As Matthew Cencich settles into adult life, he harkens back to simpler times as a child hanging out in his grandmother’s garden.
She had a triple lot in the Niagara area of Ontario and one was devoted to growing.
“I remember her taking me into the garden and picking carrots and stuff and I thought, ‘I’d love to have something like that,’” Cencich said.
Now living in an Oak Bay apartment, with land out of reach cost-wise, he started planting seeds on his balcony. With less sun than is optimal and limited space, someone suggested he seek out community gardens.
Tucked behind Firefighter’s Park, on Monteith Street adjacent to Bowker Creek, residents fill 26 plots with plants each year. When Cencich asked about leasing a space, he learned of the ages-old waiting list.
The list had about 25 names already, and in general wait a year or two for a plot to turn over, he learned.
“That’s a 25- to 50-year waiting list,” Cencich noted.
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“It has been an ongoing thing for years,” agreed Coun. Hazel Braithwaite, liaison to the parks, recreation and culture committee, which recently tasked parks staff with looking at options in the community.
Cencich presented Windsor Park as an option for hiving off some spaces for community garden beds.
“I know you can’t create land out of nothing, I don’t know where there’s other land available,” he said. “They set aside space for sports, so why don’t they set aside space for gardening? I think it’s just as valid a use of public space.”
It’s an unlikely solution, Braithwaite said, suggesting it’s a poor alternative because of the activities that fill the park, including myriad sports teams and students from nearby schools using the field.
“It’s just not conducive to having a lot of space around the perimeter when there are other activities going on,” Braithwaite said.
Spaces such as the allotment gardens require more than people might realize, she noted. Aside from finding the space, there needs to be water, an ability for the parks department to access the site, and fencing.
The parks committee meets quarterly and at its last meeting discussed potential space near Henderson Recreation Centre, as well as tasking parks manager Chris Hyde-Lay with bringing back information on potential sites and solutions at its next meeting.
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One alternative may be using private property through the Coolkit program, Braithwaite suggested. Coolkit encourages neighbourhood groups to act as environmental stewards in the community. Potentially, an initiative could connect residents with unused yard spaces to people looking to garden.
“That’s something we’re looking at right now and is a good possibility with the Coolkit program,” Braithwaite said, adding it wouldn’t be a program the municipality would likely be in a position to facilitate.
Cencich recently visited the gardens on Monteith, striking up a conversation with a fellow grower there and even going home with some fresh vegetables.
“It’s a friendly community and positive place to be,” Cencich said. “I look forward to having something like that, so I can just grow some food.”
christine.vanreeuwyk@blackpress.ca
@van_reeuwyk
christine.vanreeuwyk@blackpress.ca
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