By: Pam Wright, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Chatham Voice
Chatham-Kent’s community garden program is set to grow in 2026.
Following a motion from East Kent Coun. Morena McDonald at its final meeting in 2025, council directed staff to explore suitable garden locations in Tilbury, Blenheim, Thamesville and Bothwell by engaging with residents and community groups.
The possible locations on municipally owned property include Kirkham Park (Tilbury); Forsyth Park (Blenheim); Ferguson Park (Thamesville) and Victoria Park in Bothwell.
The motion also directs public health staff to examine potential host sites in Wheatley, Ridgetown and Erieau.
According to McDonald, she would like to see the benefits of community gardens spread to all corners of the municipality.
“The reason I brought this forward is because most of the community gardens are concentrated in the north and I think opening up the opportunity to residents in the south would be a really great opportunity for them,” McDonald told council.
However, council also heard the expansion depends of the number of volunteers who step forward for each site, as each location needs at least one leader and a minimum of six volunteer gardeners.
“This program is really contingent on the volunteers, and if we’re not able to secure the volunteers, we’re not able to move forward with that,” C-K’s general manager of human services Jodi Guilmette told the meeting.
Also approved in the motion was up to $45,000 in funding from the Public Health operations reserve to pay for capital costs to launch the expansion.
Earlier in the meeting, council heard a report from Chatham-Kent Food Policy Council (CKFPC) member Derwyn Armstrong, outlining the many benefits a community garden brings.
Armstrong, community garden volunteer co-ordinator for the CKFPC, said the gardens provide food for people they can grow and harvest on their own while offering an opportunity for physical activity.
There are other benefits as well.
“Mental health is important and I have seen the impact that our gardens have on those that participate and how this impacts their wellbeing,” Armstrong explained. “Gardens are a place for stress relief, a place for some contact with others,” he said, noting the gardens become places for residents – including newcomers to C-K – to meet and connect.
