Here's what some people have said about the sites:Of the sites my vote would be for Porter park as it seems the most central and most likely to attract
all ages to contribute to its growth.
I like the fact that its near the school and community centre as it would create a vibrant hub
for the Moss village community.
Thanks again!
Anna
Anna Norris; Community Member, Moss Street Village/ Street Life Participant: Fairfield resident
I am familar with all three locations and would vote in favour of the site near the Fairfield Community center, for all the reasons we discussed.
Fran McArthur; Community Member; Fairfield resident
This email is just to formalize (put onto virtual paper) my preference for the Fairfield Community Garden location.
It's easy to visualize some sort of commons garden, mini-orchard and/or permaculture garden going into all of locations at some point (Chicken Park, Robert Porter Park and Pemberton Park). However, I think that Robert Porter Park is the best place to start the community gardens project (for a number of reasons), with the possibility of later expanding to the other parks and/or boulevards.
Porter Park is conveniently located, both central in Fairfield and adjacent to the Fairfield Community Place. The proximity to the Community Place would be useful; it could possibly be used as a temporary storage area for tools and such until we get a permanent structure built at the garden, possible bathroom access?!, and the potential to use the kitchen and hall for canning/jamming/cooking classes.
Also, as it is close to Sir James Douglas School, the Community Place, a couple of playgrounds and otherwise a fairly used park, I expect we'd have more interaction with the public than in the other parks. The benefits to this is that more people would learn about the project, with possibly more volunteers signing up, goods being donated etc. The higher the interaction with the public the more public interest there would be.
My third reason for supporting this location is that it gets the most sun out of the three parks, and so should be easier to grow a wider variety of plants.
Erika Verlinden: Community Garden collective member; Fairfield resident
I agree that Porter park would be the best place for a community garden. It is in walking distance to my house which is a big factor due to the fact that I do not own a vehicle. Also it is such a visible location whereby people/children could come learn about community gardening. More people might want to become involved after they see the benefits of growing our own food.
Stephanie Dawson, Fairfield resident
As for my vote for which site, I am going to suggest the Porter Park site as well. My reasons are similar to what others have already said:
-central location, in the 'heart of Fairfield' (maximizing community access and potential involvement)
-proximity to school (potential to involve children)
-next to community centre (storage, resources, space for meetings and/or workshops)
-just feels like the right spot
Kimberly Snider, Fairfield resident
My first choice is the location next to the community center. I like this site for it's permaculture potential, and I like that it is so close to the market and the community center (so we can go inside if we are doing workshops, etc.). However, I like Chicken Park almost as much as my first choice. I think Chicken Park actually has a lot of potential for a couple smaller plots, and doing some interesting things with the landscape. So I think Chicken Park is also a really solid choice.
Courtney Robinson, Fairfield Resident
