The Carrefour de l’Isle Saint Jean community garden project was started in 2017 by the management at that time, on land owned by the French school – François Buote.
The gardens are raised beds at the back of the school, located at 5 Acadian Drive, Charlottetown, C1C 1M2. As a community, we have and are developing new relationships with other organizations and projects to be able to put these garden beds at the community’s disposal. Being a French community, one might think that the gardens are available for the francophone community only. However, we are more than happy to welcome and support diversity, making our gardens available for anyone interested in our community.
Today, the Carrefour de l’Isle Saint Jean community garden includes 15 garden beds measuring 8’ by 4’ each and a permaculture zone of 27 m in diameter. The fee ($25 - $35) per garden bed varies depending on the materials provided with the garden beds during the gardening season (mid May to end of October). This fee pays for services such as water service, compost, soil and so on depending on the availability.
Gardeners are responsible for their own seeds, transplants, fertilizer, tools, netting, etc. The garden beds are available on a first come first served basis.
For more information or to request a garden bed, kindly contact:
Rookayya Gulmahamed
Cultural and Community Development Officer
902-367-8404 or
rookayya@carrefourisj.org
To learn more about upcoming events at Carrefour de l’Isle Saint Jean, visit
www.carrefourisj.org or check out the Facebook page:
Carrefour de l’Isle-Saint-Jean
Desbrisay Community Garden
The Desbrisay Community Garden will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2021!
Established in 2001, the Desbrisay Community Garden continues to be a gem in the historic Spring Park neighbourhood of Charlottetown. Located on once vacant property owned by the City, this functional green space sits on land bordered by Douglas Street and Desbrisay Crescent. The garden grew out of a project originated by the Cooper Institute with the help of the City of Charlottetown and many hard-working, benevolent volunteers and gardeners over the years. It is accessible and visible, and is enjoyed by the whole neighbourhood as a place to gather around the picnic tables for a quiet chat or as a place to enjoy an evening walk.
Desbrisay Garden continues to be supported by the City of Charlottetown, which provides a water source, mulch, compost and soil and carries out the lawn maintenance on the site.
The garden features edible trees and shrubs, plants that attract pollinators, a seed saving plot and a shared herb garden and strawberry patch.
In 2016 a rain harvesting system was installed and in 2018 this system will be extended to include additional water storage capacity and a solar powered pump. In 2017 the City of Charlottetown added three vegetable planters to the park, which is cared for by City staff and the food is to the public to share and enjoy.
The governance of the garden is provided by a leadership team comprised of plot holders. In addition to regular plot holder work parties, Desbrisay Garden has been successful in engaging the greater community to help with major projects in the garden. This outreach includes church groups and corporate volunteer days.
Two annual events are held when the gardeners gather together for community activities, to share food and discuss garden business.
The garden is an anchor in the community and provides a space for everyone to get to know their neighbours!
Enjoy!
The Desbrisay Garden has 20 private garden plots and the annual fee for a plot is $20. To find out if a plot is available contact Pat at
patdoyle@eastlink.ca.
Successful Community Gardening
The following tips are intended to help ensure your success at the garden:
• Plan to visit your garden two or three times a week during the growing season or have a friend help if you are going to be away. Write it in your calendar. It is sometimes easy to forget that there is weeding, watering, staking or harvesting to do.
• Attend scheduled meetings and workdays. This will help you meet other gardeners and become part of your gardening community. You'll also learn about the various jobs and projects that need to be done to keep your garden and the public areas in shape.
• Make friends with other gardeners. Experienced gardeners are an invaluable resource at your garden. Pick their brains for gardening tips. Visit their plots to see how and what they plant.
• Volunteer for a garden job or committee. Community gardens don't manage themselves. They require a considerable amount of work. By pitching in on a certain job or project, you'll be supporting the garden as a whole and ensuring that the work is spread among many people.
