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City hall lawn gets dug up for community garden

March 4th, 2009 · 15 Comments

Just when we were almost finished with the chicken jokes (related to the city plan to allow people to keep chickens for personal use in their yards), now comes this announcement from city hall that they’re digging up part of the lawn for a community garden. Here is the news release below.

City to create community garden on City Hall lawn

Vancouver – Mayor Gregor Robertson announced today that a portion of the City Hall lawn will be converted into a community garden. The idea to grow local food on the grounds of City Hall is the first ‘Quick Start’ recommendation to come from the Greenest City Action Team.

“If we want Vancouver to be a truly sustainable city, City Hall needs to lead the way,” said Mayor Robertson. “By converting part of the City Hall lawn into a community garden, Vancouver is walking the talk when it comes to producing local food.”

Today’s announcement is a symbol of the City’s commitment to develop 2010 community garden plots by 2010, as an Olympic legacy. A portion of the community garden space will be allocated to communal plots where vegetables will be grown for donation to food providers in Vancouver’s inner-city neighbourhoods.

The City will be partnering with SPEC (Society Promoting Environmental Conservation) to develop and design the garden. SPEC runs two demonstration gardens in Vancouver and works with groups who want to start their own community gardens.

“There is a huge demand from people in Vancouver to have the opportunity to grow their own food – there are waiting lists for community gardens across the city,” said Mayor Robertson. “Converting a portion of the under-used City Hall lawn for gardening is something that should have happened a long time ago for a city that likes to talk about being ‘green’.”

The idea to create a community garden at City Hall is the first ‘Quick Start’ recommendation to come from the Greenest City Action Team. The Team, which met for the first time on February 25, is focused on immediate action steps the City can take to improve its environmental performance. Members of the team include Dr. David Suzuki, Former Premier Mike Harcourt, and Vancity CEO Tamara Vrooman.

Categories: City Hall Talk