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Work on new Central Saanich community garden continues

Several hundred community gardens exist across British Columbia
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Natasha Van Bentum has had a garden plot at the Montreal Street Community Garden in Victoria’s James Bay neighbourhood for almost a decade. She said tending her plot helps her to get away from screens and enjoy the sunshine. (Black Press Media File)

As Central Saanich Community Gardens finalizes its designs for a new community garden, their numbers are well in the hundreds.

The BC Council of Garden Clubs (BCCGC) represents close 200 garden clubs, allotment and community gardens across the province with the BCCGC Ssring AGM scheduled for March 27. This said, not all community gardens are BCCGC members.

Central Saanich Community Gardens is currently working with the District of Central Saanich on turning a small publicly-owned field behind the Boys & Girls Club into a community gardens with 16 beds. Council gave the project its support “in principle” last fall after reviewing five potential sites and the organization is currently asking for design input.

RELATED: Central Saanich council plants support for first community garden

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According to a staff report, the site near the club is the most central with 1,725 properties within a 1-km radius. “There are a number of strata units with minimal garden space; higher density residential proximity is a major factor in success for community garden,” it reads. The site is also near schools, a seniors centre, library and close to a public washroom at the cultural centre, while accessible by transit.

According to staff, the club used the site in the past, but has other options available.

Community gardens have experienced growth in recent years as issues of food security and access for urban dwellers (but also others) have become more important.

For more information, see https://csgardens.org/plans


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wolfgang.depner@peninsulanewsreview.com



Wolf Depner

About the Author: Wolf Depner

I joined the national team with Black Press Media in 2023 from the Peninsula News Review, where I had reported on Vancouver Island's Saanich Peninsula since 2019.
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