Montreal Community Gardening

HARVESTING COMMUNITY:COMMUNITY GARDENING IN MONTRÉAL

a report

Malumir R. Beavis Michael Binetti Derek Nawrot Lily Roll

All Title Page Photos: http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?src=quick&contractUrl=2&assetType=image&phrase=community%20gardens#

“Gardens, scholars say, are the

fi rst sign of commitment to a

community. When people plant corn

they are saying, let’s stay here. And

by their connection to the land, they

are connected to one another.”

- Anne Raver

INTRODUCTION ... 2SANTROPOL ROULANT ... 4

MCGILL UNIVERSITY ... 8ALTERNATIVES ... 12

MONTRÉAL MARKETS ... 16CITY OF MONTRÉAL COMMUNITY .

GARDENING PROGRAM ... 20CONCLUSION ... 24

REFERENCES & INTERVIEW CONTACTS ... 26

table of contentstable of contentsPhoto: http://www.santropolroulant.org/

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introductionintroduction

“Agriculture” and “city” are two words often found at opposite sides of the spectrum; two worlds that in the minds of most never

interact. As more of the world’s population becomes urban, and in many countries predominantly urban, there is an increasing disconnect between the food that urban dwellers eat, and where it orginates. In many cases the food we eat comes from thousands of miles away, arriving in urban neighbourhoods that sometimes are victim to a disconnected population, at-risk youth, or even a lack of greenery. In terms of nature in the city, municipalities often focus on parks, waterfronts, ravines or nature preserves. But what about food? What if a city decided to bring the farm to the city and unite these two parallel uni-verses? What if urban dwellers were to grow more of the food they consume? What if gardens sprouted on the rooftops of downtown buildings? Besides provid-ing fresh food produced closer to home, could urban food gardening have benefi ts that surpass simply pro-viding the next meal? Can community gardens foster a greater sense of community and unite neighbours? Can community gardens foster job growth and help at-risk youth make more productive use of their free time? What about rooftops and the potential they have in turning concrete jungles into gardens in the sky? Can we garden on brownfi elds? This group has delved into the world of commu-nity gardening in a city well known for the practice:

Photo: Michael Binetti

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introduction

Montréal, Quebec. From contacts heavily involved in the city that is home to one of North America’s most extensive community gardening programs and in-novative programs such as Santropol Roulant, which brings meals-on-wheels to residents with food grown in the city, this report seeks to answer the aforemen-tioned questions regarding community gardening.

We have conducted a number of interviews which include Martin Dorais from the City of Montréal’s Community Garden program, Tim Murphy from Santropol Roulant, Professor Vikram Bhatt from Mc-Gill University and the “Making the Edible Landscape” project, Isabelle Letourneau from Les Marches Publics de Montréal, and Ismael Hautecoeur from Alterna-tives’ “Rooftop Gardens Project”.

Photo: Lily Roll

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santropol roulant

Santropol Roulant is a community organiza-tion that is founded and run primarily by youth volunteers. Although they off er other social

services, the majority of their work is built on food, which they use to “break social and economic isola-tion between the generations and to strengthen and nourish [the] local community” (Santropol Roulant, 2009). Since 1995, they have delivered over 380,000 meals to seniors and those in need of assistance, and have created over 275 jobs and internships for youth in the community. In conjunction with Professor Vi-kram Bhatt and McGill University, they run a commu-nity garden of which they use the produce for their ‘meals-on-wheels’ campaign. We spoke with Tim Mur-phy, Green Projects Coordinator, for the report on September 30, 2009, in the Santropol house in Mon-treal’s Plateau District. We discussed community gar-dening as well as the Santropol organization. History Santropol Roulant was formed in 1995 by Chris God-sall, 25, and Keith Fitzpatrick, 27, at a diffi cult time in Montréal’s history. The city was characterized by the pending referendum, high youth unemployment, and the downloading of health care services from the federal government to the provincial government, and then the community. As many youth fl ed the city, Godsall and Fitzpatrick came up with the idea of a ‘meals-on-wheels’ service in order to access youth grant money to create jobs and meaningful employ-ment. They started the delivery program with bikes and the community resources available in the Pla-

teau neighbourhood. Since then, they have evolved to opening a physical space for Santropol and have branched into a number of community programs. These include the Rooftop Garden project with Mc-Gill, kitchen workshops, bicycle workshops, and a second-hand community clothes exchange. Their lat-est achievement has been the purchase of their own location which will allow them more space, a gar-den on-site, and greater accessibility for community members. Level of Action Santropol is a grassroots, membership-based organi-zation. A member consists of anyone, who in the past year has: a) received meals from Santropol; b) made a donation to Santropol; c) volunteered at Santropol; or d) been an employee at Santropol. They are governed by a Board of Directors who is elected at an annual general meeting. Budget In 2008, Santropol received $606,905 in revenues (Santropol Roulant, 2008). This is down slightly from the $655,349 they received in 2007. The majority of the revenue came from foundations and organiza-tions ($287,040) and provincial funding ($107,987). Likewise, their expenses have increased from $620,240 in 2007 to $623,944 in 2008. Their major expenses are salaries, allowances, and social contri-butions which cost $434,202. Thus the organization had a defi cit of $17,039 in 2008. While anticipating

