Congratulations to the Pelham Horticultural Society and
Pelham Communities in Bloom Committee for putting forward an initiative to
create a community garden in Pelham. The
Town, moving with its accustomed caution, is collecting information about
whether such a radical project will meet with voters’ favour before committing
to it. If there was ever a no-brainer,
this is it.
Community gardens are public spaces where people in the
community can borrow or rent a small plot of land to grow their own vegetables
and flowers. Often, they are developed
in conjunction with community housing projects or low income support projects
and plots are given free to those in need.
But many are open to rental by anyone with a hankering to do some
gardening and no appropriate place to do it.
What is there not to like?
Other Niagara Region communities have been enjoying
community gardens for years. St.
Catharines, Grimsby, Niagara Falls, and Welland all have received Regional
money to develop and sustain their gardens and according to media reports, they
are an enormous success, both with people who might need some help with putting
veggies on the table, and those who volunteer some time to show them the
gardening ropes. Climate Action Niagara
lists eleven community gardens on their website, including gardens in Fort
Erie, St. Catharines, Welland, and Chippewa. There’s one at Brock University,
another at Niagara College’s Welland Campus, another at the Vineland Research
Centre, and on. As welcome as the Pelham
initiative is, one can’t help but wonder what took so long!
The benefits of a community garden are many, besides the
obvious one of supplying wholesome, home grown food, especially to those in
need, a concept that is a the heart of Slow Food Movement. There is the beautification of our town,
along with community pride in undertaking a worthwhile project, combined with
an increased sense of community as experienced gardeners share their secrets
with novices. And the environment will
thank us for an intelligent use of vacant land, and the fostering of awareness
about our food supply and food growing practices.
Is there a down side?
I certainly don’t see one. If a
community garden costs taxpayers a few dollars, it is money well spent for
benefits that can make an important immediate impact, and potentially some
really significant, long term, sustainable improvements to our community.
However, the Town wants our feedback on a survey before they
take the next step of actually discussing the issue and maybe, eventually sending
it to committee, getting staff to provide input and recommendations, debating
it at Council, and one day, maybe in our lifetimes, approving a community
garden project for Pelham. Oh well, we
have to start somewhere, so go to www.surveymonkey.com/s/PelhamCommunityGarden and fill out the survey. This is a bandwagon we can all jump on with
pride and pleasure.
