City weeds out barriers for new gardens

Kitchener wants community gardens to blossom

KITCHENER — Kitchener is updating its community garden program to make it easier for residents to dig into gardening.

The changes include providing insurance coverage for gardeners, increased funding for new gardens and funding to enhance existing gardens. A new guide and staff contact will also ease the way for gardeners.

“We’ve created a step-by-step guide to help reduce red tape and make it easier for people to start a garden,” said Josh Joseph, supervisor of Kitchener’s neighbourhood development office.

Kitchener currently has 35 community gardens, including 15 on city-owned land and the rest on private property.

During the city’s LoveMyHood consultation to inform its neighbourhood strategy, community gardens were identified by residents most frequently as a way to improve a place and connect people.

“It’s just a great way to bring people together,” Joseph said. “There’s tons of benefits.”

A community gardens workshop and online survey showed strong support for community gardens. Feedback included the need for reliable water connections, pedestrian access to garden locations, ongoing support to maintain gardens, networking to share best practices and easier navigation of city hall procedures.

Nearly half the survey respondents are not currently involved in gardens but used to be or would like to be.

“Residents really expressed the need to continue supporting gardens and the demand is actually growing. There’s wait lists,” Joseph said.

The city is committed to adding one to three new community gardens a year. Next year, three will be added. For existing gardens, the new insurance coverage for gardeners will give more freedom to use tools for repairs and upgrades.

“This allows them to take on a greater role in the maintenance and upkeep of the garden,” Joseph said.

The city is also offering grants of up to $1,000 for new community gardens toward one-time capital or equipment costs. New gardens on city-owned land also get inkind services, including water connection, soil testing and garden preparation.

The process of starting a community garden can take about one year. The city advises groups to start planning in April to open the garden the following spring. The online grant application deadline is June 1 for 2019 gardens.

Find out more about the community garden program at lovemyhood.ca.