The Planting Process
Despite planting delays due to the ongoing process of site and tree
selection, the GFNG project undertook a limited number of spring plantings in all of the neighbourhoods involved in the project. Preparing the plantings was a collaborative effort between LifeCycles and the Community Coordinator. LifeCycles assisted and supported the coordinator, ensured information about trees/bushes and sources were shared, coordinated all the orders and deliveries and helped out with the plantings. The Community Coordinator researched the sites, entered agreements with the landowners, and worked directly with the community to select trees and plant them. By May 2005, 97 fruit trees, 13 fruit-bearing vines, 80 fruit-bearing bushes and 210 berry plants were planted in 6 communities. Due to the household nature of the tree plantings on Tsartlip, all plantings were completed successfully in the spring, making Tsartlip the lead community in the project! The other 5 communities initiated their plantings in the spring but completed the bulk of the work in October and November. Fall plantings included 52 fruit-bearing trees, 9 fruiting vines, and 54 berry bushes.
One of the goals of the Good Fruit N Greenways Project was to advocate for and successfully collaborate with various community institutions that represented or created greater access to public-use land and greenway designated spaces. Such locations included community gardens, local churches, cooperative complexes, community program land such as the Best Babies garden and the 1st Nations reserve land. As a result of the project and the process, there was a vocalized demand for right to access and increased use of public space. On behalf of the urban communities, LifeCycles advocated for the community's right to plant in public parks. LifeCycles petitioned and made a formal presentation to the Victoria Mayor and Council. Based on these actions, the City of Victoria approved in principle the planting of fruit trees in City Parks.
However, the City and the Maintenance Department stipulated that the cost per tree was $700 - $1500; this fee included purchase, union maintenance and pruning for 5 years, until the trees become established. After much consultation with community, it was decided that utilizing the Good Fruit N Greenways budget to pay the City and the Maintenance Department for a task that community members were willing to take on for a significantly reduced amount was not a wise or appropriate use of funds. LifeCycles and community groups understand the issue of jurisdiction (City Parks) and the labour standards of the Union. However, $700 - $1500/tree cost estimated would have resulted in only 1-3 symbolic trees planted in City Parks. However, the permission to plant fruit trees on Parks land was an important step for biodiversity and urban greening in Victoria and represented a greater degree of community involvement in city planning and design process.
Simultaneously the City entered into discussions with community garden groups who likewise petitioned to gain access to City Parks for gardens. The end-result of that discussion was the granting of City Park space for community gardens in select parks; a key point of the agreement is that the community gardeners have jurisdiction over the land and the maintenance of it. Under the new Community Garden Policy, the community is responsible for the purchasing and care of the fruit trees if they are planted in a recognized community garden. The combination of the prohibitive $700/tree costs and the newly gained jurisdiction to plant gardens in City Parks resulted in LifeCycles working with the Banfield Park Community Garden in Vic West to plant fruit trees in the City Parks. A win-win situation for the communities involved! The success of this request from LifeCycles and GFNG community partners reflects a larger trend toward communities advocating for greater control and input into land use, food and recreation planning; it complements the community gardening and food action policies created and put forward by other Victoria stakeholders.
City Park Plantings
Previous policies on city parks restricted public access with regards to design, planting, and maintenance of trees, even through consultation with the city. To address these restrictions, LifeCycles presented its vision of City Park fruit tree plantings to city officials in an effort to change such policies and to discuss protocol and process of planting and maintaining of the fruit trees. LifeCycles advocated for a City-Community approach whereby the City would provide land and the community would provide, in this case, trees and volunteer labour for planting. In the summer of 2005, LifeCycles approached City Council and proposed an initial pilot project to take place in the fall. The pilot project would have given community groups, LifeCycles and the city a chance to evaluate city-union-community collaborative ventures. As previously detailed, the City approved in principle the planting of 20 fruit trees in city parks, with the stipulation that LifeCycles would have to pay between $700-$1500 per tree for their purchase, union maintenance, pruning and watering for 5 years. Both the cost estimate and the approach, which did not allow for the community to be involved in the process of tree selection, planting and care, was deemed as incompatible with the larger project vision and goals. However, LifeCycles wanted to continue with City Park plantings in some capacity in order to demonstrate to the greater Victoria community that greater community control and input into land use, food and recreation planning on City Land was a possibility. The new Community Garden Policy provided the "window of opportunity" that the Good Fruit N Greenways Project needed. We worked with the Banfield Park Community Garden to plan, design, order and purchase fruit trees and bushes for a 2006 spring planting. The trees and bushes will be planted in a community garden in a City Park and cared for, maintained, and utilized by community volunteers.
