Introduction: What is a Community Garden?
In a community garden, you grow together with other people from your community. It's a space where you can socialize and share your love of gardening with other members. Each community garden is unique. They have their own purposes, sizes, and types of plants. You can grow food for yourself, with fellow garden members, or for local organizations like food banks or community kitchens.
Our Community Garden Toolkit can help you begin and grow a community garden. Ready to get started? Check out the next section for our seven steps for success!
Benefits of a Community Garden
Community gardens are more than just places to grow food. They can also provide social benefits, such as improving health, well-being, sense of community, and environmental awareness.
Plots laid out by multi-generational volunteers at Humber Heights Community Garden in Corner Brook.
Here's what you can enjoy by getting involved in community gardens:
Access to fresh, nutritious, and low-cost food
Opportunities for physical activity
A social hub where you can gather, share stories and knowledge
Learning food skills, from planting seeds to harvesting, and gaining a deeper understanding of your food system
A place to develop self-confidence, wellness, and personal skills
Enhancing access to outdoor spaces
Inspiring others to become stewards of your environment
Understanding the benefits of a community garden will help you gather people’s support to start or expand your program.
Types of Community Gardens
When you garden together, it’s important to choose a model that suits your group's unique needs. There are two common types of community gardens:
Collective Community Gardens
Approach: Everyone grows and maintains the garden together. The harvest is shared among members or with the community.
Who it works for: This model is perfect for groups who trust each other, have shared goals, and can meet regularly.
Why people like it: Gardeners appreciate the supportive environment and opportunities to learn and share together.
Allotment Community Gardens
Approach: The garden space is divided into plots. Gardeners are assigned a plot that they maintain themselves.
Who it works for: It's great for groups with diverse schedules and goals.
Why people like it: Gardeners appreciate the freedom to experiment with their own plots. It can also offer garden space to community members and organizations who might not have access otherwise.
Many community gardens have elements of both types. For example, gardeners may have their own plots and tend to fruit trees or herb gardens together. Our Community Garden Toolkit and steps for success can be used for either community garden type or a hybrid.
Contact
Contact our staff with any Community Garden Toolkit questions or comments. Email us at info@foodfirstnl.ca or call and leave a message at (709) 237-4026
