Roots, tendrils, seeds and shoots: a case study of Parkallen’s community garden, a permaculture project
Roots, tendrils, seeds and shoots: a case study of Parkallen’s community garden, a permaculture project
Author
Wurfel, Marlene
Faculty Advisor
Date
2013
Keywords
community gardens , permaculture , case studies , Edmonton, Alberta
Abstract (summary)
The first growing season of Edmonton’s Parkallen Community Garden began in Spring
2012. We transformed an unused strip of lawn bordering our hockey rink into a loamy,
thriving “edible food forest” of corn, beans, squash, kale, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, apple
trees, and mammoth sunflowers. It is unlike most community gardens in that individual
plots are not tended by individual gardeners; rather, the PCG is tended communally, by the
community. The garden is open and accessible to the community, always, and all are
welcome there, from the toddler whose only contribution is to chomp on a snowpea and water
a dandelion, to the senior who wants to plant a tree in his community that he knows will
outlive him. Hundreds of Parkallen residents have planted something, admired something,
or munched on something there. In its first year Parkallen’s garden won The City of
Edmonton’s top community gardening award from Communities in Bloom. This article is a
case study of the Parkallen Community Garden. Through the lenses and observations of the
author, it details how Parkallen’s permaculture design came, literally, to fruition and how
permaculture has been interpreted and how it informs our garden and our gardening
community.
Publication Information
Wurfel, M. (2013). Roots, Tendrils, Sprouts and Shoots: A Case Study of Parkallen’s Community Garden, a Permaculture Project. Earth Common Journal, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.31542/j.ecj.82
DOI
Notes
Item Type
Article
Language
English
Rights
All Rights Reserved