Ottawa residents have been coming forward and giving a green thumbs-up to help create a flourishing community.
The Dalhousie Community Association has launched a recruitment campaign for gardeners to take part in improving greenspaces around the community. The DCA oversees the western portion of Somerset Ward — including Chinatown, Little Italy and LeBreton Flats. Signs have been spotted in locations such as the McNabb Skatepark that say: “Like to garden? Adopt a planter bed! We can help,” with an email contact underneath.
“We put the signs in to make it clear to people that pass by that things aren’t being tended to by anyone other than people rolling up their sleeves and volunteering a bit,” said DCA president Michael Powell. “Our hope is that people mind gardens near where they live, on the logic that you benefit most directly from it.”
It’s all part of the DCA’s effort to “improve planters and public gardens in the neighbourhood.” The citizens’ association is also looking to create additional community gardens.
“Adopt-a-garden” projects are being hosted around Ottawa to encourage locals to plant, weed and tend to public flower beds. Often called “urban gardens,” these spaces are located in public areas around the city.
Community association members have been able to secure donations of plants that they hope will survive and thrive in planters, which can range from large pots to long wooden boxes. They also receive seasonal flower donations such as tulips and daffodils.
Donors include the Chinatown, Preston, and West Wellington business improvement areas. Other donations include flowers left over from the city’s May tulip festival as well as relocated plants from overgrown private gardens in the neighbourhood.
DCA greenspace volunteer Hilary Davies said she got involved with the committee when she moved to the area in 2013. She noticed a lack of street trees and “wanted to find a way to contribute to the cause” because of the positive effect greenspaces have on neighbourhoods.
She added that they provide shade, reduce heat island effect— when temperatures are higher in urban areas than surrounding rural areas— and have positive health benefits by increasing citizens’ likelihood to cycle and walk in the area.
Davies said a common question in the community is who exactly manages gardens. “Most people think it is the city who takes care of these, but that is not the case,” she said. “It is up to local residents to take on this task. That is one of the reasons why we started the campaign to post the signs.”
Although the growing season is coming to an end, the effort to recruit gardeners and promote greenery has continued into the fall. The DCA is hoping to ensure active participation come spring by having people “adopt” plots of land now.
This project mirrors similar efforts by the Old Ottawa South Community Association. Its Adopt-a-Garden initiative was implemented in April 2015 and its volunteer group —the “Green Dreamers”— is working to revitalize public planters and garden beds along Bank Street.
Other Ottawa communities have also been working to promote collaborative gardens over the past year.
In September, the City of Ottawa, Richcraft — a major property developer— and the Centretown Citizens Community Association collaborated to establish a community garden in Centretown.
The Off-Bank Community Garden at 176 Nepean St. is located on property owned by Richcraft. The company agreed to allow local residents to create a community garden until the property is redeveloped.
“This is the first time a community garden has been created through the demolition control process,” Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney has noted at her website. “It is also the second community garden downtown that will have in-ground planting.”
The garden plots in the Off-Bank garden will be distributed based on a lottery system to Centretown residents. Its first full growing season will begin next spring.