Photo: Lily Roll

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decline in revenue, the organization has focused on strict monitoring of expenditure. Kennedy explained that the organization needs to concentrate on fi nd-ing a diverse funding base. On the Santropol website is a ‘Wish List’ of items the organization requires that community members or other organizations can provide. This includes every-thing from a taxi coupon to help a client with trans-portation to and from an event ($10), to stamps ($25), to a small TV with built-in VCR ($70). Staff profi le Santropol is shaped by the work of their volunteers. Each day, dozens of people volunteer through the various programs. Examples include working at pre-paring the meals, delivering them, and maintaining the garden, which in the summer months includes up to 400 volunteers. Santropol looks to build the confi -dence and skills of the young volunteers while keep-ing their organization innovative and eff ective. Ken-nedy explained that the organization will accept most people, including several ‘at-risk’ youths through a special program. The fairly high turnover rate (volun-teers typically last 3-4 months) is what Kennedy cred-its for the innovative ideas and says they encourage new suggestions. He cites the example of one vol-unteer who suggested they have a street-sale, which later evolved into a second-hand clothing exchange in the building’s basement.

Alliances Santropol partners with a variety of diff erent organi-zations including the following: a) Local Business - À la Carte Express, a local com-mercial food delivery service, has a fundraising event in which they have raised $20,000 over the past two years for the ‘Meals-on-Wheels’ campaign. Montréal Auto prix, a car dealership, has donated a 2001 Chevy Cavalier in order to assist with meal deliveries. b) Non-profi t organizations – Alternatives, which works with international development between Can-ada and the South, has partnered with Santropol on a number of occasions, including that of a rooftop gar-den. Moisson Montréal, the city’s food bank, is one of the main providers of food to Santropol. c) Foundations – The J.W. McConnell Family Founda-tion has supported Santropol from the beginning, and in 2002, provided a major Capacity Building Grant. d) Corporate Philanthropy – Petro Canada has invest-ed and participated in many of Santropol’s activities. One of the challenges Kennedy said the organiza-tion has is that of how to better engage corporations while working to not sacrifi ce the integrity of the or-ganization.

Photo: http://www.santropolroulant.org/ Photo: http://www.santropolroulant.org/

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Vision/Aims/Values The rationale of Santropol is to use food as a vehi-cle to break social and economic isolation between generations and to strengthen and nourish the local community. They engage a diversity of people to take an active role in their communities through initiatives that address the health and food security needs of se-niors and Montréalers living with a loss of autonomy. There are a number of reasons behind the rationale, especially that of the ‘Meals-on-Wheels’ program. Firstly, there is a rapidly growing senior population in Canada. In Montréal, the proportion of the popula-tion over 65 is higher (15%) than in the rest of Quebec (12%) and Canada (12%) (Richard, 2000). Furthermore, more seniors live alone in Montréal (39.3%) than in the rest of Quebec (30%) and Canada (29%), and more seniors live below the poverty line in Montréal (36%) than in the rest of Quebec (28%) and Canada (19%) (2000). Public nursing homes in the Montréal area are currently full. The waiting period for clients in need can exceed 2-3 months (CLSC St-Louis de Parc, 2000). In terms of hunger, from 1989-2000, the use of food banks in Canada has doubled (Wilson & Steinman, 2000). This use is especially pronounced among se-niors. In 2000, some 26% of seniors visited the food bank more than once a month, and those reporting instances of experiencing weekly hunger has in-creased from 26% in 1995 to 31% in 2000 and from 34% to 47% for those experiencing monthly hunger.

The Santropol solution is the following: • Through its meal delivery service, Santropol Rou-

lant delivers nutritious, balanced and hot meals 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year.

• It allows seniors living with a loss of autonomy to remain independence, living in the comfort and dignity of their own homes.

• The cost of each meal is $3.50, much less than the cost of hospitalization. This preventative health measure has saved taxpayers an estimated 2.4 million dollars over the past fi ve years.

• Activities held by the Santropol Intergenerational Centre bring seniors outside their homes for ed-ucational and social activities with other seniors and with young people. This breaks the cycle of isolation and encourages new and meaningful friendships between generations.

Daily http://www.santropolroulant.org/images/website2006/2006/kitchen2.jpg delivery of meals by young volunteers serves to break the isolation of housebound seniors, signifi cantly improving their moral and psychological health. Activities & Discussion from the Interview The Rooftop Garden project Santropol organizes with McGill and Alternatives is the cornerstone of their or-ganization. The project commenced by utilizing Al-ternatives’ experience in the fi eld of international ag-riculture, McGill’s expertise in academic research and design, and Santropol’s strong connection with the community. Kennedy said Santropol, with the help of

santropol roulantPhoto: http://www.santropolroulant.org/

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volunteers, now almost exclusively runs the garden, while Alternatives and McGill use it to support urban agriculture. “It’s a good example of how development should work,” said Kennedy. Kennedy was also quick to admit that one of the reasons the project has sta-bilized from the fi rst initial collaboration is because grant money has slowly dried up. Kennedy estimated that the garden provides approx-imately 1/3 of the meal content for the ‘Meals-on-Wheels’ program. With demand increasing, it is hoped that the new site Santropol will move into next year will allow the organization to expand their food pro-duction by 50%. They are planning a rook-top garden that will allow them to harvest produce year-round. They will be able to sell any excess food at Montréal’s local markets. With regard to the ‘Meals-on-wheels’ program, the meals are mostly organic, although it is diffi cult to go 100% organic because of the time it takes for the food prices to adjust. Recipients of the program pay $3.50 a meal, although that does not cover the full cost of the meal. There are 80-90 meals served a day and all meals include either fi sh, meat, or poultry. The meals are planned one year in advance and the recipient receives a calendar informing them of the meals.

