Halifax’s Common Roots hosts ‘blindfolded tour’ as it works on farm accessibility

A popular Halifax community farm organization marked the start of its summer growing season by launching some of its in-progress accessibility features.

Common Roots Urban Farm hosted a Celebration of Summer on Thursday afternoon at its Bayers Lake BiHi Park location – one of two, the other being in Dartmouth.

In a release earlier this week, the urban farm described the event as “inclusive of food, crafts, music.”

Sara Burgess, the Common Roots BiHi co-ordinator, said in the release that community gardens act as important community spaces.

“We want everyone to have the opportunity to come together, meet neighbours, learn from each other.”

It wasn’t just about food and gathering.

The event also included a “blindfolded tour of the farm.” That tour was led by gardener Milena Khazanavicius, who is an accessibility advocate and blind.

According to Burgess, the tour was “an opportunity to feel the garden in a new way.”

The goal was to help people expand their understanding of “how others experience environment” and to learn how to “support people who are blind and partially sighted in the community.”

Resident Betty Browne attended the Thursday event with her husband Peter, and said it was the blindfolded garden tour that caught her attention.

“My mother has vision loss so I wanted to experience that,” Browne said to a Common Roots spokesperson.

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Browne said the tour showed some of the challenges that people with loss of vision may experience.

Those who attended the tour were able to touch plants in the garden, sample them and listen to the tour guide’s story.

“I was just amazed at how many people were here, and everyone was just having a blast,” she said.

This was just a step in Common Roots’ process of making their farm accessible to everyone.

The BiHi farm already has wheelchair-accessible plots and is working on upgrading gravel paths. Now, it’s also in the process of colour-coding garden plots and installing signs with braille and QR codes.

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Burgess said in the release that keeping up with demand for garden plots has been difficult, adding that 140 people are currently on a wait-list.

In a Dalhousie University study released in April, it was found that gardening is becoming increasingly popular across the country, but particularly in the eastern portion of Canada.

Researchers said in the report that they expected the highest number of new gardeners this year in Atlantic Canada.

Burgess said in the release that’s not surprising, as inflation rates rise and costs of food, gas and living continue to skyrocket.

A Common Roots garden plot, if run efficiently, has the “potential to produce $300 of produce,” read the release.

“We’re reminded every day about the need for more productive food spaces,” Burgess said in the release.

“Community gardens on underused land offer the opportunity to benefit from underutilized spaces and bring everyone closer to and learn about food and one another.

“We’re trying to create a space where everyone can experience it for themselves.”

The organization’s other farm site in Woodside is also working towards accessibility improvements, but has yet to secure funding to begin the process.