Toronto Seedy Saturdays 2023

We’re back in person!

  • Buy and trade heirloom and open-pollinated seeds
  • Learn hands-on gardening tips in workshops and demonstrations
  • Fun activities for kids
  • Connect with other gardeners in your neighbourhood
  • Great opportunities for seed vendors and gardening organizations!

Find Toronto events, seed vendors and gardening resources at http://seedysaturdaytoronto.ca/

Victoria Park and Danforth
Saturday, March 4, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Access Alliance, 3079 Danforth Ave.

Evergreen Brickworks
Saturday, March 4, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
TD Future City Centre, 550 Bayview Ave.

Regent Park
Wednesday, March 8th ,10:00 am-12:00 pm
Fred Victor, 40 Oak St.

Parkdale
Saturday, March 18, 2023 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Parkdale Public Library, 1303 Queen St. West

Scarborough Seedy Saturday and Green Fair
Saturday, March 25, 11 am – 4 pm
St, John Newman Catholic High School,100 Brimley Road South

For information on seed saving and trading as well as events across Canada, see www.seeds.ca

 

Urban HensTO

The Urban HensTO pilot project is coming back to Council in April 2023

Sign the hens petition:
https://www.change.org/p/toronto-city-council-extend-toronto-s-urban-hen-pilot-project-to-all-25-wards

Contact your councillor:

https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/council/members-of-council/

Email, phone or write a letter – you don’t need to make elaborate arguments, just let them know you support urban hens and would like to see them in your neighbourhood!

For more information about urban hens, see http://torontourbangrowers.org/news/keep-on-clucking-hens-again

Information on Urban HensTO is available on the city’s website

 

Toronto Urban Agriculture Week

Celebrating Toronto-grown food and the people who grow it!

See highlights from last year’s event at https://uaweekto.wordpress.com/

Featuring:
  • Nine days of events across the city, including workshops, harvest celebrations, garden tours and open houses
  • Best in GrowTO city-wide urban-style agriculture competition

Save the dates for 2023: September 16-24

Enter the Best in GrowTO Contest!

Best in GrowTO Contest 2022

Enter your best zucchini, pollinator garden or funniest vegetable in the Best in GrowTO urban-style agriculture competition.

With 9 categories there are many chances to take home a prize ribbon! You can also vote for your favourites in the People’s Choice Awards.

Deadline for contest entries is Thursday, September 8 at 5:00 pm.

Another exciting event from Toronto Urban Agriculture Week. https://uaweekto.wordpress.com/ 

 

Toronto Seedy Saturday Launch Event

Kick off Toronto Seedy Saturday on February 26

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Isaac Crosby – EARTH HELPING: Stories of Afro-Indigenous survival and teachings on urban gardening

PANEL DISCUSSION AND Q&A
“Grow Where You Are Planted” Hear tips on getting started from an expert panel

UPCOMING SEEDY SATURDAY ACTIVITIES
Find out about more exciting webinars, Q&A sessions and local seed exchanges during Seedy Saturday week!

10:00am Welcome
10:30am Keynote speaker
12:30 Panel discussion and Q&A
1:45 Wrap up and what’s coming next


TSS feb 26 panel

Register at www.seedysaturday.ca/toronto

Hosted by Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services

Keep community gardens open

Due to measures to control the COVID-19 virus, the Province of Ontario has declared that community gardens are a recreational service and will be closed. See announcement here.

Actions:

Tell the province today that community food gardens are an essential service!

  1. You can sign on to the Open Letter from Sustain Ontario by clicking here.
  1. You can copy and personalize the following letter and send it directly to Premier Doug Ford and your local MPP. Find MPP contact info at

https://www.ola.org/en/members/current

To Premier Doug Ford and all Members of Provincial Parliament in Ontario:

Everyone is working hard in these difficult times. We understand the need to maintain physical distancing due to COVID-19 and we are working with our communities to ensure people follow public health guidelines. However, we believe that the March 30 announcement that adds community gardens to the list of closures for recreational activities is an oversight and unnecessary. Growing food in community gardens is not a recreational activity, it’s an essential service and we ask that it be included in the list of essential food services in Ontario.

Each year, tens of thousands of households rely on community gardens to produce food for their families. In Canada 28.4% of Black households face food insecurity, and the rate is higher for Indigenous people.  Since the onset of COVID-19, there has been a marked increase in demand for food gardens across Ontario as people become concerned about income loss and food shortages. People throughout the province have already invested in their seeds, and started seedlings, for this growing season.

