Edible Campus, McGill University
Exhibit Category / Cat茅gorie de l'expo: Community & Knowledge
Location/Emplacement: Montr茅al, QC, Canada
Dates: 2007 - present
Designers/Concepteurs:
Local Partners: &
Clients:
More Information/Plus d'informations:
Image Credits/Cr茅dits d'images: V. Bhatt, L. Farah, I. Hautecoeur, N. Luka, J. M. Wolfe, Luisa Ropelato, Minimum Cost Housing Group
Project Description: (version fran莽aise 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 鈥� 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 鈥渙verlooked, underutilized, and neglected areas鈥� 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 鈥渃reating a sustainable prototype that could potentially be expanded to other university campuses and across the city.鈥�
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 鈥� 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, 脿 Montr茅al 鈥� Canada, a 茅t茅 lanc茅 en 2007. Il s鈥檃git d鈥檜n projet coop茅ratif de recherche et d鈥檃ction entre le Minimum Cost Housing Group (Groupe pour le logement 脿 moindre co没t) de l鈥橴niversit茅 McGill 脿 Montr茅al et deux organismes 脿 but non lucratif, Santropol Roulant et Alternatives, qui ont con莽u de nouvelles techniques pour produire des aliments au centre-ville en cultivant des paysages comestibles.
Le manque de parcelles de jardins communautaires 脿 Montr茅al mettait en 茅vidence le besoin d鈥檈spaces suppl茅mentaires pour cultiver en milieu urbain, en particulier dans le centre-ville. Le groupe de recherche a r茅alis茅 que, malgr茅 le co没t 茅lev茅 des terrains urbains, des 芦 espaces ignor茅s, sous-exploit茅s et n茅glig茅s 禄 ne demandaient qu鈥櫭� 锚tre employ茅s de mani猫re cr茅ative. Les espaces construits en ma莽onnerie ou en b茅ton, les esplanades, murs et toits, tels que ceux du campus de l鈥橴niversit茅 McGill, sont souvent les seules surfaces libres ; les partenaires ont donc entrepris d鈥檈xploiter ces ressources.
Des jardini猫res sp茅cialement con莽ues pour des surfaces dures, avec un r茅servoir int茅gr茅 qui facilite l鈥檌rrigation, peuvent 锚tre transport茅es 脿 l鈥檌nt茅rieur pendant l鈥檋iver et les plantations commencer avant la courte p茅riode de v茅g茅tation 脿 Montr茅al. L鈥檜tilisation de petites jardini猫res modulaires permet de reproduire le jardin dans des espaces plus ou moins grands.
Depuis 2007, les porteurs de projet n鈥檕nt cess茅 d鈥櫭﹖endre leurs activit茅s. L鈥檈ngagement d鈥檜n grand nombre de citoyens a fortement contribu茅 脿 la r茅ussite du projet r茅compens茅 en 2008 par le Prix national du design urbain. Le jury a appr茅ci茅 la fa莽on dont le campus comestible 芦 cr茅ait un prototype durable pouvant 锚tre 茅tendu 脿 d鈥檃utres campus universitaires et 脿 travers la ville 禄.
D鈥檃utres campus sont en effet s茅duits par ce concept. Outre le partenariat prosp猫re entre groupes universitaires et organisations de quartier, la principale r茅ussite du campus comestible est de mettre en 茅vidence le grand potentiel de production alimentaire que repr茅sentent les espaces urbains n茅glig茅s et sous-exploit茅s, y compris les surfaces en b茅ton les plus inhospitali猫res. Ce projet propose des strat茅gies visant 脿 diminuer l鈥檈ffet d鈥檌lots de chaleur urbains, li茅 en particulier au b茅ton utilis茅 dans les constructions, et pr茅sente en m锚me temps des fa莽ons de cultiver en ville qui facilitent l鈥檃cc猫s 脿 une alimentation saine et r茅duisent la distance du producteur au consommateur.
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