For example, the meal for September 29, 2009 was a Chef’s salad with chicken and cheese, while for Sep-tember 30, it was chicken cacciatore. The only days of the week food is not delivered are Thursdays and Sundays. Kennedy explained that Santropol used to deliver on Thursdays, but the organization members found themselves with no time to reconnect. They now take this time to meet and ensure they are ‘on the same page.’ Achievements Santropol has been featured in a number of national and international media reports. They have received a number of awards for their work. Some of the most prestigious include: a) the Centraide Agnes C. Higgins award in 2006 for excellence in leadership in a com-munity organization; b) the Hommage Bénévolat-Québec awarded by the government of Quebec in 2005 to acknowledge the exceptional and precious contributions of volunteers and community organi-zations; and c) the Arthur Kroeger College Award for Citizenship and Community Aff airs in 2005 to rec-ognize leaders and innovators in public aff airs who, by their achievements, have made Canadians more informed, their institutions more eff ective, and their country a better place to live.

Photo: http://www.santropolroulant.org/

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mcgill university

‘Making the Edible Landscape’ was a report published by McGill University 2003 con-cerning the growth of food in an urban

landscape and neighbourhood impacts. ‘Edible Land-scapes’ refers to the visual, physical, and social im-pacts of the production of food in urban areas (McGill, 2003). It brings together information and provides lessons on the physical design, economic, technical, managerial, and social dimensions of urban agricul-ture in Montréal. The report is broken down into three sections which include a case study of urban agricul-ture in Montréal, examples from around the world, and best-practice cases. The report laid the frame-work for a project entitled ‘The Edible Campus,’ which is a 120 square meter container garden on the cam-pus of McGill, and is supported in co-operation with Alternatives and Santropol Roulant. We spoke with Professor Vikram Bhatt, lead professor of the report and Faculty of Urban Planning member, on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 in his offi ce at McGill University. We discussed the report as well as the current situa-tion of community gardening in Montréal. History The ‘Making the Edible Landscapes’ report was the fi -nal product of a 2002-2003 class in the McGill School of Architecture Minimal Cost Housing Group (MCHG). The MCHG is a research unit with a focus on interna-tional issues, especially that of human settlement in developing world nations. In looking at urban agri-culture, students attempted to address a number of open-ended questions, including the following:

Photo: Lily Roll

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a) What are the land use and planning implications of this activity in residential areas?b) Who grows what where and why?c) Can the sector compete with traditional agricul-ture?d) If not, does it have a special social, economic, or developmental role?e) What are the motivations of urban gardeners?f ) What can the city do to promote urban gardens? The project was completed in two stages. First, the students conducted a background survey of litera-ture regarding urban agricultural studies throughout North America and the world, and then an in-depth case study of Montréal. Some of the international examples they looked at were Africa-Kampala; and Caribbean-Havana, Port-of-Spain. The majority of our interview questions dealt with Montréal. Level of Action This project was completed exclusively by the MCHG. Budget The funding for this project came from a grant from the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa, McGill’s MCHG, and the Urban Management Program of the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT). Part of the funding will go to coordinate research being undertaken in three cities:

Colombo, Sri Lanka; Kampala, Uganda; and Rosario, Argentina.

The community gardens researched in the study fell under the City of Montréal Community Gardens program. More information on the level of action in-volved in these gardens is available on the organiza-tion profi le of the City of Montréal Community Gar-dens. Staff profi le The MCGH team consisted of two editors, a project team of seven students, a teaching assistant, and Vi-kram Bhatt. One of the main challenges in conducting the project was cultural. The team of students con-sisted of fi ve Chinese nationals, one Indian, and one Norwegian, while the gardeners interviewed spoke English and French and included recent immigrants predominantly from South-East Asia. Bhatt said that there are sometimes language diffi culties, but they would always understand the demonstration of gar-dening techniques and were always off ered a sam-pling of the produce. Alliances As the research has to be non-biased, there were no alliances involved with municipal or provincial gov-ernments, or with outside sources for this particular project. However, ‘The Edible Campus’ project came

Photo: Edible LandscapePhoto: Edible Landscape

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mcgill university

as the result of a collaboration with two local NGOs: Alternatives and Santropol Roulant. Vision/Aims/Values When attempting to understand urban agriculture, the report provides many more questions than an-swers (McGill, 2003). The initial aim was to provide insight into practices in Montréal, North America, and internationally. Although community gardens have existed historically for quite some time, little research has been conducted into not only the importance of urban agriculture, but also how it has changed the social fabrics of urban areas. Asking questions about the elements of urban design were also considered crucial to the study. The study was fortunate to use the city of Montréal as a palette. There are a number of gardens ranging from private backyard to community (including those run under both the municipality and NGOs). The community gardening program, with close to 7,000 participants, is one of the largest in North America. The initial goal of the report, therefore, was to inform planners, city offi cials, and architects about the po-tential for gardening on under-utilized urban land and to provide best-case scenarios. The aim of the ‘Edible Campus’ is to further explore ways of food production in cities, and to describe how the garden is a model to help ordinary citizens, especially students, to produce their own food and green their neighbourhoods while promoting health-

