stepsforcityland

							                                             How to start a
                                     Community Garden on
                                         City Owned Land


1. Talk to the PCGN: Let us know your ideas. We will send you an application form and
   provide any basic information, and resources you need to get started.

2. Gather a group: It is important to have a group of people interested to move a
   garden project forward. Garden groups are to fill out application form and hand back
   into the PCGN, the PCGN will review and assist with any needed additions to the
   application. (See: “City of Peterborough Community Garden Application”)

3. Apply to the City: The PCGN is the main contact with the City of Peterborough for
   establishing NEW gardens on City lands. Once your garden group has filled out the
   application form, the PCGN will forward the application to the Parks and Recreation
   Department, who will then coordinate the approval and information sharing process
   within City of Peterborough departments (including Parks & Recreation, Public
   Works, Planning, Legal etc.) to determine the sites’ feasibility for a community
   garden.

4. Approval from the City of Peterborough: The City will then give the yes or no to
   proceed with the application process for the requested space.

5. Neighbourhood Consultation: If the City approves the use of the land, each garden
   group, in conjunction with the PCGN will be required to hold a NEIGHBOURHOOD
   CONSULATION. Both the PCGN and the City of Peterborough will be available to help
   groups organize this process. The PCGN can provide educational materials,
   facilitation, neighborhood preparation etc., while the City of Peterborough will mail
   out notices to the neighborhood to inviting them to attend a neighbourhood
   consultation meeting. The garden group needs to be able to demonstrate clear
   support for the garden project from the neighborhood for the particular project to
   proceed.
6. Make A Garden Plan: Once there is demonstrated support, a more detailed plan for the
garden needs to be provided to the City via the PCGN the plan should include a layout,
logistics plan for water, compost, tool storage, signage, parking options, organizational
structure and what the garden is requesting in terms of support from the City (i.e. compost,
initial tillage, water, rain barrels, shed etc.). The PCGN is available to help with this planning
and can assist with linking new gardens to additional community resources (i.e. tools, seeds,
gardening fact sheets, workshops, master gardeners etc.).

7. Parks & Recreation Approval: Based on all the information presented the City of
Peterborough will then gather all the documentation about the garden project and present it
for approval to the Arena, Park and Recreation Advisory Committee. Please note that this City
Advisory Committee takes a break during the summer months, therefore this process needs to
take place between September and May.

8. Guidelines & Agreements: Once approved, the City of Peterborough will provide all the
legal documents needed for the garden, including a Garden Operator Lease Agreement, Plot
Holder Agreements, and Basic Garden Guidelines. These documents need to be filled out and
signed and returned to the City of Peterborough.

9. The City of Peterborough will coordinate those resources they agreed to provide for the
garden, i.e. tillage, compost, signage, water etc.

10. The PCGN can assist the NEW gardens in applying for funds to meet other garden resource
needs.




                                           For additional information
                                   Peterborough Community Garden Network
                                 http://ptbocommgardennetwork.blogspot.com
                                             pcgn@greenup.on.ca
                                             705-745-3238 ex. 204