Greater Sudbury’s 40 established community gardens are getting access to free compost, courtesy of the city.
A unanimous vote of city council ratified the decision last week, which will allocate up to 80 tonnes of compost (two tonnes per garden) toward the community gardens.
These community gardens are non-profit and volunteer-led, city Environmental Services director Renee Brownlee told the operating committee of city council during a meeting last month.
“They play a vital role in a healthy community, providing food security, education and neighbourhood beautification that encourages community engagement and environmental stewardship,” she said.
“Compost is required to provide the vital soil nutrients necessary for successful vegetation growth, but this poses a challenge for volunteer community garden groups.”
The compost is sold at municipal landfill sites for $37 per tonne, meaning the free compost to community gardens will result in a $2,960 annual operating revenue reduction.
Compost will be made available free of charge for pickup and use by registered community gardens at the Sudbury, Azilda and Hanmer landfill sites.
With city council members agreeing to the free compost arrangement, staff have been directed to prepare program registration and internal systems to track how it rolls out.
“This is a great small nominal token to give back to these community gardens,” Ward 5 Coun. Mike Parent said last month, crediting this as a step toward addressing food security.
The compost is derived from the city’s organic waste diversion programs, which include green cart organics, leaf and yard trimmings, sod and Christmas tree collection.
“Only compost that meets the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks’ Compost Quality Standards for use in food production is made available to the public,” according to a report by Brownlee.
The city has an interactive map, available by clicking here, which identifies the locations of community gardens, farms, farmers’ markets, food banks and Good Food Box locations.
Additional information on the city’s collection of community gardens can also be found on the city’s website by clicking here.
In addition to allowing garden plots for people to grow food, many community gardens in Greater Sudbury also feature food forests and pollinator gardens. Food forests “mimic natural ecosystems by layering fruit trees, shrubs, herbs, and groundcovers to create a self-sustaining source of diverse, fresh produce,” as described in Brownlee’s report. Pollinator gardens are filled with native flowering plants to attract bees and other pollinators.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.