Food Policy - Community Gardens & the 2010 Challenge

2,010 New Community Shared Garden Plots By 2010 - COMPLETED!

On May 30, 2006, Vancouver City Councilors issued a challenge to individuals, families, community groups and neighbourhood organizations to establish more food-producing gardens in Vancouver.

The challenge, put forward by then-Councillor Peter Ladner, was a motion calling for the City to work with the Vancouver Food Policy Council to encourage the creation of 2010 new garden plots in the city by January 1, 2010, as an Olympic legacy. Councillor Ladner issued a challenge to other municipalities in the GVRD to do the same. The motion was passed unanimously.

	The 2010 Challenge called for 2010 new plots - in addition to the 950 that already existed. By December 31, 2009 a total of 2029 plots had been registered -- exceeding the original goal of the Challenge. Best of all - even more are coming!

Since that time, several new gardens were created and a number of new residential developments incorporated community-shared urban agriculture spaces into their design. The result has been a marked increase in the number of community gardening opportunities for residents of the city -- so much so, that at the beginning of Fall 2009 only 210 new plots were needed to achieve the 2,010 legacy goal. Thanks to additional garden projects coming on-stream at that time, the 2,010 Challenge was met - and exceeded - by the end of the year. As of December 31, 2009, a grand total of 2,029 new plots have been developed, with still others being planned for 2010.

Community gardens and other forms of urban agriculture are recognized as important neighbourhood gathering places that promote sustainability, neighbourhood livability, urban greening, community building, intergenerational activity, social interaction, crime reduction, exercise and food production. The 2010 initiative will allow Vancouver to use urban agriculture as a powerful tool to achieve multiple social, environmental and economic benefits.

What Counts as a Garden Plot?

These garden plots can be developed in a variety of spaces including community-shared gardens that are

1. On rooftops, balconies, or on the ground;
2. In private gardens that are part of the Sharing Backyard program; and
3. Gardens that participate in the City’s Grow a Row, Share a Row program.

To be considered “new,” the plots must have been developed since January 2006.

Register Your Community Garden or Community Share Plots

If you’ve created new garden plots that meet the criteria outlined above, then you’re already most of the way there.

To register your garden in the 2010 Community Shared Garden Plots by 2010 Challenge, email us at foodpolicy@vancouver.ca. In your email, be sure to mention the location of the garden, the number of plots, and the date that it was created.

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