Garden Mama Growing

One year ago this week I uprooted myself and three kiddos from our idyllic and remote community of Mayne Island, BC in search of a fresh start on Vancouver Island. It was a culture shock to return to regular society after nearly a decade of sanctuary and simplicity living in the abundance of forests, shorelines, and gardens Mayne provided. My youngest at two and a half had never walked on a sidewalk before, nor had I ever been shopping in a corporate mega grocery store trying to keep them all within eyesight. In fact, one of the toughest adjustments has been having to rely on big name retailers (now via the convenience of delivery) to sustain our everyday eating after so much effort to reach a level of expertise that had me preserving enough of my own fresh grown food to eat something from the garden every day year round.

I was initially worried that city living was the equivalent of having no space to plant seeds or grow food, but the universe had my back in a way that felt like landing exactly where we belonged. A cozy rental just two blocks away from a five acre farm in the middle of town, right across the road from the kids’ school. A place that would just be the beginning of discovering what Nanaimo had to offer in finding ways to keep foraging and growing food within the urban sprawl.

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Nanaimo Foodshare’s Park Avenue Farm

I’ve visited many inner city garden projects along my travels but none as plentiful and abundant as this nonprofit led oasis run by Nanaimo Foodshare Society. It primarily operates as an educational farm hosting class tours throughout the school year and summer camps available through the City of Nanaimo Parks, Recreation & Culture Activity Guide during the peak of the growing season.

Opportunities to learn are not just for the kids here. I attended a container gardening workshop with my youngest in tow and cooking classes happen spring through fall. You can check out their most current workshop offerings here. Nanaimo Foodshare also offers Cultivating Abilities, an employability skills program which facilitates training and community connection through learning agricultural practices for people with a self identified disability.

Anyone in the community can join as a volunteer during open community time on Fridays during the growing season. Right now things have been pretty quiet but it’s a blessing to walk by this special space every day where I have helped grow and harvest over the past year.

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Nanaimo Community Gardens Society

Sharing its office with Nanaimo Foodshare with space behind their building at 271 Pine Street is another gloriously growing garden operated by the Nanaimo Community Gardens Society, which I became a member of on our first visit while popping in during their weekly Wednesday work parties. I was warmly welcomed with a tour and chat with one of the board members. Unlike most community garden projects that I’ve visited, membership here does not include a designated plot for individual growers. Instead, the entire allotment is community tended with an honour system that the more you participate, the more of the harvest you can take home at the end of the day.

Nanaimo Community Gardens Society also has a second location at the Beban Learning Gardens with a community greenhouse which I haven’t yet had a chance to visit but have at the top of my list of garden adventures as spring approaches.

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Growing Opportunities Farm Community Cooperative

A series of splendid circumstances led me to Westwood Farms just on the outskirts of the city where Farm Manager Jesyka invited me for a tour around the property which offers a CSA food box through the summer and fall, planted and harvested by members of their All Abilities At the Farm program. They also participate in research and seed trials that support sustainable agriculture.

Along with plentiful rows of veggies and ample greenhouse space, the 47 acre property also boasts several acres of blueberry bushes that were plump and ready for picking during my visit. I was immensely grateful to be sent home with a haul of fresh from the earth goodness and will be sure to go again this year.

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Nanaimo Seed Library

I’ve stopped into the Harbourfront Library at least half a dozen times now trying to track down the person in charge of this disparagingly empty seed library box, even leaving my email to no avail. Perhaps it was my timing as it was into summer before I found it and it will be restocked soon for spring, but something in my soul is aching to do something about this. Maybe after the chance to meet some seed enthusiasts like me at Nanaimo Seedy Sunday on March 2nd I will find some avenues to organize a more engaging way to access and participate in this little seed box that could. If you’re a seed saver in Nanaimo and would be keen to work with me to help revive this situation of the seedless seed library, send me an email at selena@gardenmama.ca and I’ll keep working to connect with the library folks who got this started with good intentions.

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These are just a few of the soul inspiring projects I’ve found and had time to visit as we have been navigating the changes this past year have brought our way, and it’s only the beginning of what I’ve found digging around on the internet as far as Nanaimo’s unique agricultural landscape. This year I hope to visit Beban Learning Gardens, several food forests around the city, school gardens, and farmers markets to meet more of the people growing these local food producing projects into fruition. If you are a leader of a local sustainable food initiative in Nanaimo I’d love to connect and potentially feature your project in future Garden Mama Growing posts.

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