Looking to join a community garden but don’t know how?

First, see if there is a community garden in your area. Many gardens are only available to residents of a specific neighbourhood or ward, but you are free to visit them to see all their hard work.

Late summer is a great time to visit our city’s more than 16 gardens to see the various fruits and vegetables they produce. It is also a good time to plan for next season. You can contact the Greater Sudbury Community Garden Network ([email protected]) to find out more about your area, the locations of current community gardens and the potential for future projects.

A community garden is an identified plot of land where residents can join together to manage and maintain garden plots for the purpose of growing fresh produce and plants.

These gardens help beautify the landscape while providing opportunities for people to meet and work together to grow fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs. Some gardens produce vegetables while others have small fruit orchards and decorative flowers.

Each garden is unique and prides itself on the service it provides to our community. There are even gardens for employees of businesses, so don’t forget to ask around your workplace to see if there is one planned for the future. Lunch-time gardening is a great way to build camaraderie and lower work-related stress levels.

Many of our community gardens are found online through the EarthCare Sudbury Food Access Map and Community Garden Map.

Here are some areas within Greater Sudbury with community gardens:

• Chelmsford
• Coniston
• Copper Cliff
• Downtown
• Garson
• Gatchell
• Hanmer
• New Sudbury

1. Bridge the gap between youth and seniors;
2. Help maintain active social relationships;
3. Address food access needs;
4. Instill a sense of pride in the community;
5. Promote a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating;
6. Have been used for therapy and rehabilitation;
7. Convert neglected or under-utilized spaces into positive community locations;
8. Reduce concerns about property vandalism and crime through more positive traffic and open areas;
9. Accelerate recovery after disasters if food stores are undersupplied;
10. Provide “hands-on” learning opportunity to gain knowledge of the natural world;
11. Encourage safe interactions with nature;
12. Enhance community organization around other neighbhourhood issues and events;
13. Stimulate cooperation and local self-reliance; and
14. Improve food literacy skills within our community.

If you want to grow vegetables but do not have the land, balcony or expertise, community gardens may be for you! Please contact the Greater Sudbury Community Garden Network for more information at [email protected].

EarthCare Sudbury is a network of more than 180 local businesses, organizations and agencies committed to helping Greater Sudbury become greener, cleaner, healthier and more sustainable. Learn more at GreaterSudbury.ca/EarthCare or call 311.
Do you have a question about an environmental issue? Submit your questions online at GreaterSudbury.ca/EarthCare, then watch for this column published in the Northern Life for an “expert” response.