ier communities. Activities & Discussion from the Interview The fi nal ‘Making the Edible Landscapes’ report shone a light on many valuable lessons for the community. Firstly, the issue of food security is not as relevant to Montréal as some of the developing world cities studied. Having said that, various studies have shown the social and economic gap between citizens in Ca-nadian cities has become increasingly polarized. Al-lowing some of the underprivileged the tools to grow their own foods bridges a number of gaps including healthier eating habits, citizen participation, etc. One of the interesting features of the Montréal gar-dens is the cultural diversity involved. Immigrants, es-pecially from South-East Asian countries (Philippines, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, etc.), have brought their own gardening techniques and incorporated them with Quebecois growing techniques. Bhatt re-minded us that in the 1970s, we did not have as large of a selection of imported foods as today. In looking at the development of North American foods, he said that we have borrowed many more ideas interna-tionally than locally and fused them. As exemplifi ed by the Montréal gardens, gardeners often exchange produce amongst themselves, leading to a larger se-lection on the dinner table. Secondly, especially among the city-sponsored gar-dens, the gardening program promotes local democ-racy amongst community members. Each garden is

Photo: Lily Roll

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the responsibility of the owner and the political sys-tem tries to create as democratic a playing fi eld as possible. Gardeners elect a revolving leader each year to oversee the garden as well as ensure that garden-ers are following the rules and keeping their plots clean. Gardeners must collectively work out the regu-lations and governing structure of their gardens. Thirdly, the gardens have become essential in creat-ing a deeper sense of community in Montréal. The re-port observes that to the poor immigrant, especially amongst those who do not speak the local languages and cannot fi nd a job, plot ownership aff ords social aid, self-esteem, and confi dence. One of the challeng-es the city faces is opening new gardens to satisfy the growing demand. Bhatt said that depending on the neighbourhood, there can be no wait for a garden, or there can be a wait of two to three years. Fourthly is the strengthening of the invisible links be-tween institutions, NGOs, and the community. Bhatt cited the example of an east Montréal parish that allowed community members to use their property for a garden. This is an example of how an institution can remain relevant to the community while attract-ing new members. Also important is the attraction of young people to urban agriculture. Bhatt used the example of the McGill Food Systems Project, which uses student research and community collaboration to improve the food operation on their campus. “We want to fi nd out where our food is coming from. We

want to source our suppliers,” said Bhatt. Looking forward, Bhatt said one of the main challeng-es is learning to think beyond the community gar-dens. He says the goal is not just to produce fresh to-matoes, but to turn around our cities and make them greener and more positive in terms of what they can contribute. Achievements The Edible Campus project was the recipient of the 2008 National Urban Design Award of the Royal Ar-chitectural Institute of Canada, Canadian Institute of Planners, and Canadian Society of Landscape Archi-tects. The MCHG has an active publication program with an international readership, and its publications are available online.

Photo: Edible Landscape Photo: Edible Landscape

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alternatives

Alternatives is an International NGO that infl u-ences policymakers as well as the general pub-lic regarding injustice and the need for equal-

ity in the Global South and across Canada. Run on a membership basis, Alternatives has been creating change throughout the world since 1994. The orga-nization aims to “...strengthen citizen action and re-inforce the contribution of social movements in the construction of sustainable societies,” (Alternatives, 2008). Although Alternatives is comprised of many branches and forms of action , the main focus at their National offi ce in Montréal is the Rooftop Garden Project. We spoke with Ismael Hautecouer, Project Coordinator of the Rooftop Gardens Project and the Coordinator of the National Team in hopes of discuss-ing Alternatives’ role in the gardens project as well as their organization’s achievements since they began. History Alternatives ‘Action and Communication Network for International Development’ was founded as an NGO in 1994. The organization focuses on two specifi c ar-eas. The fi rst is their Youth Internship Programs which “[emphasize]...comprehensive understandings of in-ternational realities, as well as the encouragement of work that advances Alternatives’ message of justice.” (Alternatives, 2002). Interns are sent to international destinations to make Alternatives’ goals a reality in the Global South by implementing similar initiatives that Alternatives has made a success here. The second focus for the organization is its engage-


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ment within Canada. Alternatives is focused on pub-lishing the message of international, national and cultural news through their monthly newspaper circu-lated by members. At the local level, the organization is focused on “...environmental sustainability initia-tives, participatory democracy, out-reach and solidar-ity programs with immigrant communities and the promotion of pro-social policies,” (Alternatives, 2002). They attempt to educate and inform both the general public and policy makers on the importance of hav-ing concern for equality and justice in the South.

