North America's First
MUNICIPAL TRAINING DAY ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND COMMUNITY GARDENS

The popularity of community gardening presents many opportunities and
challenges to local governments.  As an innovative area that does not fit
within typical public services, community gardening requires practitioners who
possess a unique set of technical, managerial, and community development
skills.

To assist government employees working in this evolving area, the City of
Toronto - in partnership with the American Community Gardening Association
(ACGA)* - is hosting the first-ever Municipal Training Day on Local Governments
and Community Gardens.

(*visit www.communitygarden.org/conferences.php for information on the ACGA's
25th Anniversary Conference, October 1-3, 2004, in Toronto, Canada)

The one-day event will build the capacity of government employees by enabling
them to:

1. Acquire practical skills in gardening and community development from
experienced practitioners across the continent;

2. Meet colleagues who can form a network for continuing professional
development and support; and

3. Learn about career advancement opportunities as they connect with others to
raise professional and technical standards in this emerging field.


The Municipal Training Day is organized into three streams that deal with
distinct issues facing community gardening staff: Getting Started, Access and
Equity, and School Gardening. Each stream will have three sessions focussed on
different topics.

________________________


The GETTING STARTED stream provides hands-on knowledge for staff to move
community gardening from concept to implementation.


- The WORKING RELATIONSHIPS session teaches skills that build effective
relationships with colleagues, managers, and other decision-makers.

- RESOURCES, INFRASTRUCTURE, EQUIPMENT teaches innovative strategies for
acquiring resources in a time of tight budgets, and ways of dealing with
community management of public resources.

- FOOD GARDENS AND NATURALIZED GARDENS will focus on technical and community
development skills needed to plan different types of gardens.


_______________________


The ACCESS & EQUITY stream deals with the latest best practices in using
community gardens to serve people of all ages, abilities, cultures, and
interests.

- The WORKING WITH PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND ABILITIES session presents
experiences of professionals who've served people of different ages and
abilities.

- DEVELOPING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS will explore various approaches to creating
dynamic and effective partnerships.

- WORKING WITH ETHNOCULTURAL COMMMUNITIES portrays ways of working with diverse
communities, and features success stories from several projects.

_________________________


The SCHOOL GARDENING stream is about combining the best of schooling, education
and recreation so they enhance each other.

- The LINKING SCHOOL GARDENS TO CURRICULUM session shares hands-on experience
in turning gardens into classrooms without walls.

- STARTING A SCHOOL GARDEN features a panel of speakers with on-the-ground
experience teaching the five most important things to do when starting a school
garden.

- WHAT TO DO ABOUT SUMMER? looks at ways of making school gardens bloom while
schools are out.


The Municipal Training Day is free for those attending the ACGA conference.
Those who are only participating in this event will pay a fee of $100 when
registering.  Please notify Solomon Boyé or Wayne Roberts (below) of your
intention to attend, as it may be necessary to limit enrolment so each session
can feature a hands-on learning opportunity.


Date: Thursday, September 30, 2004
Time: 8:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M.
Location: Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Toronto, ON

To register or for more information, please contact:

Solomon Boyé, Coordinator
Community Gardens Program, City of Toronto, Parks and Recreation
(416) 392-7800
[log in to unmask]

Wayne Roberts, Project Coordinator
Toronto Food Policy Council, City of Toronto, Public Health
(416) 338-7934
[log in to unmask]

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