Perched five floors above the corner of Military Trail and Ellesmere is a garden growing in the sky.
And while it doesn’t quite reach the clouds, its goal of creating a peaceful oasis for teaching and learning how to grow food in the city is certainly lofty.
“When I tell fellow students we have a space on the roof of a building to grow food, they get really excited,” says Kiana Bonnick, Coordinator of U of T Scarborough’s IC rooftop garden.
The garden, which is located on the roof of the Instructional Centre (IC), covers 28 square metres (410 sq. ft.) of growing space in a total of five planters. It was tended over the summer by Bonnick, an undergrad in Environmental Studies, along with a group of volunteers.
A total of 42 crops were planted in the garden this year ranging from amaranth (a type of African spinach) to zucchini.
“We wanted the plants to reflect the diversity of our community,” says Bonnick. “The garden is a place to raise awareness and learn about how different cultures grow and use food, but it’s also a peaceful place to get away and just relax or meditate.”
It marks the second year the garden has been used to engage students, staff and faculty about rooftop gardening through a series of educational, research, and community-outreach activities. This year there were two major events held in the garden itself along with five workshops and two community outreach events.
Four of the workshops focused on developing gardening techniques that were integrated with Indigenous knowledge and traditions. There were also workshops focusing on teachings around the significance and uses of certain plants among Indigenous peoples, which was delivered by campus Indigenous Elder Wendy Phillips.
A unique food demonstration workshop called Food Discussion Café had those in attendance learn about different herbs and how to use them in drinks. Two separate tours of the garden were also given to the public, while separate planting and harvesting parties also took place.
The garden also yielded a generous harvest; 40 pounds of food in total was given to Native Child and Family Services as well as the N’sheemaehn Child Care Centre.
Bonnick says an important aspect of the garden continues to be the external partnerships that have formed including with the Malvern Community Centre, Scarborough Food Network and Access Alliance.
The events were held in collaboration with staff and faculty from the Department of Environmental Science (DPES) and Culinaria, Wendy Philips, and volunteers from the Sustainability Office, DPES, and the Farmer’s Market. The garden is also part of the Healthy Campus Initiative organized by the Principal’s Office.
These events also offer a chance for people from across campus to connect.
“During one of our workshops by Wendy Phillips on the importance and uses of Indigenous tobacco an entire class of management students joined us,” says Bonnick.
“It’s really exciting to see how a community garden can create a space that brings together people from across campus like that.”
