The Village and the Garden in the City

The beautiful March day found us walking the streets of the Vanier district in Ottawa, home of the Village International Mennonite Church. Signs of winter were evident in the snow that still covered much of the ground, but the sun was warm with a promise of spring and of new growth. It was this promise that brought us out. We were looking for potential green space for a garden, a community garden.

I love gardening! It's such a wonderful way to join God in His creative dance of the cycle of life. As a kid I enjoyed helping my mom in the garden. While in grad school I did a bit of roof-top gardening. In Mozambique I helped an AIDS organization establish community gardens for people living with HIV/AIDS. When Pascale and I moved to Vanier last June, I immediately planted some lettuce and tomato plants. It was only natural that I would look for a community garden in the area and, much to my dismay, I found nothing in Vanier.

While talking with one of the staff at the local Community Services Centre about our new faith community, I asked how we might be able to best serve the Vanier community. It was during that conversation that the idea of a community garden came up. He had wanted to see something like this for a number of years, but it had never gotten off the ground. He suggested I go and talk with Suzanne Valiquet of the Quartier Vanier Mercahnts Association.

Suzanne was thrilled with the idea. She arranged for a meeting of her staff and people from the Vanier Beautification Committee. We invited the director of a non-profit organization called Just Food. At the meeting, the director informed us that the City of Ottawa had just passed a resolution making $75,000 available to Just Food specifically for the purpose of establishing community gardens in Ottawa! In addition, we were offered free access to a booth at the new Farmers Market in Vanier to advertize and identify interested people. I love watching God at work and I love gardening!