City of Toronto   *
HomeContact UsHow Do I...? Advanced search Go
Living in TorontoDoing businessVisiting TorontoAccessing City Hall
 
Accessing City Hall
Mayor
Councillors
Meeting Schedules
   
   
  City of Toronto Council and Committees
  All Council and Committee documents are available from the City of Toronto Clerk's office. Please e-mail clerk@toronto.ca.
   

 

Community Garden Action Plan

The Economic Development and Parks Committee recommends the adoption of the recommendations of the Environmental Task Force contained in the following report (June3, 1999) from the City Clerk:

Recommendations:

The Environmental Task Force at its meeting held on May 31, 1999, adopted the following recommendations:

(1)that the Community Garden Department Goals for 1999 and 2000, as described in the May13, 1999 report from the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism be endorsed, and that a copy of the report be forwarded to the Economic Development and Parks Committee and the Toronto Inter-Departmental Environment (TIE) Committee;

(2)that the Environmental Task Force incorporate the Community Garden Departmental Goals for 1999 and 2000, as described in the May 13, 1999 report from the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism, into the Environmental Plan that is being prepared by the Environmental Task Force; and

(3)that the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism be advised of the above actions of the Environmental Task Force.

Background:

The Environmental Task Force had before it a report dated May 13, 1999, from the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism responding to a request from the Environmental Task Force that an action plan to increase the area of the City devoted to community gardening and the number of participants in community gardens, be developed.

The aforementioned report recommended that:

(a)future reports on community garden activities be presented to the Economic Development and Parks Committee, with copies directed to the Toronto Interdepartmental Environment Committee; and

(b)community garden sites be identified in each Ward in consultation with local Ward Councillors.

(Report dated May 13, 1999 addressed to the Environmental Task Force

from the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism,

headed "Community Garden Action Plan")

Purpose:

To identify a Community Garden Action Plan in response to a request to the January 28, 1999 Environmental Task Force recommendation that "the Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism prepare an action plan to increase the area of the City devoted to community gardening and the number of participants in community gardens be developed."

Financial Implications:

The costs to create additional community gardens will be garnered through partnership arrangements and in-kind services.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)future reports on community garden activities be presented to the Economic Development Committee, with copies directed to the Toronto Interdepartmental Environment Committee; and

(2)community garden sites be identified in each Ward in consultation with local Ward Councillors.

Background/Discussion:

Definition of Community Gardens:

Gardening is the second most popular form of leisure activity in Canada, attracting 72 percent of Canadian adults according to Go for Green: The Active Living and Environment Program. Public lands and public parklands provide opportunities for creating and demonstrating the benefits of gardening and for encouraging individuals to be part of a community that shares the efforts and benefits of gardening. Community gardens are safe, beautiful outdoor spaces on public or private lands, where neighbours meet to grow and care for vegetables, flowers and native species, and where the gardeners take initiative and responsibility for organizing, maintaining and managing the garden area.

The Parks and Recreation Division and Community Gardens:

The Parks and Recreation Division endeavours to provide opportunities, on lands under the Division's jurisdiction, for community gardeners and community groups to establish and maintain community gardens. Staff from the Division work with organized community groups to start food, flower and/or native species gardens that beautify or enhance public lands, and which engage sustained community involvement by youth, families, seniors, intergenerational, ethnic and multicultural groups. Parks and Recreation administers over twenty-five hundred plots in allotment and neighbourhood gardens across the City. The Division encourages new and established community gardens to partner with community organizations and other levels of government to create additional opportunities, e.g., youth employment, volunteer activity, restoration of natural areas and community development.

Benefits of Community Gardens:

Community gardens have many benefits to neighbourhoods and to the city as a whole as they:

(a)provide opportunities for information sharing on gardening, composting, recycling, healthy living activities, community recreation, heritage, environmental and cultural issues;

(b)encourage communities to care for and improve public lands;

(c)promote community organization, leadership and development;

(d)build community spirit and civic pride;

(e)promote health and well being;

(f)provide intergenerational recreational opportunities;

(h)improve neighbourhood safety;

(i)increase local food self-reliance;

(j)provide families with low-cost nutritious vegetables; and

(k)demonstrate ecological principles and natural processes.

Departmental Goals 1999 and 2000:

(1)To map out existing community gardens and assess the need for additional community gardening opportunities in 1999. To support the start-up of new community gardens in Toronto in each year based on the results of the needs assessment.

(2)To establish one community garden in each ward by the end of the year 2001.

(3)To share expertise relevant to creating and sustaining community gardens.

(4)To assist community gardeners in sustaining community gardens through a resource tool kit and train-the-trainer approach.

Community Gardens - Opportunities in 1999 and Beyond:

There are numerous opportunities on the horizon for the City as it solidifies its involvement in community gardens. These opportunities include:

(i)participating in the Community Garden Network;

(ii)participating in public and private partnerships (e.g., Public Health, Works & Emergency Services, local sponsors);

(iii)synchronizing volunteer interest with community garden and stewardship projects;

(iv)programming (children's, youth, inter-generational, multi-cultural, horticulture, native species, etc.); and

(v)making significant contributions to the broader community garden, urban agriculture and community greening movements.

The proposed Action Plan builds on the eighty-eight established community gardens, twenty-five hundred City-administered plots and estimated six thousand community gardeners in Toronto. City-wide, twenty neighbourhood and thirteen allotment gardens are located in parks, fifteen on public housing lands, forty on Community Health Centres, faith groups, cooperative housing and hospital properties. Additionally, there are dozens of community restoration projects and approximately three hundred school projects.

Drawing on the technical, horticultural, planning and programming expertise of knowledgeable and dedicated staff in the Parks and Recreation Division and other City Departments, and City Councillors, the City can support community gardening in its movement towards being an increasingly mainstream activity. Parks and Recreation Division currently works with numerous partners to support community gardens, community greening projects and community groups. Partners include FoodShare, Evergreen, African Food Basket, the Toronto District School Board, Task Force to Bring Back the Don, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, City Councillors and City Departments (Works and Emergency Services, Community and Neighbourhood Services, Urban Planning and Development Services) and others.

Conclusions:

Economic Development, Culture and Tourism should increase the area devoted to community gardens and increase the number of community gardeners, because community gardening relates to the Department's basic greening and environmental mandate and allocation of resources. The identification of community garden sites in each Ward be done in consultation with local Ward Councillors. The approach outlined in this report provides for an incremental increase in the numbers of community gardens and community gardeners as suggested by the Environmental Task Force and keeping in mind competing resources.

In accordance with the Economic Development, Culture and Tourism Department primary reporting mandate, reports on community gardening will be presented to the Economic Development and Parks Committee. The Department is pleased to provide updates to other committees and groups with interests in community planting and environmental matters.

Contact Names:

Ms. Jane Hayes, Parks and Recreation Division, 392-1560; Mr. Solomon Boye, 392-1560.

 

   
Please note that council and committee documents are provided electronically for information only and do not retain the exact structure of the original versions. For example, charts, images and tables may be difficult to read. As such, readers should verify information before acting on it. All council documents are available from the City Clerk's office. Please e-mail clerk@toronto.ca.

 

City maps | Get involved | Toronto links
© City of Toronto 1998-2005