On April 22nd, CAFES delivered a public delegation to the Community Services Committee regarding the staff report and strategic proposal for a new Community-led Green Initiatives and Garden Program. We were joined by other impactful delegations by Just Food, Maitland Area Pollinator Projects (MAPP), and many more!
As a background - on October 25th, 2023, Council approved a Motion that directed City staff to update and review the Community Garden Action Plan (CGAP), with recommendations on processes, scope and resources for facilitating community gardens and other community-led green initiatives on City land.
The City contracted an external consultant, Hoffmann Hayes, to conduct an internal review and scan of best practices from other Canadian municipalities on community gardens and community-led green initiatives. The internal review identified opportunities and gaps in current programming, policies and processes, and about 1,000 residents were consulted through engagement sessions and an online survey. During this process, there has been a moratorium on all community gardening requests.
Based on the findings, the staff report presented at the April 22nd meeting recommended the development of a long-term strategic framework and to streamline internal operations, including:
At the meeting Councillor Marty Carr provided a direction to staff on including a streamlined intake process and including invasives in the scope, which should coordinate with the invasives work already being undertaken by Public Works. Staff are to come back with this in Q4 2025.
In our delegation (see PowerPoint below), we expressed that we welcome a clear, streamlined intake process with a single point of contact for ALL community-led planting requests, including tree planting, growing food, pollinator gardening, invasive plant species removal and replacement, rain gardens, cultural gardens, public education activities, and more. We highlighted the successful and accessible Toronto Nature Stewards program - in which volunteers restore city-owned natural areas and utilize a simplified waiver process - and suggested Ottawa strike up a pilot based off this program model.
Overall, many Councillors echoed community concerns about the lack of details included in the staff report and the absence of any sort of timeline for program implementation. We will be eagerly awaiting further operational details and hope for in-depth community consultation. The proposed program will come to the next City Council meeting on April 30th.
