Community gardens

A community garden is a shared space where people work together to grow food and build community. Community gardens help contribute to:

• Food security
• Community development
• Civic participation
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Environmental awareness
• Individual mental and physical health and wellbeing

There are over 115 community gardens in Ottawa:

• 25+ are on land owned by the City of Ottawa.
• The City manages the Kilborn Allotment Gardens.
• All other community gardens are managed by volunteer garden coordinators, who are members of their particular garden.
• Garden coordinators make decisions regarding the operations of their garden.

A community garden may include individual/family plots and/or communal plots. Many gardens feature a Plant-a-Row or Share-a-Row model. This allows for sharing fresh food with neighbours in need. 

Gardens vary by size, model and theme. For example, many gardens feature a children’s garden and some are entirely devoted to children. Most gardens have a membership fee, where residents rent a garden plot and steward it as their own.

To find a community garden near you, visit the Community Gardening Map and contact the garden of your choice for information on availability of plots.

To start a new community garden, visit How to Start a Community Garden for information on the next free virtual workshop. These workshops are held regularly throughout the year for interested community members. No experience is needed.

Questions?

Contact the Community Gardening Network Coordinator at Just Food: communitygardening@justfood.ca or leave a message at 613-824-7771.

The Community Gardening Network is a program of Just Food Ottawa. The Network supports the sustainable development of community gardens within the city of Ottawa. They:

• Hold workshops, share information and resources, and train the garden coordinators.
• Help with funding.
• Work with landowners to access land for community gardens.
• Work in partnership with the City to support new garden start-ups on City-owned land.

If disputes arise in a community garden, the Network will act as mediator if garden members cannot resolve the dispute on their own.

The Community Gardening Network (CGN) turns to the City’s Community Garden Liaison for help with requests about City property. The Community Garden Liaison:

• Receives advice from the CGN about which groups are ready to start a new garden on City-owned land.
• Works with staff across the City to prepare for a new garden.
• Works with CGN to ensure a new garden is built to City standards.
• Is the liaison between CGN and various City departments for accessing City services related to community gardens.

The City and the Community Garden Liaison do not get involved in disputes about the management of individual gardens. This is part of the role of the CGN.

Welcome to the Kilborn Allotment Gardens. The gardens are operated by the City of Ottawa, Department of Recreation, Cultural and Facility Services and are administered by the staff at Overbrook Community Centre (Address: 33 Quill Street, Ottawa, Ontario. Phone number: 613-742-5147).

The Allotment Gardens are located on Kilborn Avenue and are bordered by Pleasant Park to the north, Delmar Drive to the west and Haig Drive to the east. Limited parking is available at the Kilborn and Pleasant Park entrances. Directions are available on this map.

Each garden plot is seasonal. The gardening season runs from May 5 to October 27, 2023. Gardening hours are from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm.

Returning gardeners are provided an opportunity to renew plots prior to them becoming available to the general public. Efforts are made to rent the same plot(s) to returning gardeners, however, the City reserves the right to close plots and may require gardeners to change location. Gardeners are not guaranteed to have their same plot(s) every year.

There are a limited number of tool sheds for rent at the Kilborn and Pleasant Park entrances. Water taps are available on site for gardener convenience.

Registration

All registrations must be completed with the same name and plot(s) as the previous season, unless arrangements have been made in writing. Please email jardinkilborngarden@ottawa.ca for more information or to be added to the waitlist.