Project Leads: Rachelle Niemela, Mary Morrier, Elyse Greenslade

Contact Info:

Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 705-822-1276

Location:

Twin Forks Community Park
1475 Gary Ave, Sudbury

Our garden is dedicated to the late Fabio Belli, Councillor 2010-2014, who was a driving force behind the establishment of our garden.

Type of garden:

Benevolent garden

All produce is shared with the community and with organizations like the Food Bank.

Residents in need are encouraged to visit our garden to get fresh produce for their families.

  • Fabio Belli memorial plaque
  • Seven 4x8 ft raised beds
  • Four 4x4 ft raised beds
  • Three 4 ft round concrete raised beds
  • One ground 4x4 bed
  • One wheelchair accessible bed
  • Large area with ground beds
  • Front entrance arbour with grapes
  • Four pea teepees
  • Access points and hoses to municipal water
  • Community art feature including a garden sign
  • Creator Turtle Garden art feature
  • Monarch butterfly waystation (milkweed patch)
  • Large Food Forest with fruit trees including apple, plum, and butternut trees; fruit bushes including gooseberry, current, and haskap; and ground crops like strawberry and herbs.
  • Rain barrels for storing water
  • 3 wooden compost bins
  • Utility shed
  • Picnic table
  • Waste facilities

Better Beginnings Better Futures - Indigenous Programming
Bob's Service Center
Bruce Tait Construction Ltd
Canada Post
Church of the Ascension
City of Greater Sudbury
Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury - Project Impact
Collège Boréal
Conseil Scolaire du Grand Nord
Cyril Varney Public School
École publique Jean-Éthier-Blais
École séparée Saint-Dominique
The Elevate Project
Ellero Marble & Granite Mfg. Ltd.
Fruit for All
Government of Canada - Enabling Accessibility Fund
Holy Trinity Catholic Elementary School
Home Depot
Johanna Westby, Artist
Linda Hachez, Master Gardener
Lockerby Composite School
Lopes Ltd
New Sudbury Best Start Hub
Northern Wildflowers
Rainbow Concrete
Sudbury Community Garden Network
Sudbury Horticultural Society
Sudbury Secondary School
Sudbury Shared Harvest
TD Friends of the Environment
Twin Forks Neighbourhood Association
Union Gas Limited
Vale
Will Morin, Designer Creator Turtle Garden

General garden work:

  • We replaced all of our old hoses that were over 10 years old.
  • We planted additional pollinator plants in the back gardens.
  • We tested ollas in one of our beds to save on water; monitoring showed they were successful in retaining water so we plan on doing more in 2025.
  • We again received our yearly donation of Meeker's Mix from Vale Ltd.
  • We built a hill garden in the front bed area by the Gary Street road and are now growing ornamentals, herbs, and some vegetables there. We have plans to add more to this space in 2025.
  • We added pumpkin and squash hills in the back garden space.
  • We planted apple and cherry trees in the back garden space provided by Beautiful Field Farm and Fruit Trees.
  • We successfully applied for a seed donation grant from Northern Wildflowers and received the seeds in January 2025.

Special projects:

Greenhouse

  • We applied for an HCI grant to run municipal water to hook up to a table/sink donated by a community member.
  • We purchased a 10x12 shed for the greenhouse space, to be installed in spring 2025.
  • We purchased and installed solar fans and are monitoring the inside temperature of the greenhouse with wifi thermometers that will give us historical data.
  • We applied for a Project Impact grant and received $500 to build a potting and a drying table.
  • We purchased stones for walkways to make the greenhouse space accessible for everyone.
  • We purchased a wheelchair accessible table and a children's height activity table.
  • We purchased 4 water barrels for heat retention inside the greenhouse during colder months.

Garden Accessibility

  • We purchased accessible tools for garden volunteers.
  • We extended the crusher dust paths throughout the garden thanks to a generous crusher dust donation from Rainbow Concrete. Thanks also to the Junction Creek Stewardship Committee volunteers who came out to help spread the crusher dust.
  • We converted the garden picnic table to an accessible table by replacing the wood and extending the surface of the top and seats.

Programming:

  • We worked with 260+ primary school children at 3 local schools for the Cultivate Your Neighbourhood program (St. Dominique, Jean-Ethier-Blais, Holy Trinity; and students from Sudbury Secondary School planted a bed.
  • We ran weekly "work bees" at the garden on Tuesday evenings and some weekends. Community volunteers gathered to create a great gathering space for the community.