Indigenous Land Acknowledgement
Goldenrod Community Garden acknowledges that our location is on the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation whose presence here reaches back to time immemorial. We are grateful to have the opportunity to be present, garden and gather in this territory.
Greetings Fellow Gardeners!
One morning last week, some members encountered a young man with a bicycle resting and reading in Goldenrod. No one knows if he stayed there overnight. Everyone was concerned for his welfare and, luckily, one of our interim Board members, Dietrich Sider, decided to try and engage with him. Here is Dietrich’s summary of that encounter:
“I spoke with him a couple of times that evening as we were working on site. He said he was waiting for his friend to get home and thought he would be able to get a meal and stay with him, and after a bit he packed up and rode off. He was quiet and private and I didn't probe further than making sure he was ok and that he knew where he could go for help if his plan didn't work out.
Without making any assumptions about this particular person's circumstances, I think the best thing we can do is to educate ourselves about how to respond compassionately in situations that may make us uncomfortable.”
Here are some resources:
Street Outreach Team http://www.ottawaboothcentre.org/?ID=56
The Well - extensive list of resources https://the-well.ca/resource-list
The Parkdale Food Centre https://parkdalefoodcentre.ca/
Is it carrot or is it ragweed??
We all aware of ragweed and the allergic reaction it can cause. It is self-seeding and invasive. Unfortunately ragweed is currently growing in many Goldenrod plots.
Ragweed has the appearance of a solid, bushy fern while carrot seedlings are much more delicate and have a feathery look – see pictures provided below. The shade of green of the leaves is also different.
Ragweed starts blooming in mid-July. If allowed to release its pollen, all plots will be infected as well as the NCC land where it currently appears to be non-existent. We ask for your cooperation in removing ragweed from your plots.
Make sure you pull out the entire root and please do not put it in the compost bins as its seeds might be spread on the plots next spring. Instead throw it in the white garbage bag left near the water tanks behind the shed.
Carrot seedling Common ragweed
Official Opening of the Goldenrod Community Garden
An Official Opening of the Goldenrod Community Garden really is coming soon! Because of Covid restrictions, the format will be video. It is a great video! Stay tuned for more details and links.
Getting to know you, Goldenrod
A shantytown nicknamed Le Port once stood on the location we now call Goldenrod Community Garden. In the 1930’s the Great Depression pushed many residents of Mechanicsville and Hintonburg into homelessness. They
gathered on the land south of the Ottawa River.
Source: City of Ottawa Archives, CA-18439
Please read this fascinating article by Dave Alston in the Kitchissippi Times. Dave Allston is a local historian and the author of the Kitchissippi Museum.
Tunney’s Pasture redevelopment
What happens at Tunney's Pasture will have a significant impact on the residents of our neighbourhood; the housed and the homeless, the advantaged and the disadvantaged.
The community associations representing Wellington Village, Champlain Park, Hintonburg and Mechanicsville have formed Neighbours for Tunney’s to focus on these and other Tunney’s Pasture redevelopment-related issues. Click this link for more information.
Please Donate
Goldenrod Community Garden exists because of the generous support of people like you. Please consider donating funds to our Phase 2 Build and to our ongoing maintenance costs. (Water, water, water…)
Reminders
Remember to visit the Kitchissippi outdoor Community Fridge. The rules of community fridges are simple: take what you need, leave what you can. Please find more information here.
Add your name to the Plot Waitlist for 2022
Please find further details here
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.
Member Engagement Committee
Interested in helping to plan and execute events and activities at Goldenrod? There’s still time to join! We ask you to please complete this form