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The Waterloo Region is currently home to 40 community gardens. CASSA is working to start a dialogue around increased access to these gardens for immigrants in order to identify barriers and build capacity for their inclusion in the local food movement. Our local partners in this initiative are the Diggable Communities Collaborative: the Community Garden Council of Waterloo, Opportunities Waterloo Region and Region of Waterloo Public Health.
Currently there are 39 community gardens in the Region. These gardens are scattered throughout the Region, but are mainly located in the urban areas of Kitchener and Waterloo. These gardens are located on private properties, church properties, community centres, and some on city owned land. Every community garden is unique in how it operates, but the majority of the community gardens are set up as individual plots that community members can ‘rent’ for the season. In a survey conducted by Region of Waterloo Public Health in 2005, 38% of respondents reported growing some of their own food, with 90% of these respondents using a backyard garden to grow these foods (RWPH, 2005). Despite only about one third of the citizens actively engaged in growing their own food, 70% stated growing their own food is important to them. This same survey revealed that 2% of respondents garden in community gardens (RWPH, 2005). There are some opportunities for support for these community gardens from the local municipalities. Presently, the City of Kitchener provides both in-kind support as well as financial support to their gardens. They will provide shelters, water, and waste pick-up to some of their gardens, in addition to a $500 grant to new garden start-ups. The City of Waterloo is also slowly making strides through their Partners in Parks Program. As part of this program the City has agreed to provide passive public parkland for use as community gardens. Nearly 25% of Waterloo Region residents are immigrants or refugees from diverse regions of the world, with expected growth to 30% by 2031. Our region is one of the top seven communities in Canada for recent immigrants/refugees1 on a per capita basis (2006 Census). Between the 2001 and 2006 Census, 17,020 individuals immigrated to this region(Immigrants in Waterloo Region: Fact Sheet, ROWPH, 2009). This project includes: 1. A community needs assessment in which we identify community garden champions who are immigrants, refugees, and/or people of colour and determine the level of interest, needs of, and capacity for community gardens among those who have no been involved in the mainstream gardening movement to date. 2. Outreach to connect immigrants to community gardening and spark new partnerships. 3. Developing a toolkit on how to create inclusive intercultural community gardening spaces. 4. Creating a fact sheet with basic information for gardeners new to Canada. 5. Distributing the Community Garden Council's multilingual promotional materials. These materials are in English, Spanish, Amharic, Farsi, Urdu, Punjabi, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Serbian. 6. Compile recommendations for next steps for the Community Garden Council and Region of Waterloo Public Health.Some Questions to Think About How inclusive and welcoming are our communities and gardens? If you have ideas, questions or suggestions about this project please contact Kathryn Lennon, Research & Outreach Coordinator, Waterloo Region Diggable Communities Collaborative at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 519-883-2353 ext. 5984. Interested in Gardening in the Waterloo Region? Click here for more information about using public land for a community garden in Kitchener. Upcoming EventsCommunity Garden Council Meetings: 7-9pm, 99 Regina St , Uptown Waterloo.
If you are interested in learning about community gardens in the region or how to start a community garden, come out and meet the council! Past Events Inclusive Community Gardens for Immigrants and Refugees! A Discussion. Thursday November 18th, 6-8pm. Kitchener Downtown Community Centre Snacks and child-care provided This event is a chance to:
Research from the Inclusive Community Gardens Project will be shared. Please contact Kathryn Lennon to RSVP, or if you have questions. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or by phone 519-883-2353, ext.5984. Over 30 participants attended the meeting, including members of the Community Garden Council, university students, community organizers, community members, service providers. We shared ideas about gardens, then divided into smaller groups to focus conversation on several different areas: 1) How to start a garden/ Ideas for new gardens/ More gardens! 2) Multicultural gardens and inclusive gardens 3) Economic opportunities 4) Leadership/ Community Organizing 5) Wellness
