Sharing Urban Backyards?
Sometimes in my country living mode I forget that not everyone has the opportunity to garden and grow some of their own food. Many people in cities–even in smallish towns!–live in apartments, basement suites, or townhouses with no yard at all. Add in all the other renters who don’t have the freedom to dig up their yard, and you have a lot of people without the option of gardening.
Have you ever heard of sharing backyards? It’s the concept of connecting the folks who’d like to garden with those in their own neighborhood who have available yard/garden space. Programs are available in many Canadian cities and several others in the USA and New Zealand. It’s free to sign your town up. All the details are on the website, including FAQs that specifically address privacy issues. Check it out!
What a great idea! Not only will food be grown in more backyards, this program brings neighbors together. It helps cross generation barriers, create friendships, and provide teaching opportunities. It may help older folks stay in their own homes for longer because their yards won’t be a burden on lessening abilities.
Question: Do you grow any of your own food? If not, would a program like this be a benefit in your neighborhood?
I share your backyard…
And I like sharing it with you 🙂
LifeCycles in Victoria runs a program called Sharing Backyards: http://www.sharingbackyards.com/browse/Victoria,%…
Hm, I suppose I should look into that. Perhaps someone wants to share a yard with me…
Living in an apartment does make things involving yards tricky … like gardening and composting. Yippie for solutions like Sharing Backyards! As for the composting, we've discovered a local group called Pedal to Petal (http://pedaltopetal.blogspot.com/). They're a pick up bicycle compost service.
Awesome.
You posted that link awhile back on FB, Jen. It’s what led me to their homepage and this little essay. You gonna give it a try?
My sister used to live in an apartment building that let the residents grow things in pots in the complex backyard.
We grow things in ours, but mostly herb-like since we're still adjusting to the desert clmate.
My mom used a sliver of space beside her apartment building–probably 8-10 inches wide between the building and the sidewalk, and grew climbing peas and beans along it. Her balcony was always covered with planters–some flowers, but also tomatoes and lettuces and herbs.