April 1st is coming. That ain't no joke!

April 1st is the deadline for applications for an allotment garden.  It's true, our goal is to start the garden with 10 allotment plots which isn't very many but look at our plans to add almost 30 plots by the time we're done!

You can download the application by clicking on the "Get Involved" link along the sidebar of this website.

Priority for ongoing plots will be given to folks who have already submitted applications so even if you don't think you want a plot this summer it's smart for you to submit an application for a plot for future use.

Take a look at our preliminary site plan as submitted by Bryce Miranda. He is an accomplished landscape architect involved in some of Toronto's most successful urban renewal projects such as the Evergreen Brickworks.  He's given us some fantastic ideas for how far we can grow our garden!

If you think that managing a whole plot garden for the summer might be too much for your family you can partner with a neighbour to help alleviate the responsibility and still have a beautiful place to grow your vegetables.

This can be a great place to share space with another family or group of friends.

March Community Dinner

March Community Dinner, a set on Flickr.

On March 24th our neighbourhood gathered together to eat, laugh, and support a new community garden at the Monarch Park tunnel.

The Rail Garden Committee worked through a lot of learning curve lessons throughout the day and had a ton of fun doing it. There are dozens of stories about how we got everything done with wagons and plan changes all the way up until 1:00pm on the day of the big dinner.

It was amazing to see all of the people in our neighbourhood with their families enjoying the food we made. The funds raised at this event will be the seed money that we need to break ground on April 22nd, 2012!

Our First Act of Community Building

On March 8th, we, The Rail Garden Committee, hosted our first Community gathering.

We were all so excited to see and hear the reactions of our neighbours and community members to our plans for the lot at 446 Woodfield Rd.


Our logo was proudly displayed by Monica.

Our intrepid Chair, Miranda Snyder, had a game of personality bingo ready to go to break the ice!  It was a great way to start the business of coordinated change in our neighbourhood. 

Eva Vanderberg introduced the Rail Garden committee and outlined the goals of the Garden.

Carly Miranda facilitated the Design Charrette.  Displaying different inspiring design elements that we thought might add depth and beauty to our garden.

  

We asked our neighbours to tell us what they would like to see most in the community areas of our garden.  

It is an exciting thing to have a community gather together to discuss how to work together to effect positive change in the area.  There were so many positive comments and productive suggestions that we were even more inspired to work hard to get The Rail Garden in this year!


Jen Hendriks spoke about the exciting fundraising initiatives that are getting proposed.  It was a priority that for every donation there would be a direct return of service, entertainment or public acknowledgement and in line with this view our initiatives to date include.



Community Dinner March 24th!  Dinner for the whole family at the Riverdale Hub. Tickets are going fast so contact us at therailgarden@gmail.com or buy your family tickets at Lazy Daisy's Cafe today! 



Buy-a-Board campaign - For every donation of $25.00 a cedar allotment garden plank will be named after you or someone you choose.  The name will be wood burned into the plank!


Plant the Seed Cabaret April 14th.  There will be a killer stand up comedy and music night at the Hub.

With the support of Paula Fletcher's office we feel like we have a bureaucratic foundation that will strengthen the permanency of the garden as well as help us negotiate our way through city departments to get more infrastructure support.

It was a great night to find out more about the people living around us and give everyone an opportunity to offer support in areas that they felt passionately about.

Thanks to the Grinder and Lazy Daisy's Cafe for coffee, tea, and treats -- they kept us all going throughout the night!

Community Dinner

Come one, come all! The food will dazzle you and the company is unbeatable. Delicious vegan and gluten-free options will be available. UPDATE: this event is SOLD OUT!