About Community Gardens
What is a Community Garden?
A community garden is a plot of land where community members collaborate and contribute to a shared garden space with a goal of producing food. Community gardens provide residents the opportunity to engage in a healthy recreational activity, grow nutritious food, build community, learn about sustainability, and beautify open space.
Sustainability
Many community gardens strive to promote sustainable garden practices, including:
- Discouraging the use of pesticides and herbicides,
- Practicing water conservation,
- Employing effective use of composting, and
- Planting native species best suited to the environment.
Community gardens administered by USask are bound to these sustainability principles in their guidelines. Garden co-ordinators take professional steps to engage gardeners in sustainability to help educate participants on the benefits of sustainability in a community garden.
Office of Sustainability Supports
As part of its implementation of the Sustainability Strategy, the Office of Sustainability supports all campus community gardens in any way possible. This includes offering personal expertise, opportunities to network with experienced campus personal, access to funding opportunities, and, in the case of the McEown Community Garden, administrative support.
Beginning with the administration of the McEown Community Garden in Spring 2015, the Office of Sustainability established the position of Community Garden Coordinator. This position is part of the Office's student hiring strategy and aims to integrate passionate and sustainability-driven students into a strong supportive role for community gardens on campus. The Community Garden Coordinator acts as a liaison between the Office of Sustainability and all community gardens around campus, helping the gardens in ways such as:
- Solving gardener disputes
- Addressing facilities or operational problems
- Organizing community-building events
- Facilitating collaboration between different gardens across campus
- Aiding gardening education around campus
If you are a student interested in getting involved with sustainability on campus and have experience in gardening, horticulture, or community organizing, watch for the posting of this position early each year.
McEown Community Garden
Registration for the 2024 McEown Community Garden is now closed. Best wishes to everyone who joined for a prosperous garden season!
Description
The McEown Community Garden is our largest and longest-standing community garden on campus. Having come under the administration of the Office of Sustainability and Consumer Services in 2015, the garden currently serves ~80 gardeners living in the residences at McEown Park, College Quarter, and Grad House.
The garden operates as an allotment garden in that garden parcels are allocated to individuals who cultivate them individually. The Office of Sustainability's Community Garden Co-ordinator supports operational logistics, acts as a liaison for gardeners, and helps to plan events or workshops throughout the season.
Location
The McEown Community Garden is located in McEown Park, located just south of the main campus, along Cumberland Avenue.
Who Can Participate
Residents of Assiniboine Hall, Wollaston Hall, Souris Hall, Seager Wheeler, Graduate House, and College Quarter who are living in residence over the summer months.
Cost
There is no cost to join or participate in the McEown Community Garden. Gardeners may be responsible for providing their own gardening tools depending on availability.
Community Garden Agreement
The McEown Community Garden is a shared space and rules are in place to ensure that gardening is a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone. All gardeners will be expected to read and comply with the McEown Community Garden Agreement.
Community Garden Coordinator
A Community Garden Co-ordinator supports the garden each garden season. She/he will coordinate garden logistics and be a liaison between Residence, the Office of Sustainability, and gardeners. He/she will support gardeners throughout the season by organizing events, assisting in the garden, and providing guidance.
Get Involved
Registration for the McEown Community Garden is available in late April and early May year. The program is open to students living in residence at any of the McEown Park, College Quarter, or Grad House residences. Interested gardeners may apply within the application period (posted on this page early in the year) through our online application form.
Due to large numbers of applicants in previous years, we allot garden slots on a first-come, first-serve basis. Our office and the Community Garden Coordinator will try to accommodate as many gardeners as possible in this process. Successful applicants will be contacted and asked to review and sign the McEown Community Garden Agreement.
Questions, Comments, and Concerns
Please send any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the McEown Community Garden to the Community Garden Coordinator or call (306)966.2200.
USB Community Garden
Description
The University Services Building (USB) Community Garden is located outside the University Services Building. The garden is a source of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs for staff participating in the garden. Planting is a shared process in the springtime, with a co-ordinated planting party. At a harvest party in the fall, employees are invited to help reap the bountiful harvest of the garden to share amongst themselves and to contribute to a communal potluck.
Location
The USB Community Garden is located outside the University Services Building at 110 Maintenance Rd.
Get Involved
Involvement in the USB Community Garden is limited to employees. All employees are invited to help plant the garden at the beginning of the year, take from the garden during the growing season, and participate in the final harvest celebration in the fall.
Horticulture Club Community Garden
Description
The Horticulture Club’s Community Garden is located on 14th Street at the University’s Horticulture Field Lab. This garden is run by the USask Horticulture Club with the support and guidance from faculty advisors (Dr. Kate Congreves and Ms. Jackie Bantle). Students lead all field operations such as planning, seeding, transplanting, maintaining, harvesting, and storing produce. As most of the produce is consumed by students, the club members choose different plants and cultivars each year, growing a wide diversity of vegetables. Some produce is sold annually to cover the cost of inputs, thereby sustaining the club. This community garden is a safe and fun place to learn about horticulture and to put knowledge into practice. All USask students are welcome to join, just contact the Horticulture Club at uofshortclub@gmail.com.
Location
The Horticulture Club Community Garden is located at the university's greenhouses on 14th Street.
College of Agriculture and Bioresources Rooftop Garden
Description
The Horticulture Club’s Rooftop Garden located on the pedway between the Agriculture and the Biology buildings at USask. This garden is a Student-Led Sustainability Initiative, run by the Horticulture Club under the support and guidance from faculty advisors (Dr. Kate Congreves and Ms. Jackie Bantle). The rooftop garden provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and to implement horticultural knowledge and production. Students manage all daily operations, and each year it looks different J. Students have sold produce to the campus community, supplied food to the Marquis Culinary Centre, and provided food to volunteers and students in need. The project provides students with hands-on experience in urban agriculture and creates action and awareness for several sustainability development goals. All USask students are welcome to join, just contact the Horticulture Club at uofshortclub@gmail.com.
Location
The College of Agriculture and Bioresources Rooftop Garden located on a low roof of the Agriculture Building. It can be seen when passing through the walkway from W.P. Thompson to Agriculture.
Get Involved
The College of Agriculture and Bioresoures Rooftop Garden is not open to gardener registration due to its sensitive location and academic purposes.
Resources
All gardeners will be expected to read and comply with the above rules to participate in the McEown Park Community Garden.
All students living in the residence community should be familiar with the policies of the U of S Residences.