Posted by: Sandy Garland
I keep saying that Old Ottawa South is the best neighbourhood in the city, and our Green Dreamers contribute to that prestige. They are a group of dedicated volunteers, supported by OSCA, who take care of the garden beds along Bank Street and the raingardens on Sunnyside.
Twice a year, they also spend a couple of hours “Cleaning the Capital” by picking up debris along Bank Street.
Last year, with many new volunteers, we adopted two options. Gardeners could choose one of the dozen beds and work on it regularly over the summer. Many people prefer the continuity of this method and the advantage of getting to know the plants in their own patch and how they grow. Susan and Maura adopted the Ossington beds, Nora and Nandy take care of the Cameron one, Sue and Abby focus on the one at Riverdale, and Emmanuelle and Henry did a lot of work at the Firehall.
The other option is to answer a call-out. We mostly used this for the raingardens as the work was sporadic, but Joan also lets us know when she’s working on the library gardens, as they need many helping hands. We’d send out an email saying we would be working on a specific bed on a specific evening and volunteers would come out to help if they were available. Janet, Janet, Zari, Brian, and Jenn were among those who helped keep the raingardens tidy.
Mede and I try to manage the system and make sure work gets done.
I haven’t mentioned all the volunteers. But we can also use more. If this sort of communal gardening interests you, please get in touch – envirocrewoos@gmail.com. This is a great opportunity to make new friends, meet some neighbours, improve the environment, and make OOS more beautiful.
The work is fun, especially if you bring a friend, neighbour, or relative to help. It’s not onerous – everyone works at their own pace. We weed 5 or 6 times a year, water during dry spells (Bank Street gardens only), and occasionally make changes when plants die or look unhappy. The library gardens require more frequent attention. We’re trying to include more native plants in each bed, but some wildflowers, like Common Milkweed, need to be kept from spreading too much.
We’ll be meeting in late April to do a bit of planning and cleanup. If you’re interested in helping, please contact us at envirocrewoos@gmail.com. Come along and see what’s involved!
Sandy Garland is a longtime resident of Old Ottawa South and a member of the Enviro Crew of OOS.
Featured in the April 2025 OSCAR.