perception of the garden. Relationships with the Community Association Identify how the community garden will maintain regular communication with the association Prepare short terms of reference describing the relationship of the garden group to the association. The garden group may be a committee or a subcommittee of the association Arrange to have a bank account with contents that is a line item in the community association budget, with appropriate financial reports submitted annually. Or arrange to run financial transactions through the Community Associations account with the understanding under the terms of reference that the funds are restricted for the maintenance of the community garden and are not to be used for other community association business Sources and Uses of Funds The restricted funds account will contain community garden fees & revenues Gardeners are usually required to purchase a community association membership and these funds will go into the community association's membership account, not the garden account. Growing a Garden Team A garden team is central to the success of a community garden. If the group is short on garden leaders at the first few meetings, take time to look around for additional people in the neighbourhood and community at large Gardens are encouraged to be governed by a Garden Team of 10 to 12 garden members It is strongly encouraged that each gardener be a member of a Team or Committee to build involvement and plan for succession. The Garden Team has the following responsibilities: To facilitate, set up and maintain beautiful, productive and pesticide-free community gardening projects that welcome gardeners and visitors
Reports to the Community Association either by attending meeting or sending minutes of the Garden Team meetings Creates & maintains Gardening Rental & Guideline Agreements & enforces it. The Garden Team is responsible for managing its financial matters and seeks funding for its activities after communicating with the community association board. Garden Guidelines: Making Expectations Clear Set up garden guidelines as a group to make sure the garden is kept in good condition. The content of the garden guidelines will depend on the site, nature of the garden and choices made by the entire garden group. Outline garden guidelines clearly in a gardener s agreement that residents read and sign when they pay the garden bed rental fee. Every gardener is provided with a personal copy of the garden bed lease agreement and garden guidelines when they pay the garden space rental fee each year. Garden Bed Rental agreements cover among any things: The period of time the agreement covers, often between April 1 and October 31th. Requirements to purchase and possess a community association membership. May be open to gardeners outside the community. Renewal of rental agreement for next year to be completed by a chosen date or people new to the garden are assigned plots in order by the date they signed up on the waiting list. The garden team coordinates the garden bed rental. Sub-renting plots is not permitted. Liability and insurance requirements Selecting the Garden Site A possible garden location ideally has: 6-8 hours of sun & access to water that is potable Good drainage No known history of soil contamination Safe open area clearly visible to residents At a distance from trees to avoid their shade and competition for soil nutrients Central to neighbourhood but a distance from roads with heavy vehicle Accessible for people with mobility challenges plus public transit (bus, LRT, bicycle / walking) Has available parking and drop-off area for delivering garden supplies Able to accommodate 100 square foot per gardener Suitable for garden expansion in future years Public Land for Garden Sites Public land owned by City of Calgary Parks and leased to community association The City of Calgary Parks strongly recommends community gardens to be built on land that is already leased and insured by the local association through a Licence of Occupation (LOC) Insurance for Public Community Gardens Located on Private Land Some private landowners arrange additional coverage on their existing liability insurance coverage as their contribution to the community garden.
Others require that the garden carries its own liability insurance. This can be challenging if the garden is an informal group instead of a registered society. Some private land owners may be willing to have all participants sign a Hold Harmless clause which will absolve them of liability but will not provide coverage for the injured. Private Land for Garden Sites This is land other than public land or leased municipal/crown land and is controlled by a single person or group such as a faith community, registered non-profit society, business or condominium corporation, or an individual philanthropist Can be either a private garden for use of members or a public garden open to the community. Public Community Gardens Located on Private Land requires that the owner to discuss the use of the land as a community garden and work out mutually agreeable terms of use. Prepare a land agreement document that both the landowner and garden team Private Community Gardens on Private Land (condominiums and housing co-operatives) requires consent of the board of directors & general meeting with all condo owners. Garden Layout Walk the garden site to learn about the existing use of the site, its slope, and drainage, placement of trees, shade, sun, accessibility challenges, water options, and unique features. Take photos of the site so that the team can view them while discussing the garden layout. Add the photos to the garden s blog or web pages so people can see the area being considered for a community garden. Ask around to see if there is a resident who has access to any landscape professionals who would volunteer to help regarding the garden layout. This includes landscapers, family members with gardening expertise, farmers, landscape architects, agriculturalists, master gardeners, or garden designers. Plan for what is wanted in the garden in the first year and beyond. Plan the development of the garden in parts that are completed over several seasons as funding and support is located Garden Construction Choices Removing sod or not. Types of beds raised, mounded or ground level Materials for pathways- bark, gravel, brick, Costs, Budget and Financial Plan Costs Assumed by Individual Gardeners include: Seeds & Seedlings, compost and soil after startup year, tomato cages, bean tepees, gardening hand tools Budgets for the garden for the 1 st year and beyond including Garden Build and any expansion includes many items. Please see separate sheet with possible items Friend- Raising: Essential to Fundraising Put the "fun" in fundraising by having neighbourhood activities too. Keep them simple, fun and easy to carry out.
Join up with existing community events so the garden friend raising and fundraising can ride on the publicity for the other event. Social fundraising / friend raising events are very successful in arousing goodwill for the garden. Garage sales, Junk in Your Trunk, silent auctions, bake sales, potlucks are a few ideas that can be part of an existing community association event such as a Stampede Breakfast, sports registration etc. Fund Raising Opportunities: Many Community Gardens are successful in applying for additional funds through corporations and organizations. See the separate attachment for a list of some current opportunities and tips for preparation. Site Preparations: Call Alberta First Call in advance Mark out the boundaries of the entire garden. Bring in all materials and equipment Remove sod if part of the plan or sheet mulch the grass. Create berms with the sod if in the plan. Lay pathways if practical Leave enough work so that the balance of the garden build can be accomplished on Build Day. Garden Build Organize volunteer work parties and contractors for specific dates. Get the necessary materials and tools on site. Assign tasks according to volunteer ability and interest. Bring refreshments and first aid kits. Local businesses for food and beverage donations for the garden build day in return for onsite recognition during the build day and in the community newsletter afterward. Take pictures and send them to the CGRN! Celebrate!