Unearthing new plots: two new community gardens proposed for Vancouver parks

Exciting news! Two new community gardens are being proposed in Vancouver parks. Both are being discussed at next Monday’s Park Board meeting.

Beaconsfield Park. Located in Vancouver’s east side, the proposed garden will be administered by the Italian Culture Centre. It will feature 40 garden plots covering approximately 800 square metres. In addition, the garden will include programmed spaces for gardening demonstrations, pollinator gardens and other landscaping. A portion of the food grown will support nearby community programs.

Riverfront Park. Located in south Vancouver, this garden is being proposed by the Fraserlands Community Gardening Group. Like the Beaconsfield garden, it also proposes 40 plots over a smaller 630 square metres. The garden, in fact, has been designed to wrap around the park’s tennis courts courts. The accompanying Park Board report notes that the site was “carefully chosen … so as not to displace any existing uses.” The garden will also feature food bearing trees, pollinator gardens and bench seating, among other features.

As noted above, both proposed gardens will be considered as part of the next Park Board meeting (Monday, January 20, 2014). If you’re interested in providing comment on one or both of these initiatives, you can write the Park Board directly at pbcomment@vancouver.ca. You can also sign up to speak at the meeting (or call 604-257-8158 to get on the speaker’s list).