Celebrating Summer, Community in an Accessible Urban Way

HALIFAX, June 22, 2022 – After a location overhaul four years ago, doubling in size in the new location, and a global pandemic, Common Roots Urban Farm is ready and excited to celebrate with everyone in the community.

The farm will host a Celebration of Summer on Thursday, June 23 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., celebrating community connection and the beginning of the summer season. The event will be inclusive of food, crafts, music and a blindfolded tour of the farm, lead by gardener and accessibility advocate, Milena Khazanavicius, who is blind.

“Community gardens and urban farms act as such important community spaces” said Sara Burgess, Common Roots Urban Farm BiHi coordinator. “We want everyone to have the opportunity to come together, meet neighbours, learn from each other, and share food here at Common Roots BiHi.”

Common Roots Urban Farm is in the process making their location accessible to everyone. The farm is colour coding garden plots, installing signs with braille and QR codes, already has wheelchair accessible plots and working to upgrade gravel paths installed last season.

Burgess said creating an accessible farm is a priority and increasing awareness of how accessibility plays into all of our built environments is very important.

“Milena’s tour is an opportunity to feel the garden in a new way. It will help expand people’s understanding of how others experience environments and it’s also an educational opportunity to learn how you can support people who are blind and partially sighted in the community.”

The celebration will have a casual, community-oriented meal and barbeque with the farm providing all the food. Common Roots Urban Farm has arranged for vegan options for community members with different dietary needs.

Burgess also mentioned, that even though the farm’s newer location on Bayers Road has doubled in size since the farm relocated, keeping up with community demand is difficult.

The current waitlist for a community plot is around 140 people, said Burgess. With basic items like rent, gas and food on the rise, it’s not surprising more people are interested in urban gardening. Burgess said if a community member operates their plot efficiently, it has potential to produce $300 of produce.

“We’re reminded everyday about the need for more productive food spaces,” said Burgess. “Community gardens on underused land offer the opportunity to benefit from underutilized spaces and bring everyone closer to and learn about food and one another. And we’re trying to create a space where everyone can experience it for themselves.”