The plan to move the community garden run by Carleton’s Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) due to the construction of a new residence is absolutely certain, according to Darryl Boyce, Carleton’s assistant vice-president (facilities management and planning).
“Our plan is to move it this winter so it’s ready for the next growing season year,” Boyce said.
The GSA held an emergency meeting Oct. 16 after the university alerted them about the possibility of relocation.
The university has met with the GSA to propose a new location, just east of the National Wildlife Research Centre, Carleton president Roseann Runte said.
“On behalf of the university I apologize sincerely for the inconvenience and confirm that the university will pay for the costs of relocating the garden,” Runte said via email.
Boyce said the costs for relocation will be an expense under the residence project.
Grant MacNeil, GSA president, said they were shown the alternate site and since then have created a list of things they would have to consider before an agreement is made.
“There’s a lot of work that goes into making sure the garden is up to our standards. Are there power lines, does it flood in the springtime, as well as quality. We’re not done making decisions,