The Michigan Street Community Garden was created in 1999 when LifeCycles, the JBCP and interested community members approached the British Columbia Buildings Corporation (BCBC) about constructing a community garden on a vacant greenspace near the NE corner of Menzies and Michigan streets. BCBC, along with the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, generously supported this initiative and entered into a 5-year lease agreement with the Community Garden Collective.

Construction of the Garden was completed in just 3 months, and with an original budget of only $500, the community built 20 raised garden plots, a tool shed (cob house), fence, compost bins, waterwise irrigation, and a communal garden area. Covering approximately 5,000 square feet, and comprised of a mix of individual (75%) and community (25%) allotment plots, the Garden contains more than 60 varieties of fruits and vegetables.

Designed specifically to grow food for distribution within the local community, the 20 individual plots, averaging 4 x 16 feet, are leased on an annual basis, with all gardeners helping to grow and maintain the community plots.
During the growing season, 5 or 6 large trays of fruit, vegetables, herbs and decorative flowers are taken weekly to the JBCP where the food is prepared and either served on-site or distributed to those in need through the James Bay Food Cupboard.

Bordering an existing parking lot, the Garden was built with the understanding that the land could eventually be utilized for further development of the Legislature's South Block under the Victoria Accord Agreement. Connie McCann, Constituency Assistant to MLA Carole James, characterizes this as a "zoning issue." At present, the Garden is zoned as part of the Comprehensive Development Zone (CD-2), and sub-zoned as the Legislative Precinct Comprehensive — LP-2B, which permits multiple uses including commercial-residential buildings and surface parking. Unfortunately, the 5-year lease has expired and is unlikely to be renewed as the successor to BCBC, Accommodation and Real Estate Services (ARES), a branch of the Ministry of Labour and Citizens' Services, expects to pursue other land use options.

In a 2006 Council meeting, the City of Victoria voted to renew the Legislative Precinct Master Development Agreement (MDA) for 4 years beyond June 3, 2006. According to Brian Sikstrom, Senior Planner with the City of Victoria, "the next steps haven't been discussed with the Province yet, and will likely involve reviewing the existing agreement and preparing an updated one." Julius Maslovat, one of the community gardeners, recently expressed that the existing MDA does "not speak specifically to the future of the Michigan Street site" and that a revised MDA is needed to provide a framework for future community planning and rezoning initiatives between the Province and the City of Victoria.

Other cities such as Montreal and Seattle can boast as many as 100 Community Gardens, yet in our "Garden City" we are hard-pressed to protect the handful that we have. In a policy document released September 2005, the City of Victoria pledges to "maintain existing community gardens and protect local food production." The City also recognized the many benefits of community gardens that include increasing the amount of greenspace, the building of communities by fostering interaction and sharing, educational opportunities, and the assistance to low-income people.

Want to add something? Did I make a mistake? Join the discussion of this topic in the JamesBay.org Forum

Except where otherwise noted, this content is licensed under a Creative Commons License.