Rabbits, Geese, and Bears...

So maybe our garden won't be facing Bears, but there will definitely be some challenges involved in securing our gardens from unwanted intruders. Initially the easy solution seemed to be to build a nice fence. No rabbits, no dogs, no problem...oh but geese fly and love your leafy greens..and other birds love raspberries just as much as some of our gardeners...and the thousands of dollars for a fence. Ouch!!! Too much money (which also ruled out the retractable glass roof and invisible force field) and not totally effective either. To date we have had some very interesting options, but so far the most likely solutions seem to be: building some windmill type structures to scare away the critters, and using raised beds for planting to deter the other critters that like to munch on your veggies and deposit their...leftovers.

Stay tuned as Joanne is checking into some ways to fend off the Geese in particular, and I may be starting a rabbit hunting party (just kidding, even though they eat half my garden every year and I've already lost half a bush this spring, I still love them in our neighborhood).

A Garden Vision

Thanks to Elizabeth and Joanne the varying thoughts of our visioning process have been consolidated. After everyone's two cents have been added, it's very exciting to see what the foundation of our community garden is. The Northern Hills Community Garden will bring together neighbors providing a community social gathering place that will be peaceful and aesthetically pleasing. The Garden will:

• Promote a sense of community; based on a sense of shared responsibility and teamwork.
• Provide a source of locally grown organic food to various users and user groups.
• Promote education on organic gardening methods, food, flowers, trees, and shrubs.
• Be a place to learn, build fellowship among neighbors, and celebrate accomplishments.

Plans for the "Molar"

The planning continues for the "Molar", a nickname that Susan created for the plot of land in Harvest Hills that the garden will be located on, a name she and many others are hoping won't stick. If you look at the aerial view pictures below you'll understand why the name.

We have been very fortunate to have the assistance of the Calgary Horticultural Society and their Community Garden Resource Network in our planning endeavors; Gael in specific has been a tremendous help. Also through their help we were able to connect with Dirk Jan (a man experienced in all aspects of agriculture) who has helped us imagine what a community garden could look like. Below are some of his ideas for a potential layout. Currently we are looking at a plan that is some variation of Plan D. If you like one of the options please make a comment, or feel free to offer other options.

Let the gardening begin...almost

At some point in time across the past few months members of the Northern Hills Community Association and Harvest Hills Gardening Group crossed paths with respect to creating a Community Garden. If you do not live in Harvest Hills, please do not let the name of the group scare you away, although it appears that our first garden will be implemented in Harvest Hills, it would be great to see this same initiative in every Northern Hills Community Association neighborhood (Harvest Hills, Country Hills, Coventry Hills, Panorama). The intent is to start with one garden this year and then use the experience, knowledge and resources gained from the first to help with others.

The initial stages of the Community Garden will involve a lot of planning, communication, building, and patience. If it sounds like something you are interested in please contact one of the following people:

Construction being led by Deanna Stangness (contact stangness@shaw.ca)

a. This is the largest and most complex piece and will include building the garden beds, securing soil, water hookup, as well as small equipment such as hoses and potentially a shed

Communication being led by Chris Roy (contact cmroy@yahoo.com)

a. This includes engagement of neighbours, school, church and other interested and potentially concerned groups

b. This group will be responsible for updating the garden blog and Northern Hills monthly newsletter

c. Garden signs

d. Organizing educational sessions and communicating safety guidelines

Administration being led by Joanne Davenport (contact jdavenport@purolator.com)

a. This includes gathering a user list, creating the gardener user agreement, assigning plots, collecting user fees and maintaining a waiting list