This model of community food production is seen as integral to the COVID-19 response in countries throughout the world, particularly as food prices increase and global food supplies are increasingly uncertain. Food banks also receive literally tonnes of much needed fresh food from local community gardening efforts in communities all around Ontario.

Members of the Ontario Community Growing Network (OCGN) are working with public health departments right now to develop rigorous COVID-19 safety protocols to be implemented in community gardens. Members of the public need to hear public health messages repeated by trusted, credible sources many times to keep following safe practices for the long duration of the COVID-19 response. Neighbourhood-based agencies involved in community gardens are partners in communicating and ensuring maximum compliance with critical public health messages.

Please support people who need safe access to healthy food by taking immediate action to clarify that community gardening is an essential food service in Ontario.

 

Toronto

The City of Toronto has announced that all City-operated allotment gardens and community gardens in City parks will be closed until further notice. Click here for  the press release, see the March 25 item.

If you want to send a message to the City to say that gardens can protect public safety without jeopardizing the health of low income and marginalized gardeners, you can use a petition drafted by Toronto Urban Growers and other urban ag organizations and activists.

You can:

  1. Sign the petition on change.org http://chng.it/62dFRL2FPlease be aware that money collected by Change.org does not go to TUG or other Toronto organizations. Change.org is a private for-profit company.
  1. Fill out the petition through a TUG Google form https://forms.gle/9z66EewNnA5Tf4o86
  1. Adapt the petition for a personal message to your councillor and Mayor John Tory. Download a PDF fileor copy the text below.

Find your councillor here: https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/council/members-of-council/

Call to the City of Toronto: 

Keep Community and Allotment Gardens Open

To: Toronto City Council and City of Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division

As community gardeners and supporters of growing food in the city, we applaud the City of Toronto’s position that physical distancing is a top priority to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

In keeping with the spirit of protecting the health of all Toronto residents, we request that the City remove restrictions on community and allotment gardens on or before May 1, 2020 with the following stipulations:

  • Gardens will only be open to gardeners, staff assigned to gardens and official garden volunteers. Gardens will be closed to the public and no gatherings will be permitted until physical distancing measures are lifted
  • Gardens will adopt the Best Practices for COVID-19 in Community and Allotment Gardens in Toronto and develop site-specific plans to maintain physical distancing and sanitary procedures. Plans will be posted at garden sites and shared with all gardeners.

Rationale

Gardens have the capacity to maintain the physical distancing and hygiene practices necessary to combat the spread of COVID-19. They can also be powerful channels for educating the public about containment measures.

Community and allotment gardens are not merely recreation sites, they are important ways for low income and marginalized people (particularly Black, Indigenous and people of colour) to grow the food they need to stay healthy. When 28.4% of Black households face food insecurity compared to 10% of White households[1], the City must support any effort to improve food access for Black communities, including increasing garden spaces available to Black and Indigenous people.

The Province of Ontario recognized food production as an essential service in its COVID-19 emergency declaration. Both food businesses and non-profit organizations responsible for providing food are exempt from closure.

Public safety can be protected better by addressing breaches of physical distancing protocols when they occur, rather than closing down facilities that are essential services for many people and that can and do demonstrate good practices.

Other large cities, such as New York[2], have implemented these protocols, recognizing the importance of community gardens and the ability to maintain public safety.

The City must ensure that its efforts to protect citizens do not negatively impact people living on low incomes and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of colour) communities. We can’t afford to deepen the divisions in our society, particularly during a public health crisis.

 

 

[1] https://foodshare.net/custom/uploads/2019/11/PROOF_factsheet_press_FINAL.6.pdf

[2] https://greenthumb.nycgovparks.org/news.html?news_id=468

Pollinator Garden Funding

PollinateTO – Community Grants

Update for 2020 – a new round of grants will be open in January.

Want to create pollinator habitat in your neighbourhood? Grants of up to $5,000 are available.

Program Overview

Through its new PollinateTO grants program, the City will fund pollinator habitat creation projects that educate and engage the community.

Up to $5,000 per project is available.

Are you interested in gardening and protecting pollinators? Would you like to:
• Create pollinator gardens or rain gardens in your neighbourhood or at your school?
• Enhance or expand existing gardens with native pollinator-friendly plants?

If you answered yes to any of the above, please apply to PollinateTO for funding to support your idea!

Who Can Apply

This program is open to all not-for-profit resident and community groups located in the city of Toronto. To be eligible for funding, a group must have at least three Toronto residents that live in separate households.

Funding is not available for individuals or businesses.

Project Requirements

The program support projects that create pollinator habitat in Toronto. Projects must also educate and engage the community.

