Nanaimo Community Gardens Society is on the hunt for new space for its greenhouse operations.
Board member Pat Wells, who looks after communications among the greenhouse volunteers, said for the past 14 years or so, the Regional District of Nanaimo allowed the group to use greenhouses on property it owns off Hammond Bay Road.
But the RDN needs that space for expansion of its sewage treatment plant as of August 2013, so members are searching for a new site.
“If some wealthy person has a nice chunk of land that they’re not using, that would be lovely,” said Wells, adding the group has talked with the city about using parkland, but nothing was confirmed.
If the society finds land to use, the next step is fundraising to construct greenhouses, she said.
“We need a site and money and/or volunteer labour and materials,” said Wells. “We’re in a good financial position, but not to fully equip a new site overnight. We may have to start with a small one and build up.”
Nanaimo Community Gardens gets a $25,000 gaming grant each year and a few smaller grants, which are used to hire a part-time production manager and administrator. The society has managed to set aside some money to help fund greenhouse construction, although this fund must also cover the costs of repairing the group’s truck or buying a new one.
The truck is used to haul manure and plants and to transport volunteers involved with the gleaning program.
The society uses the RDN’s greenhouses to grow seedlings to sell to the public and volunteers also grow small amounts of vegetables for their own use year-round – heat-loving crops in the summer and winter vegetables in fall and winter.
Wells said the seedling sales – the society sells about $10,000 worth of plants and seeds every year – is a break-even venture, done to encourage people to grow more food locally and to maintain seed diversity.
She said the society has looked for a new spot in the north end because that’s where many of the greenhouse volunteers live.
Ideally, the new site would enable volunteers to sell plants directly on-site, rather than carting them to the society’s Pine Street community garden location, she added, and allow the society to offer educational workshops, which is not permitted under the RDN agreement.
If no site is found, the society will no longer be able to offer organically grown seeds or seedlings, said Wells.
“No seed or plant sales for the public would be the bottom line,” she said.
Ellen Hausman, the RDN’s wastewater program coordinator, said the space is needed for a facility upgrade that will enable the RDN to improve the effluent from that site.
“It’s unfortunate,” she said. “It’s been a great arrangement up until now.”
For more information or to help, please call the society at 250-816-4769.
