Upcoming How To Start A Community Garden Workshop
Click here to learn more and sign up.
Upcoming Gardening Workshops
Click here to learn more and sign up.
About The Community Gardening Network (CGN)
The Community Gardening Network (CGN) at Just Food, established in 1997, is an information and resource-sharing network that supports the sustainable development of community gardening in Ottawa.
CGN assists in the establishment of new community gardens, provides support to the existing gardens, and supports all forms of household food-growing and the building of edible landscapes in Ottawa.
CGN’s work also involves keeping food and gardening information flowing, building skills and capacities through workshops and trainings, and raising awareness about food and gardening through newsletters and events.
- Assisting new community gardens to get established each year, including building skills and capacity through our “How to Start a Community Garden” workshops and resources
- Funding garden developments by providing grants from the Community Garden Development Fund (CGDF)
- Working with private and public landowners to increase access to land for community gardens in the city
- Keeping food and gardening information flowing between Just Food, the community garden coordinators, and the gardeners
- Building gardening skills in the city through our beginner level gardening workshops
- Encouraging food preservation of the summer’s harvest through our canning and food preservation workshops
- Raising awareness in the city about community gardening through online newsletters and special events such as the annual Urban Agriculture Bike Tour
People join community gardens for many different reasons and purposes. Some common reasons include:
- Learning how to grow food
- Teaching others to grow food
- Providing food donations to food programs (Plant-a-Row, Donate-a-Row)
- Building & engaging with your community
- Enhancing community safety
- Improving mental and physical health (garden therapy)
- Empowering individuals with resilient skills
- Enhancing the beauty and functionality of public spaces
- Becoming part of the growing local food movement to enhance food security, food access and food equity
- Contributing to a healthier environment (supporting pollinators, offsetting carbon, etc.)
The Plant-a-Row, Donate-a-Row campaign encourages home gardeners and community gardeners to grow food for their neighbourhood food cupboards. Gardeners pledge to grow at least one row in their garden to be donated. For home gardeners, this can be a row or a section of your back or front yard.
For more information, please navigate to the Plant-a-Row, Donate-a-Row section.
