By: Harry Fischer, CAFES Board Member
Gardening used to be simple – find some bare ground, stick a seed in and wait for Mother Nature to do the rest. Well, times have changed and so has gardening in Ottawa, especially with regards to growing on city property. After years of tangled rules and processes, a bit of lobbying by numerous groups including CAFES Ottawa and Wild Pollinator Partners, and a push by some key City Councillors including Marty Carr, the City of Ottawa has finally carried out some overdue and necessary pruning to the Community Garden program. The result is the coming new and improved Community-Led Greening Initiatives and Gardening Program!
All gardeners need tools and supplies, and the city’s new tools include moving the program to a new city department: Recreation, Cultural and Facility Services (RCFS). RCFS is better positioned to support the program, and has hired two new staff (Krissy May and Katie Lester) to detangle the old model of de-centralized departmental responsibility into a one coordinated group that will centralize program applications, permitting and coordination.
This new group includes key representatives from relevant city departments to give us a functional one-stop point for applications to various community-led greening and gardening and greening proposals. This will ensure all proposals go through a common structured review process with one point of contact, complete with an integrated review of physical, environmental, and safety concerns.
Another key component of this revised program will be the city’s internal "Rule of Three" process - that community applicants will receive timely and clear reasons for any delay or rejection to their application, with suggested modifications and alternate steps to get the project back on the proverbial track.
Since the new staff had a lot of prep work to do, including detangling years of backlogged applications, the new program is a bit delayed (lots of bind weed and stuff like that to cut through!) but it’s anticipated that they will start accepting new applications in early 2026. They can be contacted at: communitygardens@ottawa.ca
The city standards will be benchmarked against current best practices, with opportunities for exemptions on a case-by-case basis. A key change is that soil testing costs for approved food garden projects located on city property will be covered by the city, supporting long-term sustainability.
A Public Information session will be held on Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 at 6:30pm at Ben Franklin Place, to inform city residents about the new changes and processes. Just as any good garden surprises the gardener with new shoots and flowers, this garden program still has some surprises to come, including online application management, a city site inventory and further work integrating program objectives with broader city strategies.
Long-term sustainability will be supported through community engagement, resource sharing, and potential policy adjustments such as fixed-term agreements and updated operational standards. Work is ongoing to get invasive plant removal permitted as an eligible program activity, as is coordinating with the "Adopt-a-Park" program on native pollinator gardens, and exploring GIS mapping for community gardens and greening projects to enhance visibility across Ottawa.
The result of this new program should result in an increase of streamlined community initiatives that lead to a greener, more beautiful, resilient city. Now go plant something!
The author, Harry Fischer can be reached at Ottawagarden1957@gmail.com
For more information, check out the latest memo from RCFS on program updates.