Resources
What makes a successful community garden? - Food Share
Community Gardens Toolkit - Food Banks Canada
Community Garden Best Practices Toolkit - Newfoundland and LabradorLegacy Garden, Charlottetown Experimental Farm
In May of 2014, as part of the PEI 2014 celebration, a group of enthusiastic gardeners, volunteers and Farm Centre staff broke ground on an ambitious community garden and food security project in the heart of Charlottetown. An 8-acre field has become home to a growing community of active, food conscious citizens.
The vision for this garden emerged from community consultations hosted by the PEI Farm Centre, which revealed a growing demand for food/gardening skills and community garden space. Key project partners in this venture include Agriculture Canada and the PEI 2014 Fund.
Today, the Legacy Garden includes 150 community garden plots, a two acre Goodwill Garden, an Urban Bee Project Interpretation Centre, a Community Orchard, Family Pastime Garden, an Accessibility Garden and much more. Within the Garden we also conduct organic field, research trials and we host a wide range of workshops on urban agriculture and food security. Community members also rent a portion of the Gardens to host celebratory gatherings.
As a community, we’ve developed new gardening skills and new friendships. The garden is home to youth, young families, older folks, long-established Islanders and newcomers from all over the world. This diversity is essential to the success of the garden.
To get involved!
We are now accepting new gardeners. We’re also recruiting people that want to share their skills, energy, inspiration and connections in support of the project. To get involved or sign up for our mailing list, please contact Phil Ferraro, at the Farm Centre: 902-892-3419 or
phil@peifarmcentre.com
To learn more about upcoming events at the Farm Centre, please visit
www.peifarmcentre.com or look for us on
Facebook: Farm Centre Legacy Community Garden.Wilfred J. Smith Community Garden
The Wilfred J. Smith community garden project was started in 1974 by the Board of Governors of St. Dunstan’s University, on land owned by St. Dunstan’s University. The gardens were set up by Wilfred Smith, a landscaper and greenhouse owner and Gordon Warren, a CBC Maritime Gardener.
The project was originally called the Charlottetown Community Gardens but was later renamed the Wilfred J. Smith Community Gardens to honor Mr. Smith’s contribution and commitment to the garden project.
The gardens are located on St. Dunstan’s University land on Mt. Edward Road (between
193 and 201, Mt. Edward Road). There at 63 garden plots measuring 25’ by 40’ each. The fee per garden plot for the 2018 gardening season (late May to end of October) is $20.00. This fee pays for services provided to members including rototilling, water service, compost (if available) and site maintenance.
Gardeners are responsible for their own seeds, transplants, fertilizer, tools, netting, etc. Returning gardeners retain their previous seasons plot(s). New gardeners are assigned garden plots from a waiting list on a first come, first serve basis (plots would be located in areas where gardeners are not returning).
For more information or to request a garden plot, contact:
Emerson Gorrill, Chairperson, 902-894-4873
or
wjsmithcommgardens@bellaliant.net
The Patchwork Community Garden
The Patchwork Community Garden is placed at the east portion of the J. Frank MacAulay Park in the neighbourhood of Parkdale.
Our Garden was created in 2022 by an initiative of IRSA-PEI (Immigrant & Refugee Services Association-PEI) as an opportunity for Newcomers to put down roots, figurative and literally. However, everyone is welcome to participate in our garden.
The garden has two types of places to grow plants: plots (10x4 ft) and hexagonal raised beds (4 ft side). Lilies and elderberry shrubs are growing around the place, and two flower plots attract pollinators and visitors. Garlic plants grow in a shared plot, which are distributed between all the gardeners as a fragrant reward at the end of the growing season. There are two sheds, the small one for the watering hose and the big one for storing all the tools we need in the garden. Through a Community Micro-Grant Project of The City of Charlottetown, we were able to get a three-barrel, solar-powered system used to water the garden with collected rainwater.
Two events are held during the year, one in the spring to prepare for the season, and one in the fall to perform a general cleaning and prepare the garden for the next year.
The annual fee for a plot is $30. If you want to join us, please send a message to the.patchwork.cg@gmail.com.
