‘It’s so upsetting’: Sandy Hill community garden closing unexpectedly

The City of Ottawa says a community garden will be closing for the summer to address organizational and safety issues. CTV’s Natalie van Rooy reports.

A community garden in Sandy Hill is unexpectedly closing just as gardening season gets underway.

The city says it needs to address organizational and safety issues as some members raise concerns about conflicts between gardeners.

The Strathcona Heights community garden is located on Wiggins Private near Lees Avenue.

Hildegard Henderson has been a member of the garden for 30 years and is devastated it will be temporarily closing.

“It’s so upsetting,” said Henderson. “I practically lived out here for all those years and everyone has done so much work.”

Henderson is slowly transplanting all her flowers and plants after getting notice that items need to be removed by June 1, before access is restricted.

“Some of these flowers, they go back decades and decades to when I was a kid gardening with my mother, so they mean a lot to me,” she said.

Many find great comfort gardening at the location.

“It’s devastating, it’s really devastating,” said Michael Fobert, a gardener.

“I came to gardening because my mother was ill and she asked me to help her clean up some of her gardens while she was ill and she passed away then that’s when I got a garden and it’s given me a great comfort and a joy to have my flowers and my garden.”

“It means food sovereignty and food security,” said Myriah Graham, a community gardener. “As an indigenous woman, it means connecting to the earth.”

CTV News has obtained an email from the City of Ottawa Recreation, Cultural, and Facility Services department to the garden plot members that states, “The site will remain closed for the upcoming season as the city undertakes remedial work and organizational measures to ensure the garden’s long-term safety, sustainability, and success.”

The city says during the closure, the focus will be on: strengthening organizational stability and governance, ensuring appropriate insurance coverage, reviewing and addressing health, safety, and accessibility standards, and engaging in community consultations.

It’s not clear when the garden will re-open. The letter to residents says timelines will be shared as they become available.

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