Beddington Community Garden and Hub

The Cause

The Beddington Heights Community Association brings people together, acts as a voice for our residents, and provides opportunities to connect in our beautiful and diverse neighborhood. Reimagine Beddington is multi-year project to plan the future of our open spaces including parks, playgrounds, pathways and fields. Reimagine is a volunteer-led committee, and are planning to build a Community Garden & Gathering Place in the heart of Beddington, beside the Beddington Theatre & Arts Center / Storybook Theatre. Building a community garden will increase foot traffic to the area, reduce vandalism, give the site a meaningful purpose and provide a beautiful, peaceful place for residents to garden and gather. In addition to the theatre, this hub is also home to the Beddington After School Program and various sporting areas. A community garden will further diversify the area by opening it up to another interest - gardening.

The garden will be located at 375 Bermuda Drive NW, just east of the Storybook Theatre on the North skating rink beside a main road (Beddington Blvd NW) which is the artery of the Beddington community. The size is approximately 53 x 25 metres. The plan is to build 50 raised garden beds measuring 8’ x 4’ x 2’ with mulch pathways in between beds. This will be a mixed use organic garden with 30 plots available for rental and 20 plots for the shared garden. Rentals will be offered to Beddington Heights residents first, then to other communities. The shared garden will be tended to and used by the community. An existing pavilion will be utilized for storage of tools, equipment, etc. There will be active compost on site which will be built and maintained by volunteers. Water hookup will be provided by the City of Calgary. Lighting will be in place for night gardening and to help mitigate vandalism at night. Security cameras are being considered.

Who Will it Benefit?

All residents of Beddington will benefit by having their own Community Garden. There are future plans to involve children by engaging the Beddington Heights After School Program, St. Bede Elementary School, and Beddington Heights Elementary School. We are also reaching out to minority groups via The Agape Lange Center and the Canadian Women's Immigrant Association (CIWA)