Blooming Boulevards and The Little Seed Libraries

We are a group of community members who live in Crescent Heights East, close to Edmonton Trail. Our goal is to engage with and connect homeowners, renters and visitors while also contributing toward environmental sustainability, connecting diverse people of various socioeconomic status, and improving community feel.

We are proposing a community-building project called Blooming Boulevards & The Little Seed Libraries as our first initiative to transform the public realm on our street.

Background

Crescent Heights is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Calgary; therefore, we have boulevards, which are the responsibility of homeowners to maintain. Several news articles from as far back as 2014 (Global News, Calgary Herald) encourage homeowners to plant raised beds in their boulevards to transform them into gardens. Similarly, the City of Calgary coordinates the YardSmart initiative to support gardens over grass (City of Calgary, 2022). Indeed, if you take a walk through east Crescent Heights, you will notice several homes have already embraced this approach. Our proposal builds on this trend, embracing boulevards as truly public spaces for interaction, learning, and exchange.

The Idea

Blooming Boulevards: we are proposing to build raised beds – at a height accessible for all – along the boulevards of 5th Avenue NE between 2rd Street and Edmonton Trail. These garden beds will have themes from pizza gardens (tomatoes, basil, oregano, parsley) to pollinator beds (beebalm, borage, wild bergamot, prairie goldenrod, etc.) to salad greens (arugula, kale, leaf lettuce, etc.). Each apartment or home that wants to host a boulevard garden bed will (1) acknowledge that is it a public garden and anyone and everyone has the right to harvest and (2) be responsible for caring for the beds with the help of anyone else who wants to contribute.

We will come together as a community for planting days, harvest, cleaning of the beds, and laying them to sleep for the winter. Because the garden beds are directly outside people’s living space, they will be easy to access for maintenance. Additionally, tending the beds will get people outside of their homes and build relations between neighbours and visitors alike.

The Little Seed Libraries: In addition to the garden beds, we will build Little Seed Libraries, similar to Little Free Libraries, which are common in Calgary. The Little Seed Libraries will have seeds for the relevant beds, information on how to grow and maintain the plants, recipes from community members, and fun facts about the gardens and plants.

The Little Seed Libraries will be stocked and cared for by community members on the street as an additional community building element.

Project Benefits

(1) Environmental Sustainability & Connections Across Socioeconomic Status

Blooming Boulevards & Little Seed Libraires would go beyond food security to food sovereignty, a term coined by La Via Campesina as “the right of people to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems” (Food Secure Canada, 2022). In following these principles, all the beds will follow agroecological growing practices as the basis for responsible environmental stewardship.

The essential difference between food sovereignty and security is people are empowered with knowledge and skills to become active agents of change rather than depending on the larger systems of power to shift. Not only will homeowners and apartment renters be included, but also those living without a fixed address because they are also integral members of our community due to our proximity to Downtown.

(2) Improving Community Feel

Another benefit of this project is improved community safety. Building relations across socioeconomic status results in a safer community where natural surveillance can occur. Natural surveillance is a central tool used in Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design and defined as “the placement of physical features, activities, and people in such a way as to maximize visibility and foster positive social interaction” (Wikipedia, 2022). This is most easily understood through Jane Jacobs idea of “eyes on the street” and creates safer communities where people are proud to maintain public property and harmonious relationships with each other.

Our project will result in more eyes on the street because people will be tending their beds, harvesting and learning. The beds and seed libraries will bring together diverse peoples with signage that explicitly states their public nature and equips people with the knowledge for successful harvesting and care.

(3) Aesthetic Beauty

Garden and flower beds enhance the beauty of a neighbourhood block when properly maintained. Finishes such as wood mulch between the plants not only contribute to aesthetic beauty but also serve ecological functions such as reducing evapotranspiration by covering the soil and minimizing water demands.

The People

With nearly three years of farming experience and a previous position as the Garden Skills Coordinator at The Alex Community Food Centre, I plan to act as Project Coordinator. Given the collaborative nature of this project, the idea has been discussed with several other homeowners on our block who have volunteered to host gardens.

To date, we can accommodate 4 garden beds, which is a great start. Additionally, a number of dwellings on the street are condos & apartments whose residents may wish to participate. We hope to gain momentum and inspire additional hosts as the project gets underway. If you hope to participate in the future, drop us a line!

Finishing Remarks

We believe that the time is right to transition from grass to gardens. Not only can we create regenerative urban ecosystems, but we can also contribute to food sovereignty, community cohesion, and aesthetic beauty.

We want to thank you for your time and consideration,

Josh & Erika

 

References:

Global News. Curb Appeal: Making a garden between sidewalk and street. Accessed 5 June 2022. https://globalnews.ca/news/1399364/curb-appeal-making-a-garden-between-sidewalk-and-street/

Calgary Herald. 2014. Maximize your growing area. Accessed 5 June 2022. https://calgaryherald.com/life/maximize-your-growing-area

City of Calgary. 2022. Be YardSmart. Accessed 5 June 2022. https://www.calgary.ca/uep/water/water-conservation/lawn-and-garden/water-wise-gardening-and-plants/yardsmart.html?redirect=/yardsmart

Food Secure Canada. 2022. What is Food Sovereignty. Accessed 5 June 2022. https://foodsecurecanada.org/who-we-are/what-food-sovereignty

Wikipedia. 2022. Natural Surveillance. Accessed 5 June 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_surveillance