Edible Campus, McGill University
Exhibit Category / Catégorie de l'expo: Community & Knowledge
Location/Emplacement: Montréal, QC, Canada
Dates: 2007 - present
Designers/Concepteurs:
Local Partners: &
Clients:
More Information/Plus d'informations:
Image Credits/Crédits d'images: V. Bhatt, L. Farah, I. Hautecoeur, N. Luka, J. M. Wolfe, Luisa Ropelato, Minimum Cost Housing Group
Project Description: (version française ci-dessous)
The Edible Campus began in 2007 as a collaborative action-research project between the Minimum Cost Housing Group at McGill University and two non-profit organizations â Santropol Roulant and Alternatives. The team of academics and NGOs were looking for ways to grow food in the heart of the city through the cultivation of edible landscapes.
A shortage of community garden plots in Montreal highlighted the need for more growing space in the city, particularly the center. The research group realized that although urban land is extremely expensive, there are often âoverlooked, underutilized, and neglected areasâ just waiting to be used creatively. Hardscaping such as concrete and masonry plazas as well as walls and roofs are often the only available surfaces, as those found on the McGill campus, so the partners set out to use these resources.
Purpose-built planters were designed for hard surfaces and also devised for ease of watering through the introduction of a built-in reservoir. The planters could be moved indoors in the winter and plants could be started in the containers before the short Montreal growing season begins. By using small modular planters, the garden was replicable in both smaller and larger spaces.
Now in its fifth year, the project has expanded in each year of its operation. Involving a variety of citizens in the project was key to its success, recognized with a 2008 National Urban Design Award. Comments from the design jury indicated an appreciation for how the edible campus was âcreating a sustainable prototype that could potentially be expanded to other university campuses and across the city.â
As the design jury predicted, other campuses are duplicating this success. In addition to its successful partnering between university groups and community organizations, the most significant lesson from the Edible Campus is its demonstration of the great potential of food production on neglected and underused spaces, including the most inhospitable of surfaces â concrete. This project thus offers strategies for decreasing the heat island effect caused by the hardscaped surfaces, while showing ways for gardening in the challenging spaces of the city, increasing access to healthy food and reducing food miles.
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Description du Projet:
Le Campus comestible, Ă MontrĂ©al â Canada, a Ă©tĂ© lancĂ© en 2007. Il sâagit dâun projet coopĂ©ratif de recherche et dâaction entre le Minimum Cost Housing Group (Groupe pour le logement Ă moindre coĂ»t) de lâUniversitĂ© McGill Ă MontrĂ©al et deux organismes Ă but non lucratif, Santropol Roulant et Alternatives, qui ont conçu de nouvelles techniques pour produire des aliments au centre-ville en cultivant des paysages comestibles.
Le manque de parcelles de jardins communautaires Ă MontrĂ©al mettait en Ă©vidence le besoin dâespaces supplĂ©mentaires pour cultiver en milieu urbain, en particulier dans le centre-ville. Le groupe de recherche a rĂ©alisĂ© que, malgrĂ© le coĂ»t Ă©levĂ© des terrains urbains, des « espaces ignorĂ©s, sous-exploitĂ©s et nĂ©gligĂ©s » ne demandaient quâĂ ĂȘtre employĂ©s de maniĂšre crĂ©ative. Les espaces construits en maçonnerie ou en bĂ©ton, les esplanades, murs et toits, tels que ceux du campus de lâUniversitĂ© McGill, sont souvent les seules surfaces libres ; les partenaires ont donc entrepris dâexploiter ces ressources.
Des jardiniĂšres spĂ©cialement conçues pour des surfaces dures, avec un rĂ©servoir intĂ©grĂ© qui facilite lâirrigation, peuvent ĂȘtre transportĂ©es Ă lâintĂ©rieur pendant lâhiver et les plantations commencer avant la courte pĂ©riode de vĂ©gĂ©tation Ă MontrĂ©al. Lâutilisation de petites jardiniĂšres modulaires permet de reproduire le jardin dans des espaces plus ou moins grands.
Depuis 2007, les porteurs de projet nâont cessĂ© dâĂ©tendre leurs activitĂ©s. Lâengagement dâun grand nombre de citoyens a fortement contribuĂ© Ă la rĂ©ussite du projet rĂ©compensĂ© en 2008 par le Prix national du design urbain. Le jury a apprĂ©ciĂ© la façon dont le campus comestible « crĂ©ait un prototype durable pouvant ĂȘtre Ă©tendu Ă dâautres campus universitaires et Ă travers la ville ».
Dâautres campus sont en effet sĂ©duits par ce concept. Outre le partenariat prospĂšre entre groupes universitaires et organisations de quartier, la principale rĂ©ussite du campus comestible est de mettre en Ă©vidence le grand potentiel de production alimentaire que reprĂ©sentent les espaces urbains nĂ©gligĂ©s et sous-exploitĂ©s, y compris les surfaces en bĂ©ton les plus inhospitaliĂšres. Ce projet propose des stratĂ©gies visant Ă diminuer lâeffet dâilots de chaleur urbains, liĂ© en particulier au bĂ©ton utilisĂ© dans les constructions, et prĂ©sente en mĂȘme temps des façons de cultiver en ville qui facilitent lâaccĂšs Ă une alimentation saine et rĂ©duisent la distance du producteur au consommateur.
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