Origin

Much of the Echo Valley community has for some years been active in the Salt Spring Island Emergency Program (the McLennan POD).  When the COVID 19 pandemic arrived in spring 2020 some people in the neighbourhood had the idea of gardening together both for community and with the belief that local self reliance and local food production makes sense in what seems an increasingly turbulent and risk filled world.  At the most basic, gardening outdoors with lots of air flow and “social distancing” was a safe way to interact socially as mandated or self imposed isolation started to become a global norm.  

Key values for community gardening cited by neighbours at the start included:

Food Security – Adaptability – Organic Food – Quality Produce – Biodiversity – Soil Conservation – Carbon Footprint Reduction – Community Building – Social Connections with Neighbors – Direct in Person Communication

Echo Valley Community Garden - About Our Name

We might have more accurately used the term  “neighbourhood garden” rather than “community garden” because the latter term more commonly describes the situation where participants are not necessarily residents of the neighourhood as in our case.    Our name was chosen because at the time neighbours felt that we were acting in community in response to the growing uncertainties of our time.  Then the name stuck (especially after our web designer created a logo!)

Startup

The effort got off to an exuberant start with five gardens on three properties.  A Survey was sent out gathering information on participants’ availability, preferences and needs in relation to farm tasks in several areas of interest including crops,  garden shares based on estimates of produce yield and participants’ contribution in terms of financial and labour input.  A membership agreement was created that outlined the inputs and outputs in specific terms.  It was decided that hours should be formally tracked to ensure fairness.

The Winter Garden was part of the original plan and has continued to be one of the most popular aspects of the initiative because it is somewhat less labour intensive,  there are few pests in the winter, and it is really enjoyable having garden produce such as broccoli and Brussels Sprouts in the darker time of the year.  

Today

Now in 2023 the community garden is in its fourth season.  What has happened over time?

The original more formal structure has been streamlined and simplified over time as participants created more “organic” systems of coordination.  Members have come and gone and an informal management structure has emerged.

The number of gardens has decreased over time and the garden is now centered at one increasingly organized location.

Crop amounts and gardening procedures /scheduling are always being adjusted based on members’ preferences and many other factors including  yield and growing complexity.