Dozens of people gathered at an urban garden on Whyte Avenue Sunday to celebrate the grand opening of the Youth Empowerment and Social Services (YESS) Urban Roots garden.
The initiative had been in the works for a few years, said associate executive director Margo Long. The project was accelerated when the group got permission to borrow the land from the City of Edmonton and built the garden in six weeks.
Long said the garden, which is located across the street from the YESS building, is a project in sustainable food growing and urban agriculture, however she said it is also about more than just vegetables.
“Gardens heal,” Long said.
Brandon Grainger, 19, has been receiving support from YESS for more than a year after some familial and personal issues.
“Through sleeping outside, and emergency services, they brought me to this place,” he said.
Grainger said his life has turned around thanks to assistance from YESS with housing, job applications and most recently, the urban garden.
“I just come here, plant, take some vegetables,” he said.
“It’s really calm and peaceful. I find that if you have a quiet day, or being in a quiet area, it really helps out the day to be more relaxing.”
Long said the youth have been actively involved in the garden, even creating “Weeding Wednesday” where a group of them walk over to the garden to weed.
She said there have been some changes in those taking part in Urban Roots.
“It went from, ‘I’m not going to plant anything’ to ‘I’m going to plant weeds.’ Some little bit of sweet, a little bit of pride working in the dirt [then] coming back next time and seeing some of the seeds sprout and understanding where that came from,” she said.
Long said the garden, which is free and open to the community, is also meant to be a safe space for the youth. There is an art station, drums and a piano to play music as well as benches to sit and think.
“All these kids have experienced trauma one way or another. Some of it is poverty, a lot of it is unsafe homes… and they don’t feel safe. To have some kids here integrating with the community, it’s exactly what we want and we know we’ll heal each other,” she said.
The community was created entirely from donations – community members donated lights and mulch while various companies chipped in to build a paved patio and the gardening plots.
The garden is temporary – YESS will have to return it to the city near the end of the year; but Long said everything was built to be moveable and she hopes to find another space for it in the community.