Level of Action As previously mentioned, Alternatives is an inter-national NGO. Their success is based on member-ship and their annual General Assembly of Members meetings. Members are individuals who support Al-ternatives’ Declaration, pay yearly membership fees and participate in activities organized by Alternatives (Alternatives, 2008). During the organization’s annual meetings, the Board of Directors is elected, and both budgeting alloca-tions as well as priorities are outlined for the year (Al-ternatives, 2008). The thirteen Directors then elect the Executive Committee. The newly elected Executive Committee then oversees all Alternatives employees and “...[ensures] that all decisions made by the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee are enact-ed,” (Alternatives, 2008). The organization’s General Director is appointed from the Executive Committee;

this individual ensures that all employees adhere to the tasks outlined “...by the democratic body of the organization,” (Alternatives, 2008). Budget As an NGO, Alternatives is funded by donor support and membership fees. Each year, the organization receives donations from thousands of supporters. Al-ternatives usually receives funding for specifi c proj-ects with which they are involved, rather than for the organization as a whole.

The focus of their Montréal offi ce is the Rooftop Gar-dens Project which receives support and funding from nine separate bodies: The International Development Research Centre, Fonds d’action québécois pour le développment durable (FAQDD), EcoAction Program of Environment Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, University of Québec, the City of Montréal, the EJLB Foundation, the Kauff mann Foundation, and the Foundation of Greater Montréal. These orga-nizations make projects such as the Rooftop Gardens Project both possible and successful. Staff Profi le Alternatives employs approximately 25, but is run pri-marily by the support of youth volunteers who take part in international internships in order to project the values and goals of the organization. These in-terns travel to various places to encourage the imple-

“And when community gardens go up in a

neighbourhood, it’s amazing how the people start

paying attention to other issues.”

-Margaret Mora

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alternatives

mentation of projects such as the Rooftop Gardens Project on a much larger scale for the communities of the Global South. Alternatives thrives on volunteers to change the way projects implemented here are adapted to the projects implemented internationally. Hautecouer states that every community is diff erent, so each project must be diff erent, even if the goal of developing sustainable communities is the same. Alliances Alternatives’ alliances vary from a variety of diff er-ent bodies. The organization works with government bodies to infl uence policymakers, as well as grass-roots organizations such as Santropol Roulant to cre-ate projects that positively infl uence communities. Through its partnership with Santropol Roulant on the Rooftop Gardens Project, Alternatives’ mission is not only to better the City of Montréal through urban agriculture initiatives, but also to translate their fi nd-ings on the gardens’ success towards other communi-ties in the Global South. Vision/Aims/Values As is outlined in their slogan, Alternatives is “building together a diff erent world,” (Alternatives, 1994). They aim to “...raise public awareness of international and local policy debates, their interconnectedness and their relevance to peoples’ lives.” (Alternatives, 2002). It is through the development of sustainable societies that Alternatives believes a better world is possible.


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From initiatives to organize communities, like the Rooftop Gardens Project, to providing people with the knowledge on international and national issues through the circulation of their newspaper, Alterna-tives is able to change the world’s perspectives, one small step at a time. It is their goal “...to help the net-working, building, and promoting of innovative ini-tiatives in popular and social movements that are fi ghting for economic, social, political, cultural and environmental rights,” (Alternatives, 2008). Activities & Discussion from the Interview Through their values on improving the rights of oth-ers, Alternatives has provided the basis for creating sustainable communities. Focusing mainly on the Rooftop Gardens Project, Ismael informed us that the people involved have sustained a healthier life-style through urban agriculture. The Rooftop Gardens Project in Montréal was the test for Alternatives to see if the project could be implemented in the Global South. Its success here determined what direction the organization could take to help others on an in-ternational level to develop a sustainable community.

A self-professed “landscape story teller,” Ismael stated that it was his job to change the perspective of Mon-tréal residents by “...creating a space for which gar-dens can happen,” (Hautecouer, 2009). He stated that the world is too focused on destroying the natural en-vironment, so Alternatives’ role is to be proactive and change the poor habits to which we have become so accustomed and to provide alternative options to the way we live our lives. The example here is to provide people with the tools to grow their own food and cut down on the damages associated with the transpor-tation for food cross-border and elsewhere. This proj-ect is one simple task in Alternatives’ goals of creating sustainable communities. The Rooftop Gardens Project, Ismael stated, is more of a strategy that the organization can use to imple-ment in the Global South so that more people can benefi t from the concept of community gardens. It is through these gardens that he believes the Global South can learn to engage in food security, food sov-ereignty, buying local and beginning to understand their environmental footprint.

Photo: Lily Roll

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montréal marketsmontréal markets

Founded in 1993, The Corporation de gestion des marches publics de Montréal, also known as Les Marches publics de Montréal, is a non-prof-

it agency in charge of the operation, management, marketing, and restoration of Montréal’s numerous public markets, and for a large number of corner market and fl ower stalls around the city. The corpora-tion brings together approximately 215 stakeholders including the City of Montréal, farmers, and vendors to ensure that Montréal residents have access to the best selection and quality when it comes to produce, meat, poultry and culinary products. The corporation manages four free-standing markets which are open to the public seven days a week, and which draw a metropolitan base of shoppers. These markets are Marche Jean-Talon in Montréal’s Little It-aly district, Marche Atwater southwest of downtown Montréal, Marche Maisonneuve located in the Ho-chelaga-Maisonneuve district, and Marche Lachine in the city’s Lachine district. In addition, the corporation manages thirteen “neigh-bourhood markets” located mostly in the central inner-city neighbourhoods of Montréal, including Vieux Montréal, Centre-Ville Montréal, Avenue Du Mont Royal, and Cote-Des-Neiges, to name a few. On September 30, 2009, we spoke with Isabelle Letour-neau, Directrice des communications for the Marches Publics de Montréal. We discussed the formation of the corporation, the impact the markets have on the neighbourhoods in which they are located, various projects in which they are involved, and the future of


