- Located at: 13111 Meridian Street NE, Edmonton, at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre
- Total garden area: 800 sq.ft.
- Gardening style: inground. Choice of rows, beds, SPIN, bio-intensive or other depends on volunteer leadership.
- Number of participants: varies from year to year - mostly, but not limited to, Waste Management Services staff and volunteers, and their families.
- Fee: none
The Edmonton Waste Management Centre garden was developed in 2000 as an opportunity for Waste staff and volunteers to work together on a community service project that highlights the importance of compost to our soil.
In 2010 signage was improved, the rainbarrels, tool shed and some of the composters were moved. Plans for this garden include production of vegetables for the Food Bank as well as partially becoming a community garden for Edmonton Waste Management staff if desired.
Gardening Style
MSW compost supplied by the EWMC Composting plant is occasionally added at the beginning of the season. The majority of the area is planted in potatoes, although there were some zucchini and tomatoes as well. Hardpan was found at 15 cm and some areas were double-dug, while others were chosen as trench composting sites.
- Kinds of people gardening: Mostly master composter/recycler volunteers and sometimes their family members which could be adults or children Some of the team members have stayed with the garden since its inception, others come out for one season, or one work bee either planting or harvesting.
- Kinds of Plants: Through trial and error certain plants were eliminated primarily because of their requirements for regular watering and harvesting (lettuce, radishes, tomatoes). These vegetables gave us the most reliable produce: swiss chard, carrots, beets, turnips, beans, peas, zucchini, and cucumbers.
- Harvests: 2000- 88kg; 2004- 956kg; 2007- 1500kg; 2008- 1600kg; 2009- 769kg; 2010- 650kg
Successes:
- Were able to recruit Garden Teams of Volunteers each year with other volunteers coming out to help for the work bees only. Some Garden Team Leaders have stayed up to 4 years.
- Got donations of topsoil and compost for the gardens. Also, were not charged for water whether from a water truck, or the hose by the Administration Building.
- Got a donation of one rain barrel to start the original garden.
- Topsoil depth increased from 3 to 43 centimetres in 5 years thanks to volunteer efforts and the regular addition of compost.
- Volunteers designed, scavenged the wood, and built two raised beds to act as windbreaks.
- Got the cooperation of the Edmonton Waste Management Landscape Staff to assist with filling the water barrels, and occasionally watering the beds with the water truck, and doing a mass weeding if volunteer help was in short supply.
- Planting and harvesting work bees were successful each year.
Challenges, Needs, Barriers:
- Water is a challenge since water barrels aren't always full; rapid evaporation by the wind causes problems for the plants. Light weight mulch on newly seeded areas tends to blow away.
- It is difficult to establish a schedule of volunteers for regular watering and weeding. Having a water tap available has made things much easier.
- Establishing a relationship with the on-site workers at the EWMC was essential for success. Communication improved, since they could report on conditions of the garden.
- It was easier to get one-time help from the volunteers at the beginning and the end of the growing season, than through the summer. Although on-going maintenance was sometimes an issue, with some help from the summer students, a more organized volunteer schedule, and emergency aid from the landscape crew things were much better.
- Hope to expand the perennial garden and to continue with the demonstration native plant garden.
- Biggest barrier to volunteer involvement is the location of the Waste Management Centre and that there is no available public transportation.
updated June 7, 2011
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