Park Board focuses on urban agriculture

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Plan being development to guide park activities

David Rogers walks his dog past the Lake Nokomis Naturescape, a demonstration garden that illustrates how people can incorporate native plants in their home landscaping. Demonstrations and classes on native gardens are a piece of Urban Agriculture in Minneapolis. Over the next few months, park staff are soliciting ideas and comments from citizens as they work to create an Urgan Agriculture plan for the city.Urban agriculture is about more than just community gardens, said Ginger Cannon of the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board (MPRB). It encompasses everything from demonstration gardens to farmer’s markets to serving healthy foods at rec centers. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)

by Tesha M. Christensen

Confused about what urban agriculture is and why the Minneapolis parks department is involved?

You’re not the only one.

It’s a tough thing to grasp because the definition of urban agriculture is constantly evolving.

“In the city of Minneapolis, we’re still trying to figure out what it means,” said Ginger Cannon of the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board (MPRB).

The official definition is this: “The effort to support production, consumption, distribution and waste management in an urban environment.”

It is about more than just community gardens, according to Cannon.

“Urban agriculture is everything from farmer’s markets to composting,” said Cannon.

Those engaged in urban agriculture activities may raise chickens. They may grow their own food in either a community garden or personal garden. Or, they may sell local foods at a neighborhood farmers market. 

The practice of urban agriculture helps to meet local food needs while providing environmental, health, social and economic benefits for the community.

Public feedback desired

MPRB is working to develop a comprehensive Urban Agriculture plan. The first step is to solicit public feedback. A series of meetings were held throughout the city in November and December, including one at the Nokomis Rec Center on Dec. 4.

“We want to hear from the community,” said Cannon. “What are the things you think the park should support?”

Comments are still being taken via the MPRB web site. There is a link to the Urban Agriculture Survey at www.minneapolisparks.org on the left navigation bar on the home page.

This plan will:

• Define and prioritize community needs

• Provide recommendations to enhance community services

• Guide allocation of resources to better support urban agriculture as government organization.

Current urban agriculture in the parks

MPRB is currently involved in a range of urban agriculture activities.

While the MPRB does not establish community gardens on any of its park land, it does manage several demonstration gardens. The largest one is Shady Rivers at the Theodore Wirth Regional Park. There youth learn now to plant, harvest and process food. It is then donated to local food shelves.

MPRB does rents four parcels of land it obtained through tax forfeiture to community garden groups (Bancroft Meridian Garden, Soo Line Gardens and Shingle Creek Neighborhood Association). There are another 7 possible locations, including three within the Nokomis East neighborhood.

One of the largest natural demonstration gardens in the city is the Nokomis Naturescape at 50th. It is also the focus of the popular Monarch Festival held each September that the park board helps organize. Three gardens at Minnehaha Park (Longfellow Garden, Song of Hiawatha Garden and the Pergola garden) offer residents the opportunity to learn more about how to garden. The knowledge can then be applied to growing any kind of plant. An area of growth for MPRB might be to not only demonstrate this type of gardening, but to also actively teach it. “We know that people want more programming,” observed Cannon. Classes might include how to improve the soil, permaculture, and which foods to grow in which seasons.

Also important to the MPRB is that vendors in its parks practice composting, which Sandcastle, the new vendor at Nokomis Beach, intends to do.

In Powderhorn, there is a rain garden project.

MPRB could opt to focus more on any one of these efforts, or it could do something new.

A number of ideas have been suggested by citizens at community meetings.

Some have encouraged the MPRB to set aside land for demonstration farms. Others want to see classes at the Rec Center kitchens on how to process food.

MPRB runs the largest childcare program in the city, and some people want MPRB to use this opportunity to teach youth about how to eat healthy.

MPRB could broaden its net and seek to address the food desert in the city, those areas where residents don’t have easy access to healthy food options.

“These are all possibilities,” said Cannon.

WHAT’S NEXT

Following these initial community meetings, the parks staff will now meet with focus groups. The first draft of the Urban Agriculture plan will be completed by late spring 2013. After another round of discussions, the final plan will go before the park board in late 2013.

Sign up for email updates on the project at www.minneapolisparks.org.

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SIDEBAR

What is “urban agriculture”?  Most broadly, the term refers to growing and raising crops and animals in an urban setting for the purpose of feeding local populations. It can include community gardens, commercial gardens, community support agriculture (CSA), farmer’s markets, personal gardens and urban farms.