(Photo: Jen Stange)

By Troy Gillard and Sheldon Spackman

GARDENERS DISAPPOINTED

Red Deer’s Garden Plot Program closed for 2020 due to pandemic

Apr 1, 2020 | 2:20 PM

Red Deerians who make use of a city program to grow their own food won’t be able to do so this year.

The City of Red Deer has closed its Garden Plot Program for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

City officials say the program falls under the same guidelines as other programs that have been closed through June 30 due to the pandemic, and that opening garden plots after then would be too late for this year.

Garden plot user Jen Stange is disappointed with the closure, feeling the program should continue for a couple of reasons.

“People are losing their jobs and their income is going down at this time. The program, it seems like, would be imperative to run because it provides a cheaper source of food for lots of people,” she said.

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“The other main reason I think it needs to run is because if we are all cooped up in our houses to ride this out, it seems like it would be important to continue programs like this that get people outside in a safe way and encourage people to still maintain physical distancing.”

In her experience using garden plots, Stange feels it’d be feasible to ensure physical distancing measures are followed in order to protect other users as well as city staff.

“It’s been pretty rare that we’ve been there cultivating while someone in the lot right next to us is cultivating theirs. But if that occurs two metres of distance could easily be kept,” she noted.

City of Red Deer spokesperson Tara Shand says it’s simply too difficult to ensure people are following social distancing guidelines at community gardens.

“With the density of the city-run gardens and parking areas, there’s difficulty in ensuring gardeners follow the necessary restrictions,” she explained. “This was a difficult decision but one that was absolutely necessary for the City to ensure health and safety of citizens and employees.”

Shand says the fact that multiple families use the same garden plots and share things like gardening tools also factored into the closure decision.

“We did consider and know that it’s an outdoor space, and if all of those other factors weren’t involved that it may have been an option to keep them open. But right now it is not felt that that is an option that’s available to us in the interest of public safety.”

Under the Garden Plot Program, the City of Red Deer prepares and manages plots that residents can register to use for personal gardening. Only those who register are permitted to harvest from these garden plots. The city operates four garden plot locations at Michener Gardens, Piper Creek Gardens, Parkside Gardens and Twin Spruce Gardens.

Anyone who has paid fees to use the garden plots this year will receive either their money back or a credit for future use.

Future updates and opportunities for home gardening will be shared through the Gardening Opportunities page at reddeer.ca.

The City of Red Deer’s food forests and orchards are expected to remain open. However, citizens are reminded to ensure physical (social) distancing when utilizing these spaces.