A community garden in Kaukajärvi brought more joy of doing things together to the area

The community gardening season was launched at the end of April with a joint planting workshop at the Kaleva Urban Culture Centre. The opening of the community garden was celebrated in the schoolyard of Kaukajärvi at the end of May. Guided workshops were also held during the summer, and the season ended in September with a joint harvest and dinner in the café of the Kaukajärvi Leisure Centre.

Schoolchildren involved in gardening

Some of the 3rd and 7th graders at Kaukajärvi School participated with their own boxes. The pre-school children of Kaukajärvi School planted 200 violets in the garden and decorated the planter boxes at the entrance to the garden. The partnership with the school gave some children the opportunity to learn about food growing through a hands-on experience as part of their lessons and a chance to watch the plants grow during the summer holidays. 

A visit to the community garden was the most anticipated day of the week

The aim of the Community Garden was to increase the quality of life and community in the area, and to promote the participation of children and young people. According to a feedback survey of farmers, this was a great success. The garden provided a place to do things together, and the greenness of the community garden also added to the sense of well-being. The community garden increased participants' awareness of the possibilities of urban farming and of caring for nature.

Community urban gardening was perceived as easy because there was no need to have previous experience of growing, as the gardeners in charge of the garden provided guidance and tools. Every Friday, the community gardeners met to get more tips on growing and to meet their fellow growers. The experience of community-based urban gardening was very positive, according to the participants, and more similar activities are hoped for in the region.

- It's a great whole summer thing. We were always looking forward to Friday at the start of the week and getting together in the garden. We spent midsummer in the city, the highlight of which was going to the community garden with other people. As someone who has moved from another area, it was nice to get to know other people in the area. I really learned a lot about urban gardening and what seemed utopistic before is already being planned for next summer in my backyard," says one community gardener in the feedback survey.

The location of the garden divided opinion

The central location of the community garden was both good and bad. Many farmers had a short distance to the garden, which made it easy to visit the site. It was also felt that the garden added a more pleasant atmosphere to an otherwise sandy site. Unfortunately, the central location was also easily found by harvest thieves, who took part of the harvest with them. Farmers wondered whether a more remote location would have prevented some of the thieves. However, apart from thieving the garden's bounty, the site was spared from more vandalism.

The Neighbourhood programme of Kaukajärvi and Annala as community garden´s enabler

The Kaukajärvi community garden implemented in the summer of 2024, was one of the measures of the Neighbourhood Programme of Kaukajärvi and Annala. The neighbourhood programme will be implemented in the area between 2023 and 2025, promoting the vision of "Live like in a small town", created together with the residents and actors in the area. This vision aims to create a vibrant, community-based and creative neighbourhood for the future.