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the markets. History

Like many cities, Montréal’s markets in the 1980s were starting to show their age, and were in some cases falling into a slow decline. By the late 1980s, the City of Montréal decided that managing public markets was becoming too great a burden for the city to handle, and so in 1993 the non-profi t agency, The Corporation de gestion des marches publics de Montréal, also called Les Marches publics de Montré-al was formed. The idea for a non-profi t organization came about during a complete review of the markets conducted by the City of Montréal, as well as during stakeholder consultation in which market vendors voiced their opinions on not wanting the markets to become privatized entities. The idea for the market corporation allowed the City of Montréal to maintain ownership of the markets, while allowing the market corporation access to conduct daily business, and to focus more resources and human resource inputs into the markets. Budget Structure

Les Marches publics de Montréal is funded by rent-al fees paid by the various vendors at each market building.

Alliances Les Marches Publics maintains alliances with local farmers in Quebec, and vendors who run some of the stalls in the markets. A growing mandate of the cor-poration is to promote local food production as inter-action with local farmers is a key in promoting local food at the markets.

Staff profi le Isabelle Letourneau is Director of Communications for the Marches Publics corporation. The corporation has a small staff base located in a head offi ce on the third fl oor of the Marche Atwater in Montréal.


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montréal markets

Les Marches publics de Montréal corporation has a general assembly which meets once a year and is made up of nine board members from the Marche publics de Montréal corporation structure. The corporation pays a lease on the market buildings to the City of Montréal, which still maintains owner-ship of the property and market buildings. The cor-poration maintains day-to-day control of the markets, marketing, program development, as well as restora-tion and expansion.

Vision/Aims/Values Les Marches Publics de Montréal’s aim is to promote and support the public markets of Montréal while maintaining the best selection and most fresh pro-duce and food off erings to Montréal residents. The corporation’s objective is “To manage the public mar-kets, to ensure accessibility to the population of Mon-tréal and to contribute to the future development of the public markets.”(Marche Publics de Montréal) Achievements

With the takeover of the Montréal markets by Les Marches Publics de Montréal, revival and growth could take place with the new level of human re-source inputs and interest in the markets. The corpo-ration has had many successes, the largest of which being the reopening of the previously closed Marche Maisonneuve which had originally closed its doors in 1962. In 1978, a petition by local residents to reopen

the market had some success with the City of Mon-tréal’s allowing farmers to open stalls in the area sur-rounding the old market area. The real rebirth came in 1995, when Les Marches Publics de Montréal opened the new Marche Maisonneuve market building. One of the city’s oldest markets fi nally opened again and presently continues the tradition of farmer’s markets on the site of the old market. In 2004, Les Marches Publics de Montréal also over-saw the opening of the Marche Jean-Talon expansion, which saw a new market building with additional sell-ing space and an underground parking garage built on one side of the market. In addition to the two major building projects, the corporation has also initiated a very popular and well-attended cooking class program called “Chef en Resi-dence”. The program invites chefs to predetermined market locations to prepare meals with a specifi c theme using food sold at the markets. The program teaches participants how to use produce and other food items in such creative or diff erent ways that they may not have thought to attempt prior to the event. As mentioned, the program has had signifi cant suc-cess and provides a draw for residents to go to the markets and to learn about the importance of not only the city’s markets, but also the importance of, lo-cal food and of supporting farmers as well as the vari-ous market vendors. With leadership from Les Marches Publics, Montréal’s public markets have a bright and prosperous future,


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their proximity to the various markets. In this regard, the markets do help in bringing in residents who val-ue being close to the market districts, and who would perhaps otherwise choose another area to live if not for their close proximity to the markets. The markets, including the neighbourhood markets, assist in animating the places in which they are located. They lead to more interesting, busy, and well-serviced communities, while bringing fresh food and various food items almost to the doorsteps of many residents. The convenience of being near one of the major mar-kets makes the neighbourhoods in which they are lo-cated much more attractive, as such residents know they do not have to travel a long distance to obtain fresh food and the other off erings of a market.

as they are highly popular, and do not feel tired as they did in the 1980s. The corporation has been suc-cessful in causing people to become excited about food, the markets, and the experience of going to the market. Activities & Discussion from the Interview While Letourneau said that she is not aware of any of the markets being responsible for turning a commu-nity around, she did mention that the markets are a drawing card for new residential development adver-tisements. For example, condominium developments around the Lachine Canal near the Marche Atwater promote the buildings’ proximity to the market. De-velopments in other areas of the city also promote


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city of montréal community gardening program

Since its inception within Montréal in 1975, the Community Garden program has thrived to now include 97 gardens with 8,195 allotments.

The City-run program draws together neighbour-hood residents, and fosters diversity, appreciation of the outdoors, and a sense of community identity. On September 29, 2009, we met with Martin Dorais, one of six Horticultural Animators working for the Com-munity Gardens project run by the City of Montréal. History Prior to the initiation of the Community Garden pro-gram, Montréalers had already practiced community gardening for decades by utilizing vacant land to transform it into gardens. The program was initiated in 1975 when a group of citizens wanted to cultivate a lot made vacant after a fi re; they were supported by the Botanical Garden and the City of Montréal’s Beautifi cation Department. By 1987, 75 community gardens had been established. The Botanical Garden remained in charge of the program until 1988, when the Department of Recreation and Community De-velopment took over responsibility for its administra-tion. This division is now known as the Department of Culture, Sports, Leisure and Social Development (City of Montréal, n.d., pp. 3—4).

