Everywhere I look I see gardens overflowing with life. As I walk the grounds, I encounter raised beds brimming with leafy greens. I follow the trail of pea shoots and zucchini vines as they climb out of tubs and crawl along the side of buildings. I peer into milk crates and see plants with tiny, yellow flowers that promise an abundance of tomatoes soon to come. Between the blooms I can still make out the disused cart tracks, the old rusted pipes, and the crumbling brick facades that point to the history of the site. Surrounded by so much verdure it may come as a surprise to most but Evergreen Brick Works was home to a factory for over 100 years. Today prolific greenery pours forth from all sides. That is the transformative power of urban agriculture.
An Urban Agriculture Tour at Evergreen Brickworks
Evergreen Brick Works (EBW) is the national headquarters of the environmental charity Evergreen whose focus is bringing nature into cities. I have the pleasure of being a sustainability tour guide at this unique environmental education hub. I teach visitors about the redevelopment of the old brick factory into a LEED’s certified model of sustainability. Periodically I get asked to lead tours about my very favourite subject – urban agriculture!
[bctt tweet=”Learning about urban agriculture is as fun, delicious and easy as a trip to @EGbrickworks!” username=”globallocavore”]
On this occasion I’m leading a group of young adults who’ve come all the way from North Bay to learn about the urban agriculture projects at EBW. These students are members of a government funded initiative to teach high school students about local food. They have visited already visited a farmers’ market and have plans to take a cooking class. My hope is that I can get them excited about the possibility of cultivating food in the urban setting that is their school.
I explain to the group that urban agriculture can be defined simply as the growing of plants and the raising of animals within cities. We talk about how it can contribute to regional food security by providing fresh fruits, vegetables and sometimes protein, to local people. We learn that edible gardens can be set up with very little cost. We see firsthand all the steps of the food cycle including growing seedlings in the greenhouse, transplanting to outdoors, watering using collected rainwater, composting to fertilize the soil and of course harvesting the produce! We see clearly how urban agriculture can convert derelict spaces into productive, beautiful, and safe spaces that communities can share.
As I explain the many social, environment and economic benefits of urban agriculture the group excitedly ask questions and share stories of their other food adventures. I love that they are enthusiastic and want to take home these lessons to their own lives. I am hopeful that our conversations will have opened their mind to the possibility of building self-reliant, food secure cities. These young people are the future and I hope I’ve been able to plant the seed of a greener one.
Now It’s Your Turn! If you are ever in Toronto, I highly recommend taking a tour of Evergreen Brick Works. Parties of 15 or more, can book their own guided tours and public, drop-in tours are available every Saturday at 2pm. Not in Toronto? Find an urban agriculture project in a city near you and take a walk around. Most are open to the public and many even have signage that explains what plants are being cultivated. Feeling inspired? Sign up to volunteer at a community garden and get in on the fun!
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Love it! We have a few urban agricultural spots in my city of Nottingham and my daughter loves them – they even inspired her to join gardening club at school (and now she proudly wears the badge of head gardener) I really hope she chooses a career path like yours. Great post! #citytripping
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Amazing. There is an urban veg garden I’m the roof of the Queen Elizabeth concert hall on London’s Southbank.
# CityTripping
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Thanks for sharing this lovely post with us. Sounds like an awesome place to visit on our next trip to Toronto. Hugs, Poppy
Lovely places – urban gardens are so important. It makes all the difference to bring some green (and with that some wildlife) back into towns.
What a great idea – I haven’t come across anything similar in London but I wonder if there is. I loved that about Toronto, there always seemed to be so many amazing projects like this. #citytripping
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Wow! This is really interesting and I am so glad that there is a government initiative for the kind of work that you do. Your work is Amazing! I wish my job is as interesting as yours. If I do go to Toronto then I will defiantly pop in! 🙂 #MyFavouriteTrip
Looks awesome! I toured a great urban garden in Brooklyn that this remind me of a bit. Love the photos. #myfavoritetrip
What an amazing initiative and clearly something that you are very passionate about which will no doubt rub off on those who take the tour. Bringing som flora & fauna into urban spaces is do important. Thanks for linking to #citytripping
OMG, I love this. First let me say that I love your writing. Next, I would love to visit with my family some day. My husband is a horticulturalist/gardener/farmer and this would so be his jam. A couple of days ago we took a tour of Green String Farms and I was so inspired. Thanks for sharing this.
Hi Claudya. Thanks so much for the lovely compliment! It would be such a fun place for a family outing. They have a pizza night where kids are encouraged to pick herbs & veggies from the garden to dress their pizza and then learn to make it in an outdoor oven! Plus we have tons of workshops from beekeeping to worm composting that I’m sure your husband would love. I hope you make it up to Toronto soon!
They can’t learn if nobody teaches them, so good on you!
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Thanks kindly!
Urban agriculture is such a wonderful initiative, even if you don’t have much space in your home. I’ve always been into growing my own veg and fruit from seeds although this year everything we planted has been eaten by slugs! 🙁 Hopefully better luck next year, homegrown always taste much better 🙂 I’ve never been to Toronto, sounds like a great city. Thanks for joining in with #MyFavouriteTrip Polly
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New York City is starting to catch on with the whole Urban garden thing. I love it and think its a great idea. Not only is it good for the environment but also aesthetically pleasing.