Jubilee Community Gardens

In Centennial Park, Duncan- off Third St.

The City provides the water free of charge as part of our Food Security Action Plan. Originally the bed walls were made of the sod it took to uncover the dirt. Eventually, lumber yards were contacted, and the walls were made of plank seconds and waste wood. The dirt was donated by a company that made compost and potting soil..some of it still had quite a few rocks in it, but it was for free so who cares??

Seeds and starter plants were initially donated by local nurseries and gardeners. These types of efforts get a lot of local public support, as a large section of the produce from the gardens is donated to the food bank and to the women's shelter.

The shed was donated as well by a local lumber yard and volunteers put it together. They work with kids from the local school who pair up with old gardeners who can mentor them...this way the gardens get very little vandalism, since the kids are involved from the beginning.

they have other programs there, too for elderly gardeners, they are getting some raised beds for people in wheel chairs as well.

When they first started, they had problems with cut worms in the soil, and vandals in the autumn. However with soil ammendments over the years, this has pretty much disappeared and with the school programs and early harvesting of the most tempting vegetables..ie. tomatoes and pumpkins, the vandalism is minimal. Sometimes homeless people will help them selves, but gradually that is changing too, since so much of the food is for public consumption anyway.