Comments on The Burd Report: A guest post about the Ecology Garden - just in ti...

Thanks Ben, I will look into that one.

2010-04-24T10:31:08.120-04:00

Thanks Ben, I will look into that one.

I believe that Linda at ST Joesephs, the convent o...

2010-04-22T10:45:12.928-04:00

I believe that Linda at ST Joesephs, the convent on the Lake still organises a thriving community garden, check it out Wally next time you ride at the bottom of Tremaine St.

Deb, were there ever any community gardens set up ...

2010-04-22T09:47:08.143-04:00

Deb, were there ever any community gardens set up in Cobourg where people could grow food for themselves?

Seems that 1% of Cockburn Park, or 1% of Donegan or some other parks coukld be used. There night be an initial cost to set up, but after that users can bring theirn own seeds and supplementary soil.

What could be done to entice residents, for example, Windermere, to set up food gardens on their own turf.

The Co-op where I lived set aside plots for out tenants. As well the nearby park in down downtown Toronto had a fenced off section where people could grow. It was well used -- never abused.

Good questions Deb.

I have no problem with the Ecology Garden or Earth...

2010-04-21T13:26:24.543-04:00

I have no problem with the Ecology Garden or Earth Day. Any initiative that reminds us to respect and protect our planet is worthwhile. Good stuff, and good for our Poet to champion it.

What I wish is that Cobourg Council would put some cash into another worthwhile project, that of community gardens so people without yard space can grow some vegetables.

The Health Unit used to be involved in setting these up but appear to have dropped it from their activities in recent years.

It seems regrettably predictable that our local visionaries prefer something that just looks good rather than something that tastes good and helps people out.

It's a shame that the folks who could use community gardens are so beaten down they can't get seem to organize together to make things like this happen. And no helping agency wants to help them do it since their managers prefer their "clients" to be quiet, compliant, and grateful for the crumbs thrown their way.

"I say, let a thousand gardens flourish, n...

2010-04-20T16:21:50.167-04:00
"I say, let a thousand gardens flourish, not just one!"

Go ahead Anonymous, start some more Ecology Gardens around town. No one is standing in your way. Become a Garden Guerilla, plant a bush in a cloverleaf at 2am. Please keep us informed of your activism.

Wally--That's a wonderful paean to our ecology...

2010-04-20T14:34:18.657-04:00
Wally--That's a wonderful paean to our ecology garden and its promoters, but I can't help but express some skepticism as to its ultimate effect.

Sure, we've got a nice little plot of land full of exotic and less than exotic flowers/weeds etc., although created at considerable public expense (if it's ecological why does it require so much maintenance?). Sure it's a wonderful place for feel-good ceremonies in our wonderful feelgood town. But it's sort of like an ecological zoo where nature is safely caged up instead of being allowed to freely roam.
What about the other 99% of public land in Cobourg, in large part neglected? For example, town boulevards asphalted over to park cars on (e.g. University Avenue) or strewn with garbage (e.g. Monroe Street) Town parks without a single flowering shrub, Cobourg beach planted with inappropriate tree species instead of native black willows, our scruffy Highway 401 interchanges whose original beautification in the early 1960's has become sadly neglected. By focussing so much energy on the little sacred acreage of the Ecology Garden it seems to me we are deluding ourselves that we have entered some higher consciousness while soothingly overlooking our failure to make the whole Town of Cobourg ecologically sound. I say, let a thousand gardens flourish, not just one!