Living a sustainable lifestyle is becoming a lot easier with all the green initiatives, tools, designs and actions being taken locally here in downtown Montreal—the Rooftop Garden Project being a wonderful example of this. This project is a community initiative organized and managed by Santropol Roulant and ALTERNATIVES, a Montreal-based not-for-profit and an international non-governmental organization, respectively. I have recently started volunteering at the McGill downtown Edible Garden, located beside the Burnside building, and would like to share my first impressions of the aesthetically pleasing and functional addition to the campus as well as to offer some views about Urban Agriculture and Green Roofs.

Volunteering at the McGill Edible Garden has so far been a very relaxing and enjoyable experience. The Rooftop Garden Project offers a bucket gardening method that conserves water while also reducing the load that the container imposes on the surface on which it sits. Having little experience in gardening, volunteering has been a hands-on way to learn about best practice and efficient urban-agriculture while being in a friendly atmosphere. I volunteer between classes on Tuesday mornings and find interacting with nature and improving the aesthetics of the downtown campus energizes me and gives me a sense of belonging to the campus.

Urban agriculture has many benefits within our communities, especially in urban centres. Growing food in urban centres reduces “Food Miles” (distance your food has traveled before reaching your plate) and hence reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, gardens help to serve in reducing the heat island effect in developed areas. A heat island is produced by reducing canopy cover in cities, while also increasing the area of energy absorptive materials - such as concrete - leading to an increase in temperature by 1-2 degrees in an urban centre. Although not all buildings are able to handle some “green roofs”, there are many techniques and ideas out there that can be incorporated into nearly every building and or property.

Our cities are abundant in resources (rooftops) that are capable in facilitating the curbing global warming, building stronger community relationships while also boasting a function in providing fresh and more meaningful food while empowering those involved. The McGill Edible Garden is a model in thinking globally and acting locally.

Ghislaine Johnson
Bioresource Engineering Senior

Posted to: Nos histoires / Our stories | Community Involvement
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Submitted by rotem on Thu, 20/09/2007 - 11:25am.