| FEB 2010 | Idea conceived at Greater Fredericton Social Innovations’ Open Space Forum under the name “Fredericton Community Gardens Initiative” |
| APR 2010 | Inaugural Planning Committee Meeting at Ducks Unlimited. Over 20 people attend. |
| MAY 2010 | Develop Mission Statement & Objectives – “to grow food, to grow minds, to grow community”. Scouting and assessment of potential sites. |
| JUNE 2010 | Select St. Mary’s Anglican Church as first site. Initial meeting with church members is very positive. We decide to incorporate as a non-profit. |
| JULY 2010 | Greater Fredericton Social Innovation adds us as a page on their website. Apply for 2 of St. Thomas University’s Social Work Social Action Field Placements. Submit grant proposal to Hellman’s. Initial meeting with City of Fredericton to discuss potential south-side site and support for St. Mary’s location. The City agrees to provide the St. Mary’s site with compost. Second meeting with City fails to produce a suitable south-side site. |
| AUG 2010 | Edee Klee (Co-Chair), Elizabeth Crawford Thurber (Co-Chair), Rob Palo (Treasurer) & Susanne White (Secretary) form first Board of Directors. Hellman’s grant proposal is declined. Suggestions for name change for incorporation are requested – final name submitted “NB Community Harvest Gardens Inc./ Jardins de la récolte communautaire N-B inc.”. Draft website is created. Soil experts, Taumey Mahendrappa & Sherif Fahmy give advice on plot preparation and do soil testing at St. Mary’s site. Testing reveals excellent pH but poor organic content. Our application for 2 STU students is accepted. Choose a gravity-fed watering system (rain catchment) in lieu of hook-up to City watermain. Chosen site design will have plots radiate out from a communal “gathering” circle in the centre. |
| SEP 2010 | We are incorporated as a non-profit! Begin draft of Land Use Agreement with St. Mary’s. Determine best plot preparation based on soil testing would be to hand rotor-till site, incorporate as much compost/mulch as possible and plant a winter cover crop (time permitting). Liability insurance is a requirement prior to the signing of the Land Use Agreement. STU students commence outreach program in Devon area. |
| OCT 2010 | $1000 Grant applied for and received from the Department of Wellness, Culture and Sport – Active Communities program. Liability insurance is purchased via a loan from St. Mary’s for the initial annual premium and the Land Use Agreement is signed. Finance Committee is formed. “Ground breaking” takes place on October 16th but soil is too wet to rotor-till. Decide to adopt the “lasagne-layering” approach to plot preparation by distributing composted chicken manure, regular compost, mulched leaves all covered by large sheets of cardboard weighed down by bags of leaves – to be rotor-tilled under in the Spring. |
| NOV 2010 | Hold a Community Garden Party to celebrate our journey so far, engage future gardeners and to thank our many sponsors & supporters. Our STU students submit their community outreach report to use as a guide for future outreach programs. |
| DEC 2010 | Prepare and submit grant proposal to the Environmental Trust Fund. Finalize membership application and garden rules & regulations. |
| JAN 2011 | NBCHG Membership Handbook and Application Form sent out to our 90-plus supporters. Prepare and submit grant proposal to the Walmart-Evergreen Green Fund. Schedule our first 3 monthly workshops on “soil”, “seedlings” and “transplanting” to begin in February 2011. |
