Vision Statement
“Contribute to the development of collective solidarity among the Communauté rurale de Beausoleil’s citizens toward a natural, healthy and sustainable food autonomy.”Anyone interested in renting a plot in the community garden can contact us. There are a dozen plots available with a water inlet, and the land is plowed in the spring. Tools and compost are provided. The cost is 11 Ct per square foot, so about $33 for a small plot and $45 for a medium-sized plot. We are always on the lookout for a volunteer to manage the rented plots. Garden rules are available here.
Collective Garden
In 2023, about 6500 lbs of vegetables were produced in the collective section: carrots, potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, beans, beets, onions, cucumbers, squash, etc. Around 24,000 pounds of vegetables have been grown in the garden and distributed to the community since its inception in 2014 which represents almost $50,000 in cash value.
The collective garden has a community vocation, with the aim of distributing at least 70% of the harvest to the community. In addition, we supply the Blanche-Bourgeois school throughout the year with potatoes, carrots, pods and squash. The school also receives cucumbers, onions and tomatoes.
More than 800 volunteer hours were contributed to the community garden in 2020! If you can give a little of your time and want to contribute to food sovereignty, contact us! People are always needed for harvesting, weeding, pest control, lawn mowing, vegetable distribution, promotion, workshops and more.
Food Distribution
Most of our vegetables are distributed to people in need, thanks to the Vestiaire St-Joseph de Shédiac, which gives them to people in Grande-Digue, Cocagne, Saint-Antoine, Notre-Dame, Shediac, etc. In 2023, the number of food bank beneficiaries increased significantly, with approximately 900 people, a third of whom are children, receiving food. The collective garden accounted for 42% of donations received for the food bank.
The other half of the harvest is distributed to École Blanche Bourgeois with the help of volunteer Yvan Picard. The school buys our vegetables and we give them a cheque in return for the free breakfast and lunch program. The kids help harvest the vegetables, and we also offer interactive workshops on food sovereignty, biodiversity, bees and more.
We also donate the vegetables to Bien vieillir chez soi Beausoleil, which cooks and distributes meals to seniors in need in the community. These include potatoes, carrots, cabbage, squash, beet, onions and more.
A long-term goal would be to offer our vegetables to the 3 schools in the watershed and also to the Richibouctou food bank. However, there is only one reliable warehouse in Cocagne, which is a prerequisite for distribution.
Solar Watering System and Energy
The Cocagne Community Garden is located in the center of the community and is highly visible, so it has a strong educational power. This is one of the reasons why we wanted to prioritize renewable energies.
In 2020, a new well was dug at the top of the garden with a capacity of 12.5 gallons per minute, a pump was added and a structure for the new 2,500-gallon water tank was built.
In addition, two solar panels with 2 batteries for 24 V were installed to power the pump. We have also installed solar panels at the shed for lighting.
Community root cellar
To improve access to fresh, local produce for longer throughout the year, we improved vegetable storage. In 2021, we built a community root cellar at Centre 50 that doubles as an emergency depot.
The community root cellar measures 30' x 50' x 16' and is not dug into the ground, as the terrain did not permit it. It is an above-ground model, a double-insulated metal building with a cement foundation. It has 2 compartments, with a bottom section that can hold several tons of vegetables, and a temperature of around 5 degrees Celsius for carrots, potatoes, cabbage, etc. The top section is at around 5 degrees Celsius. The upper section is at around 15 degrees Celsius, where we store onions, squash, etc. In 2023, we added high-performance Janny modules to further extend preservation, enabling us to distribute vegetables in winter and spring when we don't yet have any crops in the garden.
Gardeners and farmers can rent a pallet of space for the season at a cost of $20, and instructions on how to use it are given here.
The community root cellar contributes to strengthening food security by improving access to local produce all year round.
Walipini
In 2023, we began a major new project: the walipini. This is a 4-season underground greenhouse to grow vegetables and eventually raise fish for the community. The walipini will enable us to grow a variety of vegetables to diversify our supply of healthy, pesticide-free food. This is the first community walipini in Atlantic Canada. We built the 20' 70', 8' insulated structure with cement block walls and a double plastic roof. We're planning 15 growing bins, 5 of which will be available to people in the community. In the future, we want to add hydroponics and aquaponics to explore the walipini's potential.
Fundraising Dinner
The community garden organizes an annual fund-raising dinner to cover a good part of its fixed costs, such as rental of the portable toilet, taxes, seeds, green and organic fertilizers, compost, nets, maintenance, and so on. Fortunately, we collaborate with Les Cocagneries and Centre 50 to offer a delicious meal featuring vegetables from the collective garden and local meat. Around 180 tickets are always sold in advance for a vegetable bouilli with salt pork, chow and beet and dessert (varies each year). Music, flowers and good company create a great atmosphere to celebrate the harvest in the garden, and it's always a much-anticipated time of year.
The fund-raising dinner is only possible thanks to the many volunteers at Centre 50 and Jardin Communautaire.
A 50 50 is organized at the same time.
Resources
- Facebook page of Cocagne Community Garden
- 2024 Cocagne Community Garden spring newsletter Vol.3
- 2023 Cocagne Community Garden fall newsletter Vol.2
- 2023 Cocagne Community Garden spring newsletter Vol.1
- Presentation on evolution of Community garden 2014 to 2022
Acknowledgements
First, we'd like to thank Imelda and Benoît Bourque, the owners of the Cocagne community garden. Thank you for supporting us in this great Community Garden adventure! Secondly, we'd like to thank Marc Picard and Yvan Picard, who created this wonderful community project so that no child goes hungry! Thanks to your great dedication, this garden exists and thrives. Thirdly, we would like to thank the Communauté rurale de Beausoleil, which covers the insurance costs and has also contributed to the Walipini. Finally, we are very grateful to each and every volunteer who has helped with the garden so that everyone has access to good, healthy, natural food. Our many partners have made possible the construction of our various food infrastructures and contributed to the realization of our food activities:
- Action communautaire en alimentation
- Agriculture Canada
- Center 50
- Citizens
- Kent Regional Services Commission
- Beausoleil Rural Community
- École Blanche-Bourgeois
- John Lyons Co-op Foundation
- Environmental Trust Fund
- Farm Credit Canada
- Kent Community Inclusion Network
- UNI
- Vestiaire St-Joseph
