社区菜地将获大丰收

红鹿 · 发表于 2007-5-27 09:33

May 27, 2007. Edmonton Sun http://www.canada.com/edmontonjo ... dbc4c9e&k=54336

爱城有一千多个家庭在公众用地上种菜和水果。

爱城有许多社区菜地，人们越来越热衷于社区菜地。

霜冷 · 发表于 2007-5-27 11:41

公众用地是指哪里?怎么才能申请去种地呢?

timhorton · 发表于 2007-5-27 12:01

孤寂的狼 · 发表于 2007-5-27 12:03

我在等待加拿大有关公众用地的具体消息，请赐教，期待着．

newe · 发表于 2007-5-27 17:04

Community gardens grow to bumper crop
More than 1,000 Edmonton-area families growing vegetables, fruit on public land
Michelle Collins, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Sunday, May 27, 2007
EDMONTON - Even in frigid February, Sheila Flint was swamped with calls from people eager to get their hands dirty.

A community garden she started in Sherwood Park last year has attracted so much attention that it has more than doubled this spring, to 80 plots from 32, and the interest continues to grow -- so much so that Flint has had to turn people away.

She isn't the only one. Whether in utility corridors, parks, schoolyards or balcony planter boxes, community gardens are more popular than ever in the Edmonton area. More than 1,000 families are involved in community gardening through more than 60 projects.

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Ginger Potts, left, and Bonnie Ogden work in the garden behind their condominium in downtown Edmonton.
Jason Scott/Edmonton Journal

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Font: ****Organizers say the plots give would-be gardeners a chance to grow chemical-free fruits and vegetables, teach children the value of growing their own food, and let urbanites who have little or no yard get back to the land.

"There's an attitude change about community gardens in the city," says Susan Penstone, co-ordinator of the not-for-profit Edmonton Community Garden Network.

"There's so much more awareness in community development, so more people want to be a part of that."

The proof is in the numbers: Her group is supporting six new projects this spring, compared to three last year.

Condominium-dweller Ginger Potts, 32, who moved to Edmonton from Fairmont, B.C., three years ago, contacted the network when she noticed underused land behind her building.

Three weeks ago, Potts started a five-plot project.

"Coming from a place where I always had access to a garden, I didn't realize how difficult it was for urban people to do it," Potts says.

Indeed, some areas of the city don't have the land, and instead use home planter boxes.

Tracy Bunda co-ordinates one such project, called Dickinsfield Blooms, in the Evansdale area. She says membership has sprouted from 10 families in April to more than 40 this month. Dickinsfield's membership is free, and Bunda is quickly running out of resources.

"Because it's a low-income community with a lot of new immigrant and refugee families, a lot of people don't have the resources to do these things," Bunda says. "I told them, 'All I want is your energy and enthusiasm.' "

The 37-year-old mother of two organized a barbecue and gave out hand tools and pruning shears to all 40 families. The city and garden network provide the funds, but Bunda jokes that if the group gets much bigger, she'll have to start running fundraisers.

For some, growing their own fresh vegetables is crucial financially, she says.

"Some of them are definitely growing food to help them survive."

This summer, several families will keep track of how much money they save by harvesting their own produce, Penstone says.

The 60 or so gardens scattered across the city have also reaped an increase in donations of fresh produce to the Edmonton Food Bank.

More than 22,000 kilograms of fruits and vegetables, including lettuce, raspberries, apples and potatoes, was donated to the food bank last fall through its "Plant a Row, Grow a Row" initiative -- compared with 2,300 kilograms donated in 2004.

Community gardens can also be good for neighbouring property values. In New York City, homes went up nine per cent in value within five years of a community garden starting nearby, a 2006 study found.

Local organizers believe one of the best things about a community garden is the chance to involve children. Flint says she created a "Kids' Pumpkin Patch" at their Sherwood Park community garden after she saw one lady's grandson's eyes jump out with surprise as he asked, "Grandma, that's where carrots come from?"

"I thought no, we have to focus on the little ones," Flint says. "They have to know where their food is coming from."

John Helder, principal of horticulture for the city, says the Edmonton network has blossomed in the last few years and made community gardens a success. The city now puts up to $30,000 a year into the network and its projects.

"People like food that is grown organically without chemicals, but I think the real thing is about people connecting," he says.

"It's a place where differences in lifestyles don't matter anymore."

苹果酱 · 发表于 2007-5-27 17:16

honghaier · 发表于 2007-5-28 17:32

公众用地是指哪里?怎么才能申请去种地呢?

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[爱城新闻] 社区菜地将获大丰收