Site of the proposed community garden at Lisgar and Lyon streets.
The Centretown Citizens Community Association is hoping to break new ground with a community garden at the corner of Lisgar and Lyon streets.
Long wait times for a plot at the Nanny Goat Hill and Jack Purcell Community Gardens have frustrated many residents for years.
The CCCA hopes the Centretown Community Garden, slated for construction at 461 Lisgar St., will solve the problem.
This is good news for Bonnie Mabee, chair of the CCCA’s trees and greenspace committee, who receives daily requests for garden space.
“The demand for these plots is unbelievable,” says Mabee.
“We have a huge amount of demand but a very small amount of space.”
Mabee has led the push for the plot at Lisgar and Lyon. She says community gardening appeals to a wide range of people and strengthens the social fabric of the community.
“It’s a very cosmopolitan group,” says Mabee. “Thirty-year-olds work in the same gardens as older members. It’s a very social activity.”
CCCA president Shawn Menard agrees.
He points out that Centretown has the least green space of any ward in the city and needs more projects like the Lisgar street garden.
“It’s a huge issue,” says Menard. “We have a lot of pavement but not a lot of space for this kind of thing.”
Menard says there have been problems with city staff tearing up gardens on undesignated land. He hopes this new plot will make it easier for Centretown residents to avoid problems with city officials.
“We feel that the more community gardening we can do, the better our community will be,” says Menard.
Despite the issues some residents have had with the city, Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes says she is all for garden projects such as this.
“The community garden group has a list of people who want plots.
“The more of these spaces we can create, the better,” says Holmes.
Holmes says a report supporting the creation of community gardens was recently presented to city council.
The report listed a number of benefits associated with community garden spaces in the city.
Since the publication of the report, Holmes says council has been more open to new garden projects.
“It has been easier to deal with staff,” says Holmes.
“I think they realize that many members of the public are interested.
“There are gardens in many wards and I think councillors really see them as a benefit to the community.”
As it stands, the community garden slotted for approval at 461 Lisgar has received funds from the city but awaits final approval from the Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board, which owns the land.
The CCCA still needs to hammer out details of a lease agreement, but Mabee is pleased with the project’s progress.
Mabee says she has had inquiries from many Centretown residents who have been watching the project closely
“They all just want to get their hands dirty,” she says.