Aurora conducting survey on resident-run community garden

YorkRegion.com
Sept. 3, 2015
By Teresa Latchford

McMahon Park could be home to Aurora’s first resident-run community garden.

Following a request to establish a neighbourhood garden in the local park by resident Klaus Wehrenberg, council will conduct a survey to gauge interest in such a plan.

Wehrenberg envisions a 12-plot garden to start in the northeast corner of the park, which he deems is underutilized. He wants the garden to be a place where neighbours get to know each other in a common project and get their hands dirty at the same time.

“It would be great to see people get out of their cars and do something together,” he said. “The social aspect of the garden is just as important as cultivating your own food.”

Aurora does have a 56-plot community garden run by the York Region Food Network that continues to grow since being established in 1996 but Wehrenberg said there’s a long waiting list of residents anxious to cultivate the soil in their own public garden.

“This could be the beginning of many smaller community gardens across Aurora,” he added. “Having smaller gardens in parks means more people can have access and walk or bike instead of having to drive.”

While a steering committee of local residents would be established to maintain and run the administrative aspect of the garden, the town is being asked to assist with water and soil needed for startup.

While not opposed to the creation of a community garden, one resident living near the park expressed concern regarding upkeep of the garden at a recent open forum.

“I’m not invested in saying, ‘No’ and I appreciate someone trying to do something good for the community,” the woman, identified only as Rita, said. “But I want to know who is going to be responsible for the upkeep.”

She wouldn’t be in support of a garden containing broken sticks, chicken wire, rusted fencing, standing water and rodents.

While the town’s parks and recreation master plan supports the creation of community gardens and points to increased demand for such leisure activities, town staff recommended the first step be to measure the level of acceptance by residents before exploring cost and feasibility.

Councillor Wendy Gaertner, however, was concerned about sending out a survey out before studying if the park would support the garden.

“I worry about residents feeling like we are promising them something before we have even looked into it,” she said.

However, staff said the opposite makes more sense: gauge interest through a less-costly survey before undertaking a time-consuming study.

Council voted in favour of conducting a survey.