The City of Guelph says its community gardens will reopen on Friday under certain conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The announcement comes after the Ontario government issued an order last month to include community gardens as an essential service.
Public health officials have outlined several guidelines to ensure gardeners and the public stay safe.
- No access to the public but only to community gardener coordinators and registered gardeners
- Maintaining a distance of two metres between gardeners
- Washing your hands before and after gardening
- Cleaning all shared space and high touch areas
- Using your own gardening tools and gloves or cleaning shared tools and gloves after using
Anyone who doesn’t follow these guidelines may be asked to leave the garden or face fines under the emergency measures orders.
Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner had been calling on the Doug Ford government to reopen community gardens and had even started a petition that gained 10,000 signatures.
“Community gardens are an essential source of fresh local food for families and food banks,” he said. “I am happy to see this government recognize that locally-grown food should be considered an essential part of Ontario’s food security strategy.”
The city also announced the construction on a new garden at Burns Drive Park that will begin immediately.
Proposed gardens at Stephanie Park Drive, St. George’s Park and Mollison Drive Park will be built this fall for gardening in 2021.
Our Food Future will also be providing free gardening kits to 700 kids in Guelph and Wellington County. Details on how to sign-up can be found on their website starting Friday.