Garden Profile

Our Urban Eden

Our Urban Eden was established in 1999 with a main objective to develop a sense of community in the downtown core. We were moved to a permanent site adjacent to our former location on 99 Avenue between Bellamy Hill Road and 103 Street.

In 2006 we focused on the development of our garden at the new site. 2007 saw us installed in our new location with 30 gardeners. In 2008, we added site entryway trellises, a park bench, concrete planters and a wide variety of perennial flowers and shrubs. Next year will feature a contemporary urban metal sculpture and a new weather-safe sign.

Each gardener is provided with guidelines at the start of each season outlining courtesies and responsibilities for gardening on our site. All are expected to contribute to the site maintenance, attend meetings, work bees and assist with open house and social events. Over the past 9 years we regularly hosted community events including potluck suppers and open house/early Canada Day Celebrations complete with fireworks courtesy of Telus Field! Membership in our garden fosters friendships between many diverse groups of all ages and backgrounds. Garden participants help each other out throughout holiday absences and we hold regular meetings to plan activities for our members and to discuss our concerns. We've hosted garden space for the Inner City Children's Project in the past and partipated in their summer camps this year with tours and workshops in paper-making from garden plant materials and natural fibres.

Urban Eden is very visible and designed to invite local residents to stroll through our garden. It has become an integral part of the downtown community, a must-see for visitors to Edmonton, and a model of successful community gardening.