Community Garden Meeting, April 2008

To start the season off, it is good to get together and come out of hibernation. My experience in attending committee meetings for the Toronto Community Garden network (TCGN) is helping me prepare better meetings.

The Agenda is simplified, and I only have one "Speech", the rest of the meeting was an open discussion. I still had points in mind that I wanted to touch on, but I was better able to engage the group.

AGENDA FOR GARDEN MEETING

Friday April 4th 2008

• 6:30pm : Welcome and introductions

• 6:45pm : What's the Urgency?

1. The impact of the Tennis Court Repairs

2. Community Clean Up April 19th

3. Spring Start Up in the garden – plot assignments for new gardeners

4. We have to prepare the area for a new Garden Shed or Cement Bunker

• 7:15pm : The Importance of Community participation

• How would you like to participate?

• 7:35pm : Seedy Saturday Report and up coming Events

Upon request, I will arrive earlier, and stay later, if you have time constraints.

The Importance of Community participation: How would you like to Participate?

I have given this much thought, and consulted with many other community gardens and the gardeners here who I have "worked to death".

The question is: why do some gardeners take up the slack and help in the common areas, and it seems as if others just won't? What is my attitude? Perhaps they can't.

If we go back to "Why do you like to garden?" We might find the answer.

• Maybe some people are socially isolated, the garden gives them a reason to go out, and meet other people.

• Other people might be socially overwhelmed. Talked to, talked at all day... they just want to get away and have quite garden time. Listen to the birds and not have to talk or listen to people. I know it sounds selfish, but we all need healing in our own way.

Never the less. Things need to be done in the garden, to keep it alive and thriving. The common areas need maintenance because they are used by every one, including visitors.

What are our options?

• Scadding court charges $20 fee for the "rental" of the garden area, and after a successful fall clean up, they get $15 back.

• Hope Garden only lets you in if you have no area where you live, for gardening.

• Allotment gardens make you pay $56 a season, and you don't get anything back, but you don't have to participate in anything either.

• Rhonda from the Stop suggested that people that like to socialize have "work Bee's" Where every one in the group can work on the Sharing plot. If it is on a Tuesday afternoon or evening, we can go up to the stop for their Pizza Night, The have a wood burning oven in the back.

How would you like to participate? What is FAIR?