Partner with local schools, libraries, community halls, municipal buildings, Friendship Centres, older adult homes, hospitals, and recreation centres to plant a garden that everyone can access. Municipalities/town councils can help you with some of the activities on public land and often provide the plants and trees.
Container gardening is an excellent way to grow flowers, fruits, and vegetables in an apartment building, at a shelter or in housing for older adults. Facilitate a partnership between people living in apartment buildings or shelters and those with yards (houses, parks, etc.) to share their gardens. Apartment buildings can provide a visitor parking spot to host Park(ing) Days.
Food gardens can provide people with access to fresh, free food. Consider planting a variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs that appeal to the interests and cultures represented in your neighbourhood. Gather recipes from neighbours from different cultures to show how different fruits and vegetables can be cooked and with low ingredient and cost options.
Place planters on a table or build a raised garden bed that can be accessed by people using a wheelchair. Add wheels to move the table around the neighbourhood. Create a garden in a park, field or other location that features soothing sounds or a water feature that instills feelings of calm.
Choose easy-to-grow plants, place stools around the garden area for either rest or to better access the plants, and supply lightweight gardening tools, including extenders, with foam grips near the garden for use by people of all ages.
Of course, the biggest challenge with gardening in the different seasons is winter! Try growing plants and herbs indoors in the winter and then sharing them with your neighbours. Partner with community organizations, local businesses, and plant stores/nurseries to secure space for planting in the cold weather.
Turn any patch of dirt on your own or public property into a natural oasis. With a little seed, sun, and water, you can beautify your neighbourhood or grow food for yourself and your neighbours! In Brooks, Alberta, neighbours created an edible garden with a path around it and seating areas. You can play a role in saving the bees by growing a pollinator garden, or help to maintain biodiversity by planting native species, avoid planting plant varieties that are/can be invasive.
Find an unused (or unattractive) plot of land and start planting! You could even plant in the potholes! Be aware of the species of plants you are using in order to support the local ecosystem.
Gardening can be active, relaxing, and social, but many people don’t have their own piece of land to cultivate. Consider offering up a portion of your lawn for others to till in an act of “yard sharing”. Maybe you can share the fruits and vegetables by hosting a Salad Sunday on your street. Be sure to put out a sign inviting others to garden in the space and some tools to use. Find out more about yard sharing here.
Start a community garden with some of your neighbours! It will give you a chance to socialize and eat the fruits of your labour.
Turn a parking space into an actual park! Many neighbourhoods lack green space but have plentiful parking for cars. Pay the parking or permit fee and follow the steps to host your own Park(ing) Day! Park(ing) Day is typically held every third Friday or Saturday of September depending on where you live, but it can be done at any time of year.
Are you interested in the potential of parking spaces? Check out Learning from community housing movements: Unlocking the social potential of parking spaces.
Use public space temporarily for growing food. These farming water troughs create the perfect recycled area for growing fruits and veggies as you can manage the type of soil and water they receive. Even better, they can easily be transferred to another location when empty for a more mobile set-up.
Bring wildlife into your neighbourhood by creating a low-cost nest box for birds to find a warm spot to keep warm or a bird feeder to get a quick snack. Be sure to deter other animals (e.g., squirrels) from getting into the feeder and be aware of other animals this may attract. If you’re worried about feeding, the nest box alone is a useful tool to support birds in the neighbourhood.
The Butterflyway Project is a volunteer-led movement that is growing habitat for bees and butterflies in neighbourhoods throughout Canada.
Note: When you think about naturalizing your neighbourhood, beauty is a large part of it. However, it’s important that we also think about the health of our neighbourhoods from an environmental standpoint. As is part of Indigenous worldviews, we have a responsibility to take care of mother earth the way she takes care of us. Therefore, how do we support the health of the environment (e.g., biodiversity) in our neighbourhoods, while it provides us with a place to be active and social?
