Someone once said, “Community is like a garden. The more you put into it, the more it grows.”
I think of this phrase often, but more so at this time of year when my mind starts turning toward spring and all of its promise.
I don’t think you can live in Victoria and not be moved by the impressive forces of nature. Despite a somewhat gloomy start to the year, the cherry trees have burst forth with their usual plethora of blooms, the daffodils, snowdrops and crocuses are showing off the beauty of their foliage and flowers, and all around us the earth seems to be growing lusher and more colourful every day.
This is also the time of year when many of us begin to focus on another kind of growing: vegetable gardens. And for those who don’t have a plot of dirt themselves, there is the very popular option of joining a community garden.
The term “community garden” is derived from the fact that the garden in question is available for the community to use. This basic definition is perhaps what most people think of when they hear the term. What’s perhaps less understood or appreciated, however, is how these same gardens grow something just as important as food: community. Let me explain.
Although I’m not a member of a community garden myself, I certainly see the advantage of providing people access to a place to grow food. Surely, the economic and health benefits of harvesting produce for oneself is a given.
But for someone like me, who spends a lot of time thinking about the overall wellness of a community, I believe community gardens provide much more than just inexpensive, healthy greens.
Perhaps one of the most important benefits is the sense of belonging that comes with tending to your plot in the presence of others. The ownership and pride at turning seeds into food is enhanced when you can share this feeling with fellow gardeners.
In a similar, but distinctly different way, these neighbourhood gardens build community. They are really a microcosm of many of the best aspects of a well-functioning society. People share a common resource, often leaning on one another for expertise, tools, labour or even moral support when things go wrong.
The result is a shared sense of ownership of place and a stronger bond among people in that place. Isn’t that what community is all about?
Whether it’s the community gardens alongside Blanshard Street, the plots by the University of Victoria or beside the Compost Education Centre in Fernwood, or maybe the new PanFlora gardens outside Our Place on Pandora Street, I hope the next time you pass by one of the dozens of community gardens in our region you’ll see what I see: A place to grow food, yes, but also a place to nurture our humanity and shared connections to one another.
Sandra Richardson is CEO of the Victoria Foundation.
