Presentation to Advisory Committees:  August 31, September 9 and 14, 2004

 

Health and Social Services Advisory Committee, Poverty Issues Advisory Committee, Seniors Advisory Committee, Ottawa Youth Cabinet

 

Community Gardens: A Proposed Role for the City of Ottawa: 

 

Scheduled Report to Health, Recreation and Social Services Committee (HRSS) on 16 September 2004

 

Background:

 

Reports on Community Gardens were on HRSS agenda in March and in September 2003. Staff from Community and Protective Services have worked with staff from other City Departments, the Community Garden Network and other gardeners in order to develop a proposed role for the City of Ottawa in the development of community gardens. 

 

The Community Funding Division provides $25,000 in sustaining funding and $10,000 from the National Child Benefit (NCB) for the coordination of the Community Garden Network.  This funding is part of the total City funding allocation to the Sandy Hill Community Health and Resource Centre.  This funding contribution has been provided annually since 2001.  The NCB funding was provided through the former Region of Ottawa and is subject to the availability of annual NCB funding.

 

The Community Garden Network and staff have met with Advisory Committees in the last two years to inform and seek support on the development of a model.

 

Purpose of Report going to HRSS: 

 

At the March 20, 2003 meeting of HRSS, the Community Garden Network (CGN) presented “A Proposed Role for the City of Ottawa”.  The resulting motion directed People Services to lead a multi- departmental review of community gardening.  The initial report was reviewed by HRSS September 18, 2003.  People Services was directed to come back with recommendations, an action plan and a list of community gardening activities in other Canadian municipalities.


Process:

 

Community and Protective Services (Cultural Services and Community Funding) led two working groups, a joint community steering committee and a multi-departmental staff-working group.  Both groups, including the CGN, collaborated in the development of a model to support community gardening.  Staff also consulted with Community Health and Resource Centres, Community Houses, collective kitchens and food banks about the impact of community gardens.

 

Rationale for supporting community gardens:

 

Community gardens are projects initiated, led and cooperatively managed by local community members. They provide community members with access to space and other resources for gardening. They are different from allotment gardens, which are developed and administered by municipalities, and lease individual plots to gardeners.  Ottawa currently has 21 community gardens and one allotment garden.

 

Community gardens play an important role in the development of healthy communities; they address personal, health, economic, environmental and cultural issues.  Community gardens help people from different cultures and socio-economic groups interact around a common goal.  Many municipalities in Canada, the U.S. and Europe have recognized the broad benefits of community gardens and have developed models or policies to support their development.

 

Ottawa does not have a model or program to support community gardening. Although the City has supported community gardens in the past, the support has been somewhat random and inequitable. Community gardens are referenced in the City’s Official Plan and support is implied in the Human Services Plan and the Environmental Strategy.

 

Approximately 3, 280 Ottawa residents of diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds benefit directly from community gardens.

The majority of Ottawa’s community gardens are linked with Community Health and Resource Centres or Community Houses.  Staff in these agencies recognize community gardens as a valuable asset, that contribute to the health and liveability of the broader community, especially in low-income neighbourhoods.

 

Locally community gardens have been credited for:

 

Proposed Model:

 

 

Four Pillars of the Model

 

 

Identification and access to garden space

·        Access to appropriate garden space is essential for community gardening to occur in the urban context

Proposed actions:

·        Amend the City’s Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw to permit community gardens as a permitted use in all land use zones.

·        Establish a process to identify City owned land appropriate for community gardens

·        Implement a standardized licence of occupation for community gardens on City land.

·        Collaborate with the CGN, to identify opportunities for community gardens to be established on non City owned land

 

Supporting Capacity Development

·        Capacity to create, develop and sustain a community garden is key, both from a community and City perspective

Proposed actions:

·        Assign liaison person within the City structure

·        Develop partnership agreements for community gardens

·        Collaborate in the development of a community resource guide and communicate the process for community groups to access community gardens in the City of Ottawa

·        Continue to provide financial support to the Community Garden Network.

 

Operational Support

Needs of new gardens will vary, depending on how much support is provided by the community and the size and quality of the garden.

Proposed Actions:

·        Include community gardens in the seasonal (fall) refuse pick up

·        Allow water access and use where infrastructure exists

·        Permit community garden groups to be included in the community association group liability coverage

·        Provide educational support to facilitate and support sustainable gardening practices.

·        Endorse and promote community gardening by including information about the CGN and community garden information on the City’s web site.

·        Reallocate an amount of $5,000 from within the Community Funding Sustaining Funding envelope to the Community Garden Network for the start-up of up to two new community gardens a year.

 

Monitoring and Evaluation

Proposed Action:

1. An evaluation to be done by the CGN, in collaboration with the City, after 3 years, utilizing baseline data collected in the first year that the model is applied.