Gardening helps newcomers adjust to life in Canada and to grow food they otherwise couldn’t afford to buy.
On May 28, members of the newcomer community will be breaking ground on a new garden space in Winnipeg’s North End, providing garden beds for 15 new Canadian families.
Sita is from Bhutan. She’s an experienced gardener, and she loved spending time in her garden, growing fresh, healthy food for her family. But conflict changed that, and when she moved to Canada as a refugee she didn’t have the space to grow her own food anymore.
Now she lives with her family in a small apartment in central Winnipeg and having her own plot of land is something she thinks will help her family feel more at home.
The new North End Garden of Nations will give Sita the chance to grow her own food. Including familiar foods like mustard greens, chilies and even marigolds that she couldn’t easily find or afford in Winnipeg grocery stores.
“This new North End Garden of Nations is so much more than a garden, it’s a community for people who are trying to find their place in a new country,” says Stefan Epp-Koop, Acting Executive Director of Food Matters Manitoba.
“Gardeners come and learn to grow foods they know, meet other newcomers, and build an essential social support network.”
Food Matters Manitoba, a team of volunteers from Home Depot North and newcomer gardeners will break ground for the North End Garden of Nations on May 28 at 9 a.m. at North Centennial Community Centre (90 Sinclair St, Winnipeg). Mike Pagtakhan, City Councillor for Point Douglas, will bring remarks from the city and officially open the gardens at noon.
The North End Garden of Nation is made possible by the support of The Home Depot Canada Foundation, Dillon Consulting and many generous Manitobans.
For more info contact Food Matters Manitoba at 204-943-0822
One of many garden plots in Winnipeg’s North End.
