A fire at a community garden in Oaklands over the weekend that caused thousands of dollars in damage is being treated as an arson.
Victoria police said their investigation into the fire early Saturday at the garden in Oswald Park is in its early stages. The park is in a residential area bordered by Cedar Hill and Gosworth roads.
Oaklands Community Association executive director Sandy Robertson said the fire destroyed a garden shed full of equipment, causing the bulk of the damage.
“It’s 98 per cent carbon right now,” he said, adding the association will do a full assessment of the site once the investigators’ work is finished. “It’s just ashes where it used to be.”
The Oaklands Community Garden, which has more than 20 plots, had been opened just two days short of a year when the fire hit. Tools, wheelbarrows and other shed contents are unsalvageable, Robertson said.
Also destroyed were composters and a couple of benches that were being put together for a common area where people could sit and enjoy the garden, he said.
There is melted plastic everywhere among other remnants like the wheelbarrows’ metal frames, he said. “It’s just a mess.”
Robertson said replacing the hardware alone could cost up to $15,000, but it’s impossible to put an overall dollar value on the total cost of recovery.
Because of the melted plastic and the chemicals in the fire retardant that was used, all of the garden’s soil and plantings will have to be dug up, he said. “We’re going to have to test for contamination.”
Plans to plant fruit trees in the next few days are now on hold.
The garden came to be thanks to a huge amount of volunteer effort, Robertson said, with as many as 80 people at a time coming out to help at a number of work parties.
The association also offers child care, food programs, summer camps and yoga classes, and runs a summer market on the grounds of Oaklands Elementary School.
Anyone wishing to contribute to the recovery effort can use the Canada Helps donation function near the bottom of the home page on the association’s website at oaklands.life and indicate they are supporting the community garden, or contact the association at 250-370-9101.
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