Why is Community Gardening important to Calgary?
Skill legacy
- Social—legacy of skill
- Teaching
- Growing our kids in gardening
- Advocacy for the abilities and space to grow food
- Education and exploration
- Sharing knowledge / teaching
- Combines all skill levels
Personal value
- Support therapy
- Therapeutic
- Contact with nature
- Connection to earth and each other
- Attempt to keep balance
- Outdoors / healthy lifestyle
- Enjoy a challenge
Interpersonal
- Impact on environment (compost, reduced energy use, local, global warming)
- Builds philanthropy / education for each other
- Sense of belonging and responsibility
- Learning from others / and from the land
- Family togetherness
- Connect food, people, and generations
Community
- Cross cultures and abilities (encourage those with disabilities, new people to community)
- Spaces to facilitate group activities beyond gardening (readings, lunches, meetings)
- Draws people together for a new outdoor activity (other than sports)
- Exercise / builds relationships
- Greening our community
- Reconnections with our neighbors
- Have fun / meet people
- Networking with other gardeners
- Gathering space / social awareness
- Bridges generations, brings youth and seniors together for common goal
- Promotes sense of ownership from youth and builds sense of respect from youth
- Ecology (ladybugs, environmental controls without pesticides, composting, water use / conservation
- Beautifies community
- Getting youth involved (schools, scout, and guides)
Food
- Eating healthier / cheaper food
- Providing garden space for those without
- Growing clean food
- Providing sustainable food
- Providing for less fortunate
- Subsidizing food costs
- Having control over your own food sources
- Producing quality food / food sustainability
