Greetings fellow gardeners!
As our first season winds down, Goldenrod is evolving. Your Board is new, Goldenrod is young. Everyone is trying to figure things out and the Board needs to hear from you, our members, in order to set priorities.
Please complete the membership survey
The survey will help guide the new Board. Many thanks to all those members who have completed it! If you haven’t, we’d appreciate your input.
Please do get rid of the tall gangly apparatus and plants in your plot as soon as possible. Those tomatoes plants…and the ground cherry plants…and the tall stakes…Yikes!
We lost all the names on the Plot Waitlist for 2022. Please sign-up again
We don’t have the waiting list of people who signed up for a 2022 plot because it was lost with the google account so we have to start collecting names again. **Plot members don’t need to sign up again as they will have the option to renew their plot automatically.**
AGM
If you missed the AGM, you can find the draft minutes and slides posted on Goldenrod’s website, goldenrodgarden.org
Meet your new Board of Directors
President: Sara Chen-Wing
Secretary: TBA
Treasurer: Tanya Salewski (with Martin Conley-Wood as apprentice treasurer)
Registrar: Barbara Sharp
Garden Coordinators: Matt Doody, Susan McClelland
Membership engagement lead: Matt in interim capacity, but prepared to hand over to another board member.
Communications lead: Catherine O’Toole
Fundraising lead: Catherine O’Toole
Build leads: Barbara Sharp, Martin Conley-Wood, with Dietrich Sider remaining as chair of the Build Committee
position TBA: Carmela Grande
Sara Chen-Wing
I love gardening. I have fond memories of my grandmother's lush garden of vegetables, flower, annuals, perennials. In turn, my mother created a huge garden that produced all sorts of treasures. I was delighted to find the GCG this past winter where I have been volunteering ever since with the communications committee, the membership committee, and the interim board. I am pleased to have the opportunity to continue to build and grow our garden community in a way that will nourish us all.
Martin Conley-Wood
I’m a local business owner and a very enthusiastic if only modestly successful gardener. You may have spotted me at the garden this season with my assistants: a goldendoodle tethered to my waist and a toddler poking his hands in the soil as I wrangled some unruly pea shoots. I’m passionate about food security and the role that community gardens play in empowering people to feed themselves and their neighbours. I have worked and volunteered in many different spaces, from pruning other people’s gardens to building tech startups to managing large projects in the public sector. I’m honoured to offer my depth and diversity of experience to the Goldenrod community as we continue to grow together.
Catherine O'Toole
I am a writer and businesswoman living in Ottawa. A volunteer with Goldenrod Community Garden since February 2021, I work with two committees: Fundraising and Communications. I became the primary content creator of the Goldenrod newsletter and I helped facilitate weekly harvest donations to the Parkdale Food Centre.
Tanya Salewski
I have been an avid gardener since helping my Dad plant potatoes when I was barely old enough to walk, and strongly believe in the power of getting your hands dirty and growing your own food – for the health and wellbeing of individuals, communities, and the planet. Back in January I got involved with the GCG interim board as the Treasurer, where I set up financial processes and practices and managed all financial transactions and reporting. In my professional life, I work for Alinea International, an international development consulting company, as a Project Director for global health. I recently spent four years with Alinea in Tanzania managing the implementation of a multi-million dollar maternal and child health program, which included overseeing all aspects of budgeting, financial management, compliance, and reporting. Previously I have led global health and development teams, programs and projects for more than 20 years, working with a number of Canadian NGOs and the UN in Canada and internationally.
Barbara Sharp
I grew up in the UK and moved to Ottawa 20 years ago. As a child, the local allotment gardens formed a key part of our lives and community, so I'm really excited to be part of developing a community garden here in Ottawa. When I'm not gardening, I enjoy biking and cross-country skiing on the local bike paths or in the Gatineau hills.
Matt Doody
Matthew is an Ottawa native who works in Public Health. With a passion for community engagement and food security he looks forward to working with the GCG volunteers and members to continue to grow and improve the garden. He brings experience in volunteer coordination and public communications to the team and looks forward to using those skills to support the board and the garden as a whole.
Susan McClelland
I am currently a second-year student in the Horticulture Industries program at Algonquin College. Prior to returning to school, I worked in the federal government for over 30 years. During the last 10 years of my career, I focused on climate change and sustainability issues. As an avid gardener, I have become increasingly interested in growing food and ornamental plants using practices that enhance the urban environment and local biodiversity. This past summer, I worked on a local flower farm and saw first-hand how to grow edible and ornamental flowers, using natural and organic approaches to cultivation, fertilizing and pest management.
I have a BA from Carleton University and an MA from Queens. I have volunteered at a number of organizations in the Ottawa area over the years, including the Elizabeth Fry Society, the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre and Girl Guides. I am currently a volunteer with MapleLawn, an historical garden in Westboro. In addition to gardening, I enjoy cross-county skiing, card-making and reading.
And, Carmela Grande
Reminders
Become a Friend of the Goldenrod Community Garden
Anyone can become a Friend; you don’t have to have a plot or even live in Kitchissippi. Please find more information here.
Helpful Links
If you are a Goldenrod member and want to join the Members Facebook Group, please send a message to https://www.facebook.com/goldenrod.garden. We will then send you an invitation to join the group.
Our website is goldenrodgarden.org