New garden growing food and a sense of community for immigrant families
The city's latest community garden is growing far more than just fruit and vegetables.
The new garden at the West Kildonan Memorial Community Centre is helping to support newcomer families.
"Having a plot like this here to allow families, to allow youth come out to interact, share in something amazing," said Raymond Ngarboui, a community organizer with the Community Education Development Association.
Ten newcomer families are tending the garden, getting produce, fun and a sense of community in return.
The garden was inspired by the Rainbow Community Garden established in 2008 at the University of Manitoba by the Immigrant Integration Farming Community Co-op (IIFCC) in collaboration with Knox United Church.
According to Ngarboui, that garden now supports more than 200 families and has a waitlist.
This latest garden is part of a project established by the Winnipeg Food Council in response to an increase in demand for garden space during the pandemic.
"Our project participants have been dealing with anxiety and depression due to social isolation, especially with some families remaining inside their apartments for so long," said Ngarboui.
The West Kildonan garden is the second of its kind, with a similar garden first planted in St. Vital last year.
"We got our first one last year at the start of the pandemic, and here we are still a year later dealing with COVID-19. So it's been well used," said Brian Mayes, St. Vital city councillor and Winnipeg Food Council chair.
"I was stunned in St. Vital, like how much came out of what didn't seem to me to be a huge piece of land."
A picture of tomatoes growing in the new West Kildonan garden.
The families tending the garden, which come from nine backgrounds, including Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Central Africa and India, were asked what they would like to grow. While deciding was tough, the selected produce includes hot peppers, tomatoes, and okra.
Despite only planting in July, some of the families have already seen the fruits of their labour.
Ngarboui said he hopes to see the project expand across the city, with gardens popping up at schools and churches.
"If each of those organizations were willing to share space, that would be wonderful," he said.
-With files from CTV’s Stephanie Tsicos
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Wildfire near Fort McMurray more than triples overnight, several evacuation alerts remain in place
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Putin replaces Russian defence minister in rare cabinet shakeup
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Edibles, armchairs and adapters: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.