Our interest in community gardens: Ø Use yard space Ø Empowerment Ø Gardens as language learning tool Ø Share food Ø Mobilizing community Ø Women Ø Share land Ø Build relationships Ø Signs in different language Ø More soil Ø Supply family Ø Creates community Ø Expand gardens Ø Systemic change Ø Cooking, sharing Ø Onions and flowers Ø Learning to garden Ø Local, fresh food Ø Getting to know each other Ø Workshops Ø Community owned greenhouse Ø Seed swap Ø Neighbors share backyards à breaks down barriers Ø Container gardens Ø Rooftop gardens Ø Seed sale Ø Seed saving Ø No space to grow in house Ø Apartment – no room for garden Ø Building/land system for growing different here from Iraq Ø More awareness – youth, students, immigrants Ø Healing Ø Economics Ø Access Ø Immigrant settlement Ø Need help, want to help Ø Planning, policy, land allocation
Leadership/ Community Garden Council Ø Sharing information: available land Ø How does leadership develop Ø Gap of information Ø Want to encourage gardening Ø Building relationship, foster friendships Ø Lots of people are willing to organize Ø Faith organizations: -raw land, water, kitchens Ø Preserving produce Ø Importing seeds: suitcase – NO packets – YES Ø Liaison with Social Services (less assistance necessary) o Incentive to grow food – volunteer work Economic Ideas Ø Use your backyard-front yard as community garden à movement Ø Can and preserve food à can use to sell Ø Growing specialty crops, can’t find in grocery stores à sell it Ø Large community garden – business idea – employ people – sell to distributers Ø Less time consuming o Environment o Fresh, healthy Ø Give to food bank Ø Selling extra produce – farmers market o Supporting youth employment o Learning how to garden Ø How: o Green roofs o Share yards – land o Website à phone number to call, advertise if someone has land in our backyard Multicultural Gardens Ø How to: o Food security o Create communication paths o Allow for perennial herbs o Advocacy o Have access to appropriate tools o Change policy systems o Have common expectations Ø Cultural Theme meals Ø Accessibility Ø Language use eg. CASSA – holistic systematic approach Ø Food preserving methods Ø African Canadian Wellness Community Ø Who is not in the gardens Ø Food Prep and sharing Ø Canadian (Ontario_ best practices eg) Watering Ø When would we start a garden themed conversation circle Ø Write down all the names of people from YMCA's host program who might be interested in garden theme. Useful ResourcesArticle: City of Waterloo May Help Pay for Vegetable Gardens Guide to Growing Organic Food in an Intercultural Community Garden - Scroll down to YMCA Intercultural Community Gardens Project to download the guide in English, Chinese, Russian, Farsi or Spanish. Locally Grown Cultural Food Guides - Toronto Environmental Alliance Comience una Granja en la Ciudad - recursos relacionados a agricultura urbana en español (resources in Spanish), Estados Unidos (USA). Asian Vegetables Grown in Ontario Oriental & Specialty Greens & Vegetables - Varieties Sold in Canada Seeds of Diversity is a Canadian volunteer organization that conserves the biodiversity and traditional knowledge of food crops and garden plants.
Food JusticeRace and the Food System - A resource created by Why Hunger? that examines the links between race and equitable access to good food. The Growing Food and Justice for All Initiative--a network that views dismantling racism as a core principal that brings together social change agents from diverse sectors working to bring about new, healthy and sustainable food systems and supporting and building multicultural leadership in impoverished communities throughout the world. Environmental Justice Kit-The Youth Environmental Network's guide to bringing Green Justice into your school and community - and this doesn't just mean recycling more, it means fair and equal food, water, and spaces for people across the planet! InclusionHere Comes Everyone: Teaching in the Intercultural Classroom Inclusive Community Organizations: A Toolkit -The Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition has developed a tool kit to assist community organizations in becoming more equitable, diverse and inclusive than they are at present. How Strangers Become Neighbours: Constructing Citizenship Through Neighbourhood Community Development - A manual to accompany the film, ‘Where Strangers become Neighbours: the story of the Collingwood Neighbourhood House and the integration of immigrants in Vancouver’ by Giovanni Attili and Leonie Sandercock. Related Organizations Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre Waterloo Region Food Systems Roundtable Examples to InspireAfri-Can Food Basket, Toronto. Oriole Peanut Community Garden, Toronto. Intercultural Community Garden, Vancouver. Global Roots Garden. The Stop, Toronto. Green Thumbs Growing Kids. Toronto. Gardening Through Refugee Organizations Group – Boston Detroit Black Food Security Network New Roots Garden, Sandiego, CA Siouxland Community Garden Project: Creating New Hispanic Market Gardeners and Farmers Community gardening crosses cultures/Immigrants tending community plots show that vegetables are a common language, San Franciso. The Muhammed Ali Peace Garden:"Planting the Seeds of Multicultural Respect, Nutrition and Hunger Relief" There is a curriculum package with activity ideas, available in the 6 UN languages: English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish. Multicultural School Gardens, Australia. Multicultural Garden, Ireland.
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