Staff from CLSC de Parc-Extension plant seeds of food and friendship among new Canadians
Amid concrete office buildings and the clatter of passing trains, something remarkable is blossoming to life in Montreal: A vibrant community garden that’s letting newcomers cultivate food and friendship at the same time.
Thanks to a dedicated team from CLSC de Parc-Extension, women from diverse backgrounds are coming together to tend to plots of herbs and vegetables, enabling them to plants roots in their new community.
Humaira Gul knew few people and had a timid toddler in tow when she began attending the weekly gardening sessions last year. By the time the season ended, she’d made friends with other women and her son happily explored the sanctuary of plants and shrubs on his own.
“I loved it,” Ms. Gul said while weeding and watering the garden recently. “I don’t have family here. Being a single mom, I was fortunate to get to know other mothers and share my difficulties with them.”
It’s beautiful. I’ve been looking forward to this all winter.”
Humaira Gul
The initiative by the CIUSSS’s Frontline Directorate, called Little Shoots, Big Roots, allows newcomers to maintain a connection to the foods and traditions of their homelands. They collectively choose the crops to plant and incorporate them in their own cooking. Last year, Ms. Gul used turnips from the garden to make shaljam gosht, a dish from her native Pakistan that combines lamb with turnips (shaljam) in a spiced curry.
This year, the three garden plots have been seeded with okra, tomatoes, spinach, chili peppers, coriander and other crops. Shoots were pushing up through the earth one recent day in July, and the sweet aroma of mint drifted into the muggy air.
“This is a way to create connections,” says Veronik Connan, a Dietician who oversees the project. “Women are overcoming their isolation and saying to themselves, ‘There are other people in similar situations to me.’ It’s comforting for them.”
The initiative also supports early childhood health by encouraging children to discover nature. The project, which was renewed this year after a successful pilot project last year, is aimed at families of children under the age of 5 who are clients of Perinatal and Early Childhood Services. A team of dieticians, psycho-educators, a specialized educator and a speech language pathologist from CLSC de Parc-Extension take turns at the garden and provide support to participants.
“It’s very gratifying,” says Nathalie Martin, a Psycho-educator who was at the garden recently, noting that some women farmed and gardened in their homelands.
“It helps build a bridge to their past. The women leave in a good mood.”
Nathalie Martin, Psycho-educator
The garden is also a natural oasis only steps from one of Montreal’s most densely populated districts. Parc Extension is home to a high number of immigrants and refugees, some of whom face food insecurity as they rebuild new lives in Canada. The CIUSSS community garden, a partnership with the Jardins Collectifs Parc-Extension, is located on converted railyards that have been redeveloped into the University of Montreal’s Campus MIL.
Research indicates that community gardens can contribute to promoting public health, and that refugees who participate in community gardening have fewer symptoms of anxiety, depression, and trauma, and less food insecurity than non-gardeners.
Some of the clearest advantages emerge from the testimonials of the women who participated in the project last year. In their own, hand-written words, which were collected by CLSC staff, these women shared the benefits they reaped over the course of the growing season.
A sampling:
- “I love my children and we have evolved a lot by loving nature together.”
- “I learned language skills in English and French by listening to the others speaking together.”
- “I can grow my own mint to make chutney.”
- “When we meet, everyone works within the team.”
- “I learned about Canadian vegetables and insects (it was my first time seeing a snail).”
Finally, one woman wrote: “I’ve learned that everything is possible with devotion, time and love.”
That—plus a little water and summer sunshine—can create a bounty.