Sault Ste. Marie’s community garden scene is vibrant and thriving! It offers participants opportunities to spend more time in nature, be active, be part of a group of like-minded people, learn new things, produce fresh, healthy food for themselves/their loved ones…and be of service to those in need in our community. What’s not to love? (Watch two Clean North volunteers talk about community gardening in Sault Ste. Marie on Mornings With Lou-Anne & Tim).
So what’s a community garden? The traditional model is an area of land with raised wooden beds, each of which is rented by a person, family, or group for a small annual fee. The organization running the garden generally provides water and the first batch of soil, while gardeners generally provide their own seeds, keep the soil healthy and topped up, and maintain/harvest their beds. Gardeners are usually asked to provide a set amount of volunteer hours towards garden maintenance (for example, filling rain barrels).
And what’s so great about community gardens? They allow people who might not otherwise be able to garden to do so. Apartment dwellers, people who are living in group homes and have physical and/or intellectual disabilities, new Canadians, and youth groups are among those who can enjoy the wonder of growing their own food despite not having a yard of their own. It also means that those who are deeply concerned about food security in the Sault as well as climate change can help grow fresh, healthy (usually organic), local food. Some gardens have accessible beds (double height), allowing people who are in wheelchairs or who have difficulty bending to participate.
Clean North supports community gardens in Sault Ste. Marie for all these reasons…and not just moral support…we are also a source for volunteers for special projects, rain barrels, coir blocks (peat moss alternative), and Christmas tree mulch, all useful to community gardens.
How many community gardens does Sault Ste. Marie have? Currently four. The eldest and by far the largest is the Forest Heights Community Garden (formerly Allard St.) in the P-Patch, which has more than 70 beds. The other three are located on the grounds of the former Etienne Brule school near the International Bridge and at Emmaus and Emmanuel churches in the east end. All of these gardens have waiting lists so if you are interested in renting a bed next season, we urge you to get in touch with the relevant garden coordinator(s) as soon as possible (contact information on the city’s Local Food webpage is here).
Is four gardens enough for the Sault? No! 🙂 It’s awesome that our city has four community gardens — but we could use more. Both the north and west ends of the Sault currently do not have a community garden. Those areas are just waiting for a civic-minded group to come together and get growing! Setting up a community garden does take time, effort, and funding, but it’s well worth it…and there’s a community garden network that can help you move forward (contact coordinator Suzanne Hanna, wildgardener@shaw.ca).
Other types of communal gardens exist in our fair city…for example, St. Mary’s College and Algoma University each have a school garden, and the Neighbourhood Resource Centre on Gore St. has a communal garden for growing food to serve their clients.
A more ambitious garden is the Food Bank Farm, which grows produce on a large scale to supply the city’s food banks and soup kitchens.
So what if you are hungering for a sense of community but already have a veggie garden in your own backyard? Consider joining the Grow-A-Row program! Through this program, you can donate surplus produce to address food security issues in Sault Ste. Marie. You can formally register for the program here or just drop off your bounty at the end of Saturday hours at either of our farmers markets (Algoma at Bondar Tent – 1-1:30 pm; Mill at old fish hatchery downtown – 2-2:30 pm).
Hope you enjoyed learning more about community gardening in Sault Ste. Marie. Got questions? Contact us at info@cleannorth.org, (705) 945-1573.
