Do you know a New West neighbourhood in need of a community garden?
The New Westminster Community Gardening Society is hoping to expand its offerings but could use your help along the way. It’s seeking community feedback through a quick, four-question survey.
“This is a preliminary analysis being conducted by the NWCGS to expand our mandate in creative ways that may include a wide variety of options for residents to grow food and build community,” states the survey. “Please note that, currently, the City of New Westminster does not have an allocated budget for a new garden nor a designated space. In order to start a new plan, we want to present the data we gather from this survey to the city.”
You can find the survey at www.tinyurl.com/NWGarden.
In a recent update to members, society president Joana Bettocchi said the board has created the survey to find out which neighbourhoods in New West would be interested in hosting a new community garden.
The society currently oversees community gardens at Simcoe Park, St. Mary’s Park and New Westminster City Hall. Its goal is to develop community gardens throughout New West, and by doing so increase the profile of urban agriculture, promote environmentally sustainable gardening practices, increase access to, and the consumption of, locally grown produce, build a sense of community around food, and decrease the city’s ecological footprint.
In an update to the society’s members, Bettocchi said the City of New Westminster, in partnership with the GROWcery Food Network Society and the Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association, created a beautiful new garden at Ryall Park. The new site includes an orchard, a therapeutic interactive herb garden and an innovative composting system.
“After much discussion, it was decided that the Port Royal Gardening Society is best suited to manage this new site,” she wrote. “Our board unanimously voted in favour of gifting the Port Royal Gardening Society $1,000 for new tools for their shed.”
For more information about the society, go to www.nwcgs.ca.
