Community Gardening

City of Red Deer

…2008

• Solitary 9 acre garden plot location • 189 garden plots• Area zoned as future development• Current residential development forced

relocation of gardens

RelocationChallenges:1) Site Selection • Site life span and size must balance

cost/benefits of developing and maintaining sites

• Site constraints: funding, appropriate soils, access to water, sunlight, vehicle access and site serenity.

• Land use and current use conflicts (i.e. zoning, additional traffic in areas, loss of green space, agricultural land practices prior to gardens).

2)Site Preparation – soil sterilization & amendments

3) Public Expectation • New opportunity for community food

provisions?• Adding a garden to every community?• Moving soil (plot by plot) to a new location

so no soil re-conditioning required?

Opportunities:• Community development • Organic produce, healthy & sustainable

lifestyle• Easy access/sustainable transportation• Full & half size plots cater to wider range of

people• Low probability for future development in

new sites making them more permanent

Site Criteria– Even dispersal across city– Convenience for gardening– Room for expansion– Topography– Soil structure– Sunlight quality– Obstructions– Site safety and security – Vehicle access– Serenity– Alternative land uses– Adjacent land uses

2009…• Garden locations

– Red Deer College – Cruikshank

Farmstead – Parkside Gardens – Barrett Park

Total – 175 plots

Plots

• Large – 12m x 10m / Medium – 12m x 5m• Advertising• Registration agreement• Participant expectations• Maintenance

• You are responsible for maintaining your garden plot and any access or walkway to the south or east of your garden plot. This includes weed and litter removal;

• Individual garden plots boundaries will be staked and marked - Boundary markers should not be removed;

• Composting is permitted within your plot boundaries;• The City of Red Deer does not provide a watering source at any of the garden

plots. We instead encourage the use of rain barrels or community led watering initiatives;

• Pets are not permitted in the garden area;• We recommend that gardens be treated as organic and discourage the use of

herbicides and pesticides; • Be considerate of your neighbours. Do not plant sprawling crops or tall ones that

might interfere with the garden next to yours; • Please do not water, weed or prune someone else's garden unless requested to,

by that gardener;• Do not enter any private lands adjacent to the garden plots; • If vandalism or theft occurs, notify the Parks garden representative immediately. • If you are not able to tend you plot, notify the Parks garden representative.

Neglected plots will be either reassigned or tilled;• If you will be away during the growing season, ensure that someone will tend your

plot. • At the end of the gardening season, all dead plants and weeds should be

removed. • Plots are assigned according to the waiting list maintained by the Parks garden

representative. • Existing gardeners have priority for plot assignments or trades.• Failure to comply with the above rules may result in the loss of gardening

privileges

Parkside Gardens• Underused turf area• Opportunity to grow

north and west• 2009 - 22 large / 15

medium• Expandable to 44

large / 30 medium

Piper Creek Gardens• 2009 – 28 large / 8 medium plots• Full expansion – 38 large / 17

medium

Barrett Park• Former home site• 2009

– 6 large / 6 medium• Full expansion

– 14 large / 14 medium

Red Deer College• Partnership with college (Green Campus)• 2009 - 84 large / 28 medium (full expansion)

Unity Baptist Church

• Raised beds• City provides materials• Church manages/supervises – open to

public

Moving Forward• Plot expansion • Community involvement

– Work with community groups • neighbourhood fenced facilities complete with

raised garden beds, composting facilities, shared tools, water service, food bank group growing, green houses and programming opportunities.

• Ecologically sustainable practices