Jessica Prasad

Mobile community gardens are an innovative way to provide temporary garden plots to people who wish to grow their own food while beautifying neighbourhoods and providing tax benefits to landowners. Jessica Prasad, a sales rep with Sutton Group – West Coast Realty in Coquitlam, B.C. sponsored a new mobile garden project in Vancouver.  The site had been vacant since 1986 after a grocery store was demolished.

“More than 60 volunteers came out…to help set up the garden boxes, shovel soil and engage with neighbours,” says Prasad. “Music, food and great weather created a great community building event. The garden was created in just one day.”

The initiative, called Can You Dig It, was made possible through many volunteer hours and partners including Shifting Growth, a non-profit organization.

“Shifting Growth has a three-year land agreement with the owner to run the site at Clark Drive and 12th Avenue as a community garden,” says Prasad. “For a small commitment, the landlord wins, the street becomes more beautiful and people have a chance to flex their green thumbs.  It will be wonderful to see what grows out of this project – both in terms of local food and neighbourhood interaction.”