Future Plans

A Greenhouse and Protected Garden in the Wychwood Car Barns Park

The dream is to create a 'Green Barn' consisting of a greenhouse, protected garden and neighbourhood bake oven that will serve as a centre for year-round gardening, community programming, and environmental education.

The 'Green Barn' would be (a) an historical space that respects our architectural and agricultural heritage, (b) a public space that is integrated with the renovated Car Barns, the new park and the community around it, and (c) an inviting and welcoming cultural space that cultivates neighbourhood roots as well as community development, identity, and well-being.

The goals of the Green Barn would be:

To provide a public space for spontaneous enjoyment and planned activities where people of diverse backgrounds can socialize, eat, meet their neighbours, and learn about food and nutrition, environment-friendly practices, social justice and the arts
To allow local people from diverse backgrounds to grow plants from their homelands
To increase availability of fresh, healthy and safe food for the community
To act as a showcase for innovative and environmentally-friendly growing, building and energy production methods
To provide a place for local schools and others to learn about horticulture and greenhouse production techniques, cultural heritage, environmental issues and the inter-connectedness between food, water, energy and the environment
To provide a catalyst for neighbourhood and community development

How Could a 'Green Barn' Be Used?

All of the Green Barn spaces would be open to local residents to visit, volunteer and participate in programs. In fact, the Green Barn will only come to life through strong local participation.

A greenhouse can extend the local growing season and grow plants from warmer climates that reflect the diverse cultures of the neighbourhood. Organic salad greens and fresh herbs can be grown on a small scale for sale to local restaurants to help offset operational costs. Community gardens in the area could get a head start on their growing season by starting seedlings.

A protected garden is sheltered from extremes of weather, thus extending the gardening season. Very tender plants can be grown in such a garden as well as those whose natural range is slightly south of us. Open space within the protected garden can act as a natural meeting place. It would be open year-round and would include seating areas and other places for informal interaction.

Children and youth could particularly benefit from skills training programs or the hands-on learning of planting seeds and watching them grow.

Both the greenhouse and the protected garden could showcase heritage varieties of plants, both as an educational tool to raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity, and as a way to reference the area's agricultural history.

An outdoor bake oven would give people a place to come together and bake pizza, bread or lasagna. Existing bake ovens in Dufferin Grove, Riverdale and Christie Pits parks have provided an ideal place for families to bring their kids and make a delicious lunch.

The project could serve as a demonstration site for innovative "green" technologies in heating, power, waste reduction and water conservation.

We welcome your input and involvement!

For more information about this project or to find out how you can get involved, please call Rhonda at The Stop Community Food Centre (416) 652-7867 ext. 222, email to rhonda@thestop.org
For more information about the Green Barn and the Wychwood Barns site, please see www.anewpark.org