Community gardens may be coming to two of Orillia’s parks next year.
At this week's council meeting, city politicians directed staff to carry out consultation with residents to gauge interest in potential new community gardens at Hillcrest Park and the York Street Parkette.
The gardens, provided substantial interest is garnered through community outreach, will be considered as part of the 2024 budget deliberations.
Councillors Tim Lauer and Janet-Lynne Durnford spearheaded the initiative, requesting city staff to evaluate the logistics and costs of establishing the gardens.
There are currently two community gardens in the city, at Lakehead University and High Street Park, with minimal room for expansion at the latter location.
As part of their consultation, city staff will be asking whether residents are interested in utilizing gardens with 12’x4’ allotment plots.
Preliminary cost estimates are $31,650 per garden, which would include 10 allotment plots.
Coun. Jeff Czetwerzuk said he supports the initiative.
“I think it's a great idea, and as a member who sits on the food committee, I believe this is kind of the direction the food committee wants to go,” he said. “Starting to create more locally-sourced food and options for folks is a great idea, and I think there's more work to be done, but this is an excellent start.”
Coun. Jay Fallis asked city staff to provide more detail on the cost for the gardens.
“(There are) not too many bells and whistles in a community garden,” explained John McMullen, the city's manager of park planning and development.
“We would want the area fenced, just to keep it separated from other park activities, use a tasteful, relatively low fence so the areas can be defined and they don't spill out into the rest of the park," said McMullen.
“The costing is per community garden. It's based on an assumption of the size of those community gardens to be in that 8-10 plot area,” he said. “That cost is representative of a single garden, fencing being the most expensive thing, which is $10,000.”
Coun. Janet-Lynne Durnford questioned whether city staff could simultaneously gauge interest in dog parks in those areas, but McMullen explained that setting up a dog park is a bit more complicated.
“The off-leash dog park thing, that is a slightly more complicated subject, and the issue really being that it's a land consumptive feature in a park … (that) requires an acre of land,” he said. “The idea of looking for a dog park in (the) north ward has come up before, and it's been very challenging to find that land.”
Beyond community consultation, city staff will also determine the ideal location for the gardens within their respective parks, for consideration during budget deliberations.
