Canada: How to create a community garden

For a new community garden, 20 plots is a manageable number for an inaugural season

By Reka Szekely
Durham Region
April 18, 2023

Excerpt:

Organizing a community garden is a great deal of work and is best spread among a dedicated group or a volunteer committee. Look for people with a range of skills from experienced gardeners to novices who bring other things to the table such as communication or finance skills.

Generally a committee should have a dedicated garden co-ordinator responsible for the day-to-day operation of the garden, a finance person to keep the books, a volunteer co-ordinator — a job that may be shared with the garden co-ordinator — and an administration person tasked with taking notes at meetings. The committee should have at least five people on it.

A simple bank account can be set up for a community group at most banks to allow for the garden group to collect dollars and issue cheques for purchases. However, in order to open a bank account, there must be a formal committee structure with designated signing authority for cheques.

Before creating a site plan, decide what type of community garden you want to operate as a committee. Are members assigned individual plots similar to an allotment garden or do all members work all plots and share in the harvest? Will it be a mix of individual and communal plots?

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