Community Gardens

The first community garden in Montreal was created in 1997 in the NDG district. Around the same period of time, a community garden was started in Longueuil by project partners Équiterre and La Croisée de Longueuil. The idea then caught on and community gardens began springing up throughout Montreal and Quebec City.

What is a Community Garden?

There are many different types of community gardens, because community gardening is adapted to the needs of the community in which it is practised. And since it is a relatively new phenomenon, the practice of community gardening is still in the process of defining itself.

• Community gardening is the result of mobilizing a community to respond to the needs of its residents. Management and organization remain within the community.
• Typically, a community garden consists of a plot of land that is shared, but not individually divided up. Responsibilities, knowledge, labour and the food harvested are shared among the participants. Generally, group cohesion and team spirit are fostered by having the members come together for a weekly work day.
• The purpose of a community garden is to build food security and to empower the participants while fostering stronger ties with cultural communities and contributing to a healthy urban ecology.

The above information was taken from the following guide: Au cœur de notre quartier - Un guide pratique pour le démarrage et l'animation d'un jardin collectif. (A how-to guide for starting and organizing a community garden – only available in French).

If you want to know more…

Please contact:

Action Communiterre
2100 MarloweStreet, suite 142
Montréal Québec H4A 3L6
Téléphone : (514) 484-0223