Thanks to the hard work of volunteers and community members, we have welcomed 5 new gardeners and a kindergarten class to our Accessible Community Garden this spring for a pilot season of gardening. The garden is repaired - but now it’s time to find out from our gardeners with lived experience how to make it better.

This pilot season’s aims are 1) to help gardeners with accommodation needs to access community gardening, with help from volunteers and 2) to get ongoing feedback from our pilot gardeners about the experience of working in this garden.

What does "accessible" mean for our gardeners? We are welcoming:  

• gardeners with chronic pain or fatigue

• gardeners with mobility issues 

• gardeners with vision or hearing loss

and folks who are dealing with chronic health issues for whom gardening would be therapeutic. 

What's in the Accessible Circle Garden?

• Two roll-up tool sheds that make up our archway. Gardeners can access tools without needing to manoeuvre inside a shed

• Lighter hand tools, extended hand tools, and adaptive devices like grabbers

• Folding stools that double as kneeling pads, so gardeners can sit to garden

• Light-weight weeding containers 

• No-haul access to water 

• A tamped gravel interior and external path for easier access.

Our pilot gardeners’ participation and suggestions will inform how the garden can be  improved and made more accessible for the next phase of the project, when we’ll be involving partners to design long-term modifications to the garden. Ultimately, we believe the ACG can become a model for improving accessibility in community gardens across Ottawa. Because gardens should be built for every body, it’s time to grow more inclusive spaces—especially when 64% of Canadians live with a disability or care for someone who does.

Plots and memberships in our garden were generously covered this year by agreement from the gardeners of Brewer Park Community garden and by a donation from the family of Dr. J. David Moffatt. In his own backyard, and in local community gardens, David invested countless hours in his passion for gardening for sustainable, local food production and renaturalization. Thank you, Dr Moffatt, for removing financial barriers to make this garden truly accessible to our pilot participants.