HARVESTING FOOD AND FRIENDSHIP
Social bonds take root as residents come together to nurture and enjoy community gardens
While the appeal of the community garden starts with the satisfying experience of raising fresh carrots and tomatoes, it often grows into something else.
“Every time we’re out there, someone new seems to come by,” says Josh Capps, who moved to Legacy last year in a home through Calbridge Homes. “We’ll say hi, chat about it, pet the dog. It’s a nice little thing to bring the community together.”
The southeast Calgary community by WestCreek Developments opened its community garden earlier this year, and Josh, his wife Katie, along with their four children, Kail, Ava, Zach and Cora, were excited to be part of it.
People involved in the garden needed to register through the Legacy Residents Association, and depending on the renewal period for each plot, will have it for one or two years.
The Capps family is admittedly among the least experienced growers in the Legacy garden, but that hasn’t mattered.
“It seems like every time we go out there now there’s something ready to eat,” says Josh.
They’ve planted spinach, carrots, cherry tomatoes, tomatoes, and three variations of lettuce. There are also miniature pumpkins in one corner that they expect to see out of the soil sometime this autumn.
“We’ve eaten a couple of salads from it,” says Josh.
“The kids eat more vegetables as they pick them out of the garden themselves. We’ve got a kid that doesn’t really eat tomatoes, but he’ll go to the garden and pull the little tomatoes off and eat them.
“It’s like ‘this is my garden, this is my tomato.’ ”
And as the Capps family has seen, the garden has been an organic way for residents of the community to connect.
“When people go out there, everyone waters the other’s garden,” says Josh.
“Had this been in our backyard and we went to the States for two weeks ... we’d probably come back to a dead garden, but because it’s a community garden, everyone looks after everyone else’s.”
To build on this idea, Josh started a Facebook group for people in Legacy with plots in the community garden. He says it’s been a handy way to make sure garden care is covered when someone is on vacation, and for rookies to learn from the more seasoned green thumbs.
“Everyone gives tips,” Josh says. “It’s been ‘these are dying, anyone know what I should do?’ And the pros come in and make suggestions. It’s kind of nice to get to know people you wouldn’t normally ever run into.”
This idea has been true for other residential developments in the Calgary area, too.
Vista Crossing by Dream Development in Crossfield has also opened a community garden this year.
“A lot of this comes down to bringing people together in the community and the ways that can be achieved and creating spaces that enhance that,” says Michael Tandara, director of marketing, Western Canada Land and Housing at Dream Unlimited. “The community garden is an amazing example of that.”
A portion of the garden in Vista Crossing was used by Dream to plant carrots, which the developer hopes to harvest and donate to the Airdrie Food Bank this autumn.
Tandara says gardening has a social aspect that encourages the people using the plots to bond and swap ideas. “The community part of it is a huge part of why we did it ... to get people to come together and share their passion and hopefully get to know one another.”
Multi-family developments are also going the garden route.
Arrive at Skyview Ranch Arbours by Partners Development Group in northeast Calgary has separate plots for residents to use, and Canals Townhomes by Slokker Homes has multiple gardens planned for its site on the west side of Airdrie.
Brandon and Rachel Eymann have one of the plots at Arrive at Skyview Ranch Arbours.
“We’ve been growing some herbs, some vegetables,” says Rachel. “We’ve got mint, thyme, basil and a couple of others herbs. I’m trying to grow some squash, zucchini and broccoli in there, as well.”
“This is my first time trying vegetable gardening,” she says. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s nice to see it flourish.”
She says it’s provided an additional way to connect with neighbours, and they’ve been cooking with what they’ve grown, adding it “tastes better than what’s from the store.”
Slokker’s marketing and communications manager Paula Beauchamp says its development will include raised garden boxes, garden sheds, seating and potting tables in a landscaped outdoor area.
“When we started this project we learned there were waiting lists for community gardens in Airdrie, so we decided to build and offer garden boxes to our residents at Canals Townhouse,” she says. “There’s a lot of research to show community gardens make residents healthier and happier.
“It’s not just the food you grow, but the relationships and sense of community that develops. It’s an important part of our vision for this community.”