Stay Tuned! OPIRG McMaster is currently in the planning stages for a community garden which will be bringing fresh produce and beautiful urban green space to you soon. Here’s a bit about the project so far!
Our vision:
Our vision is that McMaster’s campus will have a thriving garden space where folks in need of fresh produce can access it, and all members of the McMaster community can enjoy the therapeutic benefits of gardening as well as the beauty of an urban garden.
Our mission:
Our mission is to help reduce barriers to access of healthy food for members of the McMaster community by increasing availability of low or no cost produce through the garden, as well as to provide all members of the McMaster community with a space to learn about and enjoy the therapeutic benefits of gardening.
About us: This budding project was started in Spring 2021. For the first year, the garden will be located within the previous McMaster Teaching and Learning Community Garden beside GSB, and may expand in coming years!
The primary focus of this garden will be helping to add more fresh produce to a student diet often lacking in produce and variety, as well as allowing more people to enjoy the social and therapeutic benefits of gardening. We will consist of communal garden plots where volunteer community members will share in all responsibilities for tending to the garden, and put together low or no cost produce boxes to be distributed to students, volunteers or not, on the basis of need. To determine this, we plan to develop a request form, in which anyone who says they are in need of access to produce will be accepted. If we receive more requests than we can accommodate, we will likely resort to first-come first-serve. Some amount of a harvest will also be taken home by each volunteer so that everyone can enjoy the fruits of their labour.
As we navigate our pilot year, our capacity to take on volunteers is reduced, but our plan is for this garden to eventually provide ample volunteer opportunities so that everyone who wants to get involved with community gardening is able to, and more members of the McMaster community can foster a greater connection with food production and gardening in general, while working toward our vision of reducing barriers to access of fresh produce.
Our starting space:
Our Team: Our 2020-2021 planning committee is a team of 7 students and one faculty member.
Justine Becker, Arts & Science Level IV
Angelina Bomberry, Indigenous Studies & Anthropology, Level III
Rena Chen, Chemical Biology Level III
Simran Dhindsa, Life Science Level II
Stevie Garnett, English and Cultural Studies Level IV
Roomana Hukil, International Relations, Ph.D
Dr. Terry McCurdy, School of Nursing
Sydney Potts, Arts & Science Level IV
Contact: communitygarden@opirgmcmaster.org