Level of Action The community gardening takes place at the munici-pal level. If a community wants a new garden, they must fi rst mobilize together and submit an offi cial re-quest to their borough’s administrative offi ce within

Photo: Lily Roll

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the City of Montréal. The City evaluates the desire and need for a garden within the community; the greater the push by the community’s residents to begin a garden, the faster the process becomes. A soil analy-sis is then required before the application can be ap-proved; this can cost the City up to $15,000. If the soil is deemed safe, the City then provides the materials to start up the garden, the watering system, tools and sheds (Dorais, 2009). Budget & Funding Sources Apart from minimal fees collected from members, the City of Montréal funds the entire program. Its total annual budget of $315,400 includes such expendi-tures as ongoing maintenance, new layout of existing

gardens, communications, coordination and horti-cultural facilitation, to name a few. Fees payable by members vary slightly from garden to garden, as each individual garden committee determines the fees re-quired for its garden. Member fees generally range from $5.00 to $7.00 for each member per season. In addition to the member fee is the lot fee, which is ap-proximately $10.00 per season. These fees do not ap-ply to welfare recipients, however, and some garden committees establish that retirees need not pay fees either (City of Montréal, 2007, pp. 12—13).

Staff Profi le The primary staff involved in working for the City of

tion of plots while the horticultural animators assist them in these tasks” (City of Montréal, 2007, p. 5). Youth gardens are overseen by a youth program di-rector who hires Group Animators to assist in con-ducting a day camp program (City of Montréal, 2007, p. 8). Alliances The only real alliance the Community Gardens pro-gram holds is that with the City’s Public Works and Environment Department which conducts waste col-lection for the gardens (City of Montréal, 2007, p. 13). Vision/Aims/Values

Montréal’s community gardening program are six Horticultural Animators, also known as “garden coun-sellors”. These individuals are retained by the City on a seasonal basis, and visit the gardens on a rotating schedule to provide advice and guidance to garden-ers. Animators also serve as a liaison between the City’s administration and the garden committees by coordinating and authorizing servicing requests. They also organize events held by the gardens, as well as sit on judging panels for the annual “Best Gar-den Contest”. Also included in the running of the gardens are vol-untary gardening committees. These committees are elected by garden members, and “supervise daily ac-tivities in the garden sites and manage the distribu-

“Montréal’s living environments include a wealth of community

facilities: elementary and secondary schools, places of worship,

libraries, community gardens, cultural centres, sports and com-

munity centres and health and long-term care institutions.”

VILLE DE MONTREAL MASTER PLAN SECTION 4.1

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city of montréal community gardening program

The management plan for the community gardens has several priorities. It seeks to allow citizens of all ages to engage in gardening within a community context, so they can improve not only their quality of life, but also the natural environment; to ensure dem-ocratic access of community gardening to all Montré-al citizens by establishing new community gardens which appropriately refl ect the needs of the commu-nity; to provide support to the gardening committees as well as off er practical gardening advice through Horticultural Animators; and to enhance the current garden network by creating park zones on as many sites as is appropriate and possible (City of Montréal, 2007, p. 5). Activities & Discussion from the Interview In addition to the City’s regular community gardens are the youth gardens which house a natural science and horticulture program designed for young people between the ages of 9 and 14, as well as a regular youth gardening program. This program encourages youth engagement in gardening, while the day camp program off ers natural science activities in addition to gardening (City of Montréal, 2007, pp. 8—9).Dorais stated that the community gardens them-selves act as self-contained neighbourhoods, com-plete with their own politics and interaction. While this has the advantage of fostering a sense of com-munity between gardeners, there are also disadvan-tages. Sometimes negative interactions occur, caus-ing rivalry between gardeners and prompting such


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acts as vandalism, theft and racism. Dorais expressed that despite these challenges, the benefi ts outweigh the disadvantages. He said that the gardens do foster a sense of community, as they create neighbourhood identity and pride, as well as cause residents to mobilize together as they engage in producing fresh food for themselves and for their families. The Horticultural Animators interact with gardeners on a constant basis, providing guidance and educa-tion while addressing incongruent practices and be-haviours. For example, pesticides and fertilizers are not allowed, but the Horticultural Animators do not simply enforce this rule. Instead, they come along-side the gardeners and provide guidance as to which plants attract specifi c types of insects and pollinators to enhance the quality of the produce. Also encour-aged is the reuse of plant remnants as fertilizer; the goal is to reduce the amount of organic material that goes to the landfi ll, and to compost instead. Not only is this method less expensive, but it is also more ef-fi cient. The process of educating gardeners to thor-oughly understand and practice this is a lengthy pro-cess, however. Interest in community gardens is high in Montréal, with waiting lists up to two years in peripheral bor-oughs, and up to seven years in the city’s downtown. The reason for the extreme nature of the downtown waiting list is not only due to the more compact na-ture of built form in the downtown, but also due to soil contamination from the Industrial Era. Contami-nants range from Volatile Organic Compounds to heavy metals and traces of petroleum. Despite this setback, “people want to be a part” (Dorais, 2009, per-sonal communication) of these gardening commu-nities, and therefore the combination of the down-town’s increased population, garden closures due to soil contamination, and the fewer garden space op-portunities lends itself to innovation. For example, container gardening has become more popular for specifi c types of produce such as peppers and toma-toes, both of which have been found to produce at

