Guides

This document draws a portrait of the municipal policies about urban agriculture (UA) in three cities: Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver. The editorial board has studied the avaible documentations on the subject in order to identify the different policies and ways of involvement concerning UA present in these cities. Alternatives, as a member organisation of the working group in UA, has realised this assessment to give a useful information to the interested participants in Montreal as well as to promote the creation of concrete tools and partnerships aimed at integrating UA in municipal policies not only in Montreal, but also in other cities in Quebec.

Through a series of practical, critical and creative educational activities, our pedagogical guide allows students in the tree cycles of primary school to discover and reflect upon what is at stake in urban agriculture. We have been continuously encouraging citizens to get involved in creating new green, edible spaces for communities, both locally and internationally. At the heart of these communities are their schools, a fertile ground where young citizens “grow”. Because of the genersous and creative nature of edible gardening, we believe it is an excellent way to get students to think about their relationship with their physical and social environment. Beyond explaining how our food goes from “field to table”, we would like to foster a culture of citizen involvement and solidarity. We sincerely hope these educational activities sow the seeds of a community garden project in your schoolyard.