Tuesday 16 June 2015

Meeting with City Staff

We are still here for you!

We went to the meeting last night on behalf of the many lovely folks who either were unavailable or wanted to go and were too upset to sit through a city meeting.

Much of the meeting was as contradictory as the rest we've had.  City staff say one thing, and do another or they say opposing "facts" back to back.  They present themselves as credulous as to why the collaboration between the community and the city broke down.

Somehow, the community driven project that was going to cost $24,000 in grant money and provide twelve (12) beds, has turned into a job that the city has contracted to a landscape company that cost well over $50,000 for six (6) beds.  If you want the exact dollar figure, we were told you can email Garth Armour at garmour@toronto.ca.

Basically, we echo what so many other gardens have been sharing with us this past few years:


There is a detrimental gap in communication and collaboration between Parks & Rec staff and the community members.



We wanted to share some feedback we have received with you:


"Somebody told me they heard about your garden on the CBC this morning, and so I looked it up on your website. What a story. It's certainly a strange time that we're in, where there is long, long inaction and then suddenly a whole bunch of new "cooks" (i.e. city staff) who definitely spoil the broth. And being cut right out of things, meetings behind closed doors, etc.,  is the experience that groups have had all over the city, for years."  Community Gardener


"The problem extends way beyond the gardens. For many decades Parks and Rec has been one of the city departments least able to collaborate. Mostly they steal people's ideas and then do a substandard version of them with their own staff. That's a strange harsh thing to say but it's a fair shorthand, anyway."  Community Gardener




The more important information for those who wish to garden at the site:


There are a total of 6 beds, one of which is for mobility challenged persons.

There are no allotments.  This is community gardening.

The clubhouse is still part of the deal.

The city will provide plants, but you must specifically ask for plants that have not been treated with  neoniconoids.  (Yes, that sounds like the city does not follow this as best practice throughout the city!  And yes, if you think this sounds like a call to action, it is.  Get in touch if you have time to devote to this.)

The city will provide some tools and a list must be given to them of what the group will need.

For the garden permit to be handed out, the community must follow the list set out on the community garden website here.  The new group needs to select a garden co-ordinator and determine their structure, etc.

I would encourage those who wish to garden to act quickly if they wish to have all this work done while there is still a growing season.

I would also like to encourage the gardeners to focus on building a strong connection with each other, with the neighbours, and with the larger community.  Connect with other gardens across the city and share your experiences and knowledge base.

If you want to have the kind of garden you want, you will need that connection and strength to advocate for yourselves in the future.

Best of Luck!








Wednesday 27 May 2015

No Room for Community in Toronto's new Community Garden Program (Part Two)

The Park's department is going ahead with building their "dictatorship garden" based on our five years of volunteer work.

We can't really call it a community garden since they will not collaborate with us.

Sarah Doucette​ is fully supportive of this endeavor and has been recruiting garden members for the project.  She mentioned she has about five currently.

We really wish that Sarah would have supported the community who worked so hard and helped us create the garden that the community envisioned.

Instead, it seems the idea of ANY garden is all that matters.  Even if it is built on bad blood.

Maybe she's right.

Find out more information on June 15th at the Annette Recreation Centre where Sarah will deliver the news to the community and hopefully answer all of your questions.  For exact time and date, please contact Sarah or look for posters at the site.

For a sneak peak of the development coming your way, here are some photos from another garden the city has constructed:


Monday 19 January 2015

No Room for Community in Toronto's new Community Garden Program

Hello Gardening Folks,

It's been some time since you've had an update on what's going on.  Today, I'm here to tell you this:

We have formally terminated our involvement with the garden project at the defunct Humberside Bowling Green.


As most of you know, we have been volunteering on this project for over five years.  We developed a community driven plan to create a garden that involved local schools, summer volunteer student groups, local family owned  green businesses, and community members.  We had a successful fundraising team that worked hard to secure a $24,000 grant from Live Green Toronto.  We were donated a ton of organic seeds from the Sweet Potato.  We were good to go.

But then something surprising happened.

Toronto Park's decided that it was time to standardize all community gardens across the city.  They hijacked our garden plans and met with Live Green Toronto, without us, and rewrote our grant budget to pay themselves.

We were shocked.  Could they even do that?

It turns out they could.  Because Live Green Toronto is the city, so they can rewrite our grant as they see fit and as they are told by the Park's department.

What we were left with was a plan that sharply contrasted what the community wanted and we were completely left out of the process.  We were told that the students, volunteers, and community members could no longer be a part of creating the garden and the work was to be contracted out by the city.

Not only did this cut out the community, it raised the cost of the project to ridiculous proportions.

Since we legally had to approve/sign off on the grant money (even though it would go directly back to the city) AND we were expected to submit ongoing grant reports (on volunteer time) we decided to reject the grant and terminate our support of the garden project.

We are now focused on seeking new land for a community garden that is not owned by the City.


I'd personally like to thank all of the enthusiastic people who had committed their time and energy for free to this project.  Especially, I'd like to thank all of the students at Western Tech who were our biggest supporters and whom have already made us wooden chairs, chess tables, bird feeders, and garden signs.  And a special thank you to Arlene and Mark from BUFCO.  Your help throughout this project was incredible and your products are fantastic.

It's a sad day for community gardens across the city, when standardization and liability rule over community driven projects, creativity, and strong desire to be involved in our own neighbourhoods.

Joelle Kennedy
Garden Coordinator




Yes, it is a sad day after all the visioning and hard work that was put into meetings, grant proposals, etc.

I can't be part of a garden that isn't community based and doesn't respect the plans and wishes of the garden community.

I hope another site may be found within the ward to continue a vision that is deeply rooted in sharing the bounty of the earth.

Thank you to all the members that showed up and helped support this initiative.

I'd like to thank Joelle for all the selfless hours she devoted into planning this Garden and writing the grant that had been accepted yet has been changed so drastically it doesn't reflect the original grant.

We the people are the City however when "City" (that separates themselves from us) starts to dictate what is allowed and what isn't and doesn't respect the planning and hard work of the volunteers that created the vision, Yes, it is a Sad day!

So for these reasons I step aside from this project also.

Joanne Deane
Assistant Garden Coordinator