Garden project yields crop of opposition

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD

andy.blatchford@transcontinental.ca

The black earth of Ste. Anne de Bellevue's community garden has yet to be spread but opposition over its location is already sprouting.

"A lot of the citizens around there are not keen on having a public garden in their little park," Mayor Bill Tierney said.

"People all think it's a great idea to have a municipal garden, but not in (their) local park."

Council recently adopted — by split decision — a pilot project to build the community garden at Godin Park. The plot is slated for a grass-covered area, which up until a few years ago, was the site of a public wading pool.

"It's a great idea," Tierney said. "It's a way of getting people together. It's a way of getting people to talk about the environment."

But some locals oppose the location of the garden, arguing it will take up park space used by children.

Two councillors, Line de Chantal and Léona Charette-Morin voted against the location of the initiative at the council meeting.

Councillor de Chantal said there is significant local opposition to the site of the garden, not the initiative itself.

"A park should remain a park for the general population and children in particular," she said.

She said about 100 people signed a petition circulated over a couple of days opposing a garden at Godin.

Meanwhile, Charette said there are no plans for a fence around the garden and predicts children will inevitably have run-ins with gardeners.

"I'm OK with a community garden, but not in a park where kids play," said Charette.

Charette suggested a site on a vacant lot on St. Joseph Street, but the committee declined citing insufficient sunlight.

She disagrees.

"I went to see it at 11 a.m. and there was lots of sunlight on the property," she said of the vacant land.

The community garden plan was devised about seven years ago by the Ste. Anne environment committee, said president Michel Couillard. But the municipal mergers — and de-mergers — stunted the idea's growth.

The city asked for space on the Ste. Anne's Veterans Hospital property for the garden, but layers of bureaucracy have slowed negotiations.

Couillard hopes the garden could move or expand to the hospital next year. For now, the project will be tested at Godin.

"We know it may disturb the habits of the residents in the area but we intend to do it with respect to other people," said Couillard, a committee member since its creation in 1999.

"Nobody opposes the idea of a community garden. I think even the strongest opponents recognize that it could be a nice thing to have."

He sees municipal gardens as a public gathering point with learning elements.

"It brings neighbours together," said Couillard. "It's a pleasure you can share with others. It helps people enjoy the life in their community."

Children experience seeding, watering and collecting the produce, while adults learn about composting and growing without pesticides, he said.

So far, about 25 residents have signed up for a free parcel to grow anything from beets to flowers to carrots.

The unofficial size of each plot is 13 by 14 feet.

He expects to sow the garden's first seeds in the next two weeks.