June 2013, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Gardens, flower beds and trees are flourishing here. With a little rain and a little sunshine good things happen! Just like life, rainy days and sunny days balance us out so we can grow! Thank goodness otherwise I’d either be soggy and miserable or all dried up and miserable!
In the Greater Vancouver area community gardens seem to be popping up in nearly every neighbourhood! The city provides the land and the future gardeners along with a few other key community players come together and practically build the garden! Its awesome! It looks like an army of ants crawling and digging in the dirt. The community garden brings out all ages and cultures. The stereotypical image of a “green thumb” is blown out of the water. Vancouver and the surrounding suburbs are really mixed in terms of cultures and ethnicities. At one garden plot may be a 50 year old son and his 75 year old mother from the UK and at another could be a mom in her mid 30’s and her two kids from Japan. The gardens encourages people to get out of their homes and their usual routine. Conversations spark and new friendships happen. It’s a magical pile of dirt where we learn we have more in common with each other than not. We all share a common connection to the land through community, food, air and water. Curious about a community gardens in your area? Check out local city hall website and see if they have any information regarding a community garden.
If a community garden isn’t feasible in the near future keep bugging city hall until it happens but in the mean time consider backyard sharing. Backyard sharing is just what it sounds like! Person A has a backyard while person B does not. Person A shares their yard with B, and probably others, to grow healthy, delicious food! It’s a cool concept. It opens the door to some old fashion community and fellowship. It’s a “get to know your neighbour” kind of thing!
Get out there and grow! – Julie
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