Projects must:

be physically located in the city of Toronto
directly result in the creation of pollinator habitat
include an educational component to inform others about pollinator stewardship
involve the community in some way
be visible to the community
commence within a reasonable time after funding is approved
be completed within one year of the date funding is approved
acknowledge the financial assistance provided by the City of Toronto

Eligible Projects

Examples of eligible projects include:

community-led pollinator gardens or rain gardens on private or public land
neighbourhood-based habitat projects, such as the creation of multiple pollinator gardens on the same street that together create a pollinator pathway/habitat corridor
pollinator gardens or rain gardens on school grounds

Each habitat creation project must include an educational component (e.g. signage, plant labels, etc) and involve the community (planting days, garden tours, etc).

More details at https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/water-environment/environmental-grants-incentives-2/pollinateto-community-grants/

Seedy Saturdays 2020

Some events may be cancelled due to coronavirus measures. Please confirm with organizers before going to events.

Seedy Saturdays are coming!

♦ Buy and trade heirloom and open-pollinated seeds
♦ Learn hands-on gardening tips in workshops and demonstrations
♦ Fun activities for kids
♦ Connect with other gardeners in your neighbourhood

Upcoming Dates

Saturday, February 22 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Toronto Botanical Garden – 777 Lawrence Avenue East
https://torontobotanicalgarden.ca/feature/jump-on-spring/

Saturday, February 29 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Parkdale Seedy Saturday and Green Fair
Parkdale Library, 1303 Queen St W
www.greenestcity.ca or http://torontourbangrowers.org/events/parkdale-seedy-saturday-and-green-fair

Saturday, March 21 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Cancelled
Scadding Court Community Centre – 707 Dundas St West
katie@scaddingcourt.org 416 591 7384 ext. 402
https://www.facebook.com/events/2200446950250077/

Saturday, March 28 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Cancelled
Scarborough Seedy Saturday and Green Fair
100 Brimley Rd South (south of Kingston Rd)
https://www.facebook.com/SSSGFair/

Sunday, March 29 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Cancelled
Evergreen Grows
Evergreen Brick Works – 550 Bayview Ave.
https://www.evergreen.ca

Stay tuned for more details and events!

For more events across Canada, see www.seeds.ca

New Book Growing Without a Garden: 101 Plants

You too can eat off your balcony! …patio, terrace or rooftop. 
 
From the author of An Illustrated Guide to Growing Food On Your Balcony, comes a new illustrated book featuring one hundred and one edible and medicinal crops for containers, rooftops and small spaces.  
 
Fans of Lara’s previous book know that she produces beautiful, easy-to-use and practical guides that inspire people to successfully grow in new spaces. 
 
A Kickstarter campaign is helping to offset costs of printing and making this guide available to more gardeners. Advance bulk purchases are also available.
 
See some previews at the Kickstarter site!

Toronto Pollinator Protection Strategy

bee bannerConserving and properly managing Toronto’s diverse pollinator community is a key component of a sustainable, resilient, and biodiverse city. As pollinators, bees provide an invaluable service to the ecosystem. Without bees, much of the food we eat and the natural landscapes we enjoy would not exist. (more…)

A Tribute to Dagmar Baur

While Dagmar passed away in April 2010, her friends celebrated her life and contributions to the community garden movement recently with the installation of a memorial plaque in the Bain Co-op courtyard. Some people you don’t forget!

Photo by Don Richardson

Photo by Don Richardson

Dagmar had been a member of the Toronto Community Garden Network (TCGN) for many years, but her love of gardening and nature went way back before the beginning of the TCGN.

Across the City of Toronto she had been involved in caring for endangered native plant species and received an award from the North American Native Plants Society in 2007.

Please read her poem that she wrote about High Park:

High Park is a sacred Place

There is an old Celtic saying
that heaven and earth are only three feet apart,
but in “thin places” that distance is even smaller;
the centuries drop away
and raise the veil separating us from ancient splendour.
A thin place requires us to step from one world to another.

It is no wonder
that thin places are most often associated with wild landscapes.
High Park has many thin places where there is beauty below us,
beauty above us and beauty all around.

We sense the sacred
in a blue heron taking flight from Grenadier pond;
we find it in the fragrance of the Sweet Fern
and the Sassafrass Grove below West Road;

it’s in the knowledge
of a million year old glacial river coursing beneath us
or in the fragile beauty of a Blue Hare-bell
and Upright White Morning Glory at the feet of ancient Oaks
that lift our eyes to the sky.

Being in High Park is a way of coming home to ourselves.

Dagmar Baur
September 29, 2009

A tribute page has been set up at dagi.muchloved.com. You are welcome to leave messages, poems, stories and photos to share.