Member Event: Halton Community Garden Network Launch on May 3rd
Posted: April 29, 2014
Categories: Events / GoodFoodBites / News from Sustain Members
From the Halton Food Council, a Sustain Ontario member:
Food Council Launches Network to Connect Community Gardeners in Halton Region
Saturday, May 3rd, 2014 | 8:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Rotary Youth Centre, 560 Guelph Line, Burlington
Community gardeners and urban agriculture advocates are invited to come together for the launch of the Halton Community Garden Network on Saturday, May 3rd at the Rotary Youth Centre in Burlington. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the current state of community gardens in Halton region and participate in a discussion about sharing seedlings and gardening secrets for a more sustainable future.
Halton Food Council Chair Gayle Cruikshank explains: “As a network, this Halton Food Council project will be a hub for coordinating urban agriculture projects by sharing resources on local food education and skill-building workshops.”
The morning event will begin with presentations from two local leaders, author, activist and avid gardener Lorraine Johnson and Hamilton Community Garden Networker Clare Wagner, who combined have decades of experience in urban food growing and community building and will help frame the need for a network.
“Community Gardens are not just about finding a space to plant some seeds. They are places for civic action. They are community hubs. They are a small step in a big transition away from fossil fuels,” says Johnson.
In addition, the launch will be the first opportunity for newly hired Halton Food Council coordinator Michael Mikulak to present a Dillon Consulting study commissioned by the council on the importance of Community Gardens and their networks.
“Having a Community Garden Network in Halton will provide support and tools for neighbours working together for sustainable urban food while increasing overall quality of life for residents,” says Mikulak. “The Dillon Report provides inspiring examples of what can be accomplished when community gardeners leverage their collective knowledge and resources.”
As a community solution that provides a wealth of economic, social, civic, community, environmental and health benefits, community gardens are thriving around Halton, with many new plots taking root. The timing of this network-building event is opportune: the soil is ready, and there are plenty of planting choices and decisions to make. By connecting with fellow gardeners, interested participants will learn about exciting new possibilities for growing change not only in their gardens but in their region as well. By offering their input, community gardeners will shape the vision of the Halton Community Garden Network.
Registration, networking and a continental breakfast begin at 8:00 a.m. Registration is free, but spaces are limited. Reserve seats online at haltoncommunitygardennetwork.eventbrite.ca.
Speaker Biographies
Lorraine Johnson is the author of more than ten books, including: The New Ontario Naturalized Garden; Grow Wild; Tending the Earth; 100 Easy-to-Grow Native Plants; and her most recent, City Farmer: Adventures in Urban Food Growing. Past president of the North American Native Plant Society, founding member of the Alex Wilson Community Garden, long-time Board member of LEAF (Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests) and a patron of the Toronto Botanical Garden, Lorraine lives in Toronto, where she is active in the community gardening movement and also in the effort to legalize urban backyard hens. She teaches a native plant ecosystems course at York University and is currently writing a book about urban livestock.
Clare Wagner graduated from Penn State with a B. Sc. in Agroecology (the study of approaching food production with an ecological, full-system perspective). She has explored her passion for sustainable food systems and the environment through her studies, and community involvement in gardens, farmers’ markets and community service groups. After completing an internship in Integrated Pest Management at Longwood Gardens, Clare moved to the education department at the Royal Botanical Gardens. Through these experiences, Clare discovered a passion for outreach and education and spent almost three years focusing on garden programming and the Hamilton Community Garden. Clare is continuing to coordinate the Hamilton Community Garden Network and is working with Sustain Ontario to develop an Ontario-wide network of community garden coordinators. Noting she has a lot to learn, Clare is passionate about empowering her community with accurate, thorough and diverse resources to make healthy, dignified and just food choices.
About the Halton Food Council
The Halton Food Council (HFC) was established in 2009 as an independent community council. The goal of the HFC is to increase awareness of food systems issues and opportunities, including the development of community gardens in Halton Region, by communicating with a common voice to promote action. In January 2013, the HFC received funding from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care’s Healthy Communities Fund to facilitate and support the development of community gardens in Halton through a Community Garden Policy Initiative (policy initiative).
This event is sponsored by the Government of Ontario, Greening Sacred Spaces, Ontario Trillium Foundation and The Heart & Stroke Foundation; with additional event support by Sustain Ontario and the Halton Environmental Network.