At sunrise on Saturday, City of London Community Gardens will open, with new health and safety and physical distancing measures to keep gardeners and staff safe this season.
Following the Province of Ontario announcement that community gardens could open on April 25, City staff have worked diligently to prepare the gardens and develop appropriate protocols, working with the Middlesex London Health Unit.
“Community Gardens have been a long standing tradition in London, with more gardens than ever across our city,” says Mayor Ed Holder. “These are important for Londoners, providing access to healthy and low-cost food, healthy physical activity and developing meaningful relationships among the community. I’m thrilled that community gardens are now open for gardeners with health measures in place to stop the spread of COVID-19.”
Gardeners will be expected to abide by self-assessments, maintaining physical distancing (2m/6 feet from people outside of their household), and follow all updated public health guidelines at all times, among other new guidelines.
The public will not be allowed to access the gardens; they are only open to registered gardeners. City staff will monitor gardens regularly.
City-managed gardens will open on the Victoria Day long weekend, with the exception of Reservoir Community Garden. This garden was scheduled to be re-built this spring, but construction was delayed due to COVID-19. Staff is preparing this garden to open in the coming weeks.
Updates and information can be found at london.ca/communitygardens.