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
·
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
·
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.
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.
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.