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The City of Toronto is showing residents how easy it is to grow
vegetables, herbs and fruits in any space at this year’s Canada
Blooms. Residents can visit the City’s feature garden - “Get
Growing Toronto! Urban Agriculture in our City” - at the Direct
Energy Centre, Exhibition Place from March 17 to 21.
“Gardening is a wonderful way for people of every age, race and
ability to get active and to lead a healthy lifestyle,” says
Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone (Ward 19 Trinity-Spadina), this
year’s City of Toronto spokesperson for Canada Blooms.
“Urban agriculture is also known to cultivate community,” he
says. “It breathes new life into neglected areas and brings
neighbourhoods together to achieve their goal of producing food
that is healthy, affordable and culturally diverse.”
Visitors to this year’s City of Toronto feature garden can gain
a wealth of information about urban agriculture, from
cultivation and harvesting techniques to how to plant a
container garden, create nutrient-rich compost, and sign up for
a free Summer WaterSaver Visit.
Members of Toronto Urban Growers will also be on-site to provide
expert advice, along with Toronto’s Community Food Animators - a
team that works with residents on a wide range of food
programming, such as food markets, community gardens and
kitchens.
Even the youngest gardeners can learn at the City’s Children’s
Demonstration Garden, featuring live composting worms, a touch
and smell garden, and hands-on activities like scavenger hunts
and crafts.
For more information about the City of Toronto’s feature garden
(such as participating divisions, displays and exhibits), visit
canada_blooms_to_feature_garden.pdf.
Urban agriculture is a key element in the City’s Climate Change
Action Plan, an aggressive environmental framework aimed at
reducing Toronto’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by
2050.
“Food miles - the distance food travels from production to
consumption - have increased dramatically over the last
generation,” says Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone. “Local food not
only tastes great, but it also travels less, helping to clean
our environment and the air we breathe.”
According to research, the average food item sold in Toronto has
traveled nearly 4,500 kilometres, the equivalent of driving from
Toronto to Victoria, British Columbia.
In 2008, the City of Toronto became the largest government in
Canada to put in place a local food procurement policy for its
own operations. Currently, it is estimated that over 25 per cent
of the City’s food purchases are from Ontario sources.
The City also operates numerous children’s, allotment and
community gardens across Toronto, and provides tips, tools and
grants to help people ‘get growing’ through Live Green Toronto.
For more information about the City’s urban agriculture
programs, including a video on how to start your own community
garden, visit
http://livegreentoronto.ca.
For information about Canada Blooms, visit
http://canadablooms.com.
Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government,
and home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people. It
is the economic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and
most creative cities in North America.
Toronto has won numerous awards for quality, innovation and
efficiency in delivering public services. Toronto’s government
is dedicated to prosperity, opportunity and liveability for all
its residents. For information about non-emergency City services
and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can
dial 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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