even higher yields in containers. The Community Garden program has also been in-strumental in helping new immigrants to establish their new lives in Canada. Dorais described how one garden has a number of Indian female immigrants who have been discovering a new sense of self-es-teem and empowerment through the gardens. He explained that the gardens provide them with a plot of land of which they have “ownership”, and that they can make the decisions they deem best accordingly. As this is a departure from the patriarchal format to which their lives have been generally shaped to con-form, the community gardens help them realize their capacity to make positive changes and decisions in life, even if only in a small way (Dorais, 2009, personal communication).


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conclusion

Our research and meetings demonstrate that community gardening, as well as intercon-nected programs such as Santropol Roulant

and Les Marches Publics have had signifi cant im-pact on the urban landscape of Montréal by helping residents feed their families with nourishing, fresh food; by uniting neighbours; by providing relief to the pocketbook of many; by providing meals for se-niors and other isolated individuals; and by bringing greenery to rooftops. Toronto has two great market districts, one of which is centred on St. Lawrence Market, and the other on Kensington Market. Toronto, however, lacks a central-ized management department to maintain, restore, and promote our market districts. In this regard, To-ronto could take a look at Montréal’s example of hav-ing an arms-length agency to maintain the markets and help them fl ourish to their full potential. The idea of having little neighbourhood markets in squares is also an idea that Toronto could promote to a greater degree than it currently does with the few weekly-run markets that do occur across the city in the summer. Toronto could turn these markets into seven-day-a-week operations such as Montréal does, and could promote the opening of markets in neighbourhoods in need of better access to fresh food off erings. Mar-kets can be a big selling point for a city and can of-fer an experience not had in a big box food store; for this reason Toronto should promote and support our markets to the same extent as that of Montréal.


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This report has overviewed how community garden-ing has played a vital part in community development in Montréal. Accordingly, it is our hope that in the near future planners will begin to earnestly include community gardening into community development plans, just as naturally as they include services such as community centres, housing, and after-school pro-grammes, in order to further the healthy develop-ment of not only the neighbourhoods of Toronto, but also those of cities and regions across the globe.

Photo: Michael Binetti Photo: Michael Binetti

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references & interview contactsReferences

Alternatives. Our Organisation. Retrieved October 16, 2009, from http://www.alternatives.ca/eng/our-organ-isation/ City of Montréal. (n.d.). Montréal’s community gardening program. Montréal, QC: City of Montréal, pp. 3 – 4 City of Montreal. (2006). World Urban Forum 2006 – Vancouver, Canada. Montreal’s Community Gardening Program. Retrieved electronically September 17, 2009 from:http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/docs/page/librairie_en/documents/Montreal_Community_Gardening_Program.pdf City of Montréal. (2007). Montréal’s community gardening program. Montréal, QC: City of Montréal, pp. 3 – 4, 5, 8 – 9, 12 – 13 Cognition – The Voice of Canadian Organic Growers. (1993). Montreal Community Gardens. Retrieved elec-tronically September 17, 2009 from: http://eap.mcgill.ca/MagRack/COG/COG_A_93_04.htm Dorais, M. (2009). Personal communication, received September 29, 2009 Ensemble Terre-Ciel. (2009). Organization website: http://www.ensembleterreciel.com/ McGill University. (2005). Making the Edible Landscape – A Study of Urban Agriculture in Montreal. Retrieved electronically September 18, 2009 from: http://www.mcgill.ca/fi les/mchg/Intro.pdf Marches Publics de Montreal. (2009). Organization website. Retrieved electronically September 18, 2009 from:http://www.marchespublics-mtl.com/ The Rooftop Garden Project. About Us. Retrieved October 16, 2009, from http://www.lesjardins.ca/en/about Santropol Roulant. (2009). Organization website. Retrieved electronically September 17, 2009 from: http://www.santropolroulant.org/sof/en_home.html Spacing Montreal. (2008). More community gardens to be closed. Retrieved electronically September 18, 2009 from: http://spacingmontreal.ca/2008/04/01/more-community-gardens-to-be-closed/

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Interview Contacts

1. Name: Isabelle LetourneauOrganization: Montreal MarketsCorresponding website: http://www.marchespublics-mtl.com/ 2. Name: Vikram BhattOrganization: McGill UniversityCorresponding website: http://www.mcgill.ca/fi les/mchg/Intro.pdf 3. Name: Tim MurphyOrganization: Santropol RoulantCorresponding website: http://www.santropolrou-lant.org/sof/en_home.html 4. Name: Martin DoraisOrganization: City of MontrealCorresponding website: http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/docs/page/librairie_en/documents/Mon-treal_Community_Gardening_Program.pdf 5. Name: Ismael HautecoeurOrganization: Alternatives MontrealCorresponding website: http://www.alterinter.org/ar-ticle2505.html?lang=fr

Documents

Montreal Community Gardening