Nearly 20 people were in attendance for Equal Ground Community Gardens’ (EGCG) annual general meeting on Monday, January 13, 2025.
The non-profit organization is responsible for facilitating 31 free community gardens located throughout the City of Brantford and the County of Brant, as well as garden related educational programming.
During the meeting, Caitlin Schneider, President of ECGC, and Taylor Edwards, EGCG’s full-time Greenhouse and Learning Centre Coordinator, took the time to provide the board of directors and interested volunteers with a review of what the organization accomplished in 2024 and to discuss what’s coming up in 2025.
“As I stand here reflecting on 2024, I’m filled with immense pride and gratitude. This past year has been nothing short of incredible and it’s all thanks to amazing people who make Equal Ground Community Gardens thrive,” said Schneider. “Serving as your president continues to be such an honour, and I’m constantly inspired by what we accomplished together. Last year, our organization flourished in ways that reflect the strength and dedication of our community, with the support of our board members, volunteers, donors, and, of course, our amazing full-time staff member.”
Later, Edwards went over the following key impacts the organization accomplished in 2024:
- Installed four new community gardens at Prince Charles Park, Edith Montour Park, Silverbridge Park and Sunny Hill Park in St. George.
- Supported three new private facilities.
- Updated three existing community gardens.
- Facilitated 31 community gardens (that’s 270 garden beds and around 8,640 sq ft. of growing space) to help grow roughly 31,000 pounds of food throughout the growing season.
- Supported 71 host gardeners (those who have space to grow food for the community at their own home) in growing over 15,000 pounds of food.
- Engaged over 236 volunteers who put in over 1,000 hours of work
- Distributed over 13,000 seed packs.
- Launched the “Community Garden” podcast.
- Supported the Pollinator Pathways program in collaboration with the Rangers of the Butterfly Way Project of Brantford.
- Hosted 56 presentations, workshops and drop-in classes like the “Build Your Own Salad Workshop.”
- Held several programs and activities including the “Teddy Bear Picnic” at St. Buck Park community garden, the “St. George Little Gardeners” program at Sunny Hill Park community garden, and “Yoga in the Park” at Earl Haig.
“Our workshops and events were as fun as they were impactful,” said Schneider. “From Build Your Own Salad to Yoga in the Park, these programs remind us of how much we can grow when people come together, not just food, but friendships and knowledge too.”
As part of the meeting, the EGCG team also provided attendees with an update in regards to the Greenhouse and Learning centre project at Woodman Park Community Centre and Pool.
Schneider said that while the greenhouse and site were supposed to be completed for 2024, the project will in fact be up and running for the 2025 growing season as the pad for the greenhouse has been installed and the structure itself has been purchased.
“The greenhouse and learning centre, a particularly exciting development, is near completion and will open its doors in time for the 2025 growing season. This space will be a hub for education, connection and growth,” said Schneider. “Despite challenges and delays, we are thrilled to see it finally take shape and look forward to the transformative impact it will have in our community.”
Once completed, the space will feature:
- 52 raised garden beds
- Four fruit bush beds
- Six accessible garden beds
- Pollinator gardens
- Fruit trees
- Storage shed
- Paved pathways, and of course
- The 22 x 29’ community greenhouse
“I had a meeting with the community centre on Thursday, and we’ve got some stuff in the works which is really awesome and they’re really excited to have us there. It’s a youth hub so they run summer camps every single day and they have the new community pool there so there’s a lot happening at that site so we really wanted to make sure we were all on the same page,” added Edwards. “They used to have a smaller community garden there that was actually by their teen program and so they want to revisit that and they have an entire week of summer camp theme called ‘The Secret Garden’ so we’re going to do some work through that as well.”
As the meeting neared the end, seven people volunteered to be part of the board for 2025 including Andrea Coombs, Paulina Gusciora, Peter Tarrant, Kathryn Kissinger, Tasha Bushcombe, Dent McIntyre and Almas Khalam.
In regards to what will come next in 2025, Schneider said she’s looking forward to seeing what the organization can accomplish.
“Looking ahead into 2025, the possibilities feel endless. Whether it’s expanding our programs, creating more opportunities to learn and connect, or continuing to get our hands dirty in the gardens, I’m excited to see what is to come,” she said. “To everyone who has supported Equal Ground this year through your time and resources, or simply just showing up, you are the heart of our organization and together we are not just planting seeds and soil, we are planting hope, change and connection in our community. Here’s to another amazing year ahead. Let’s keep growing, learning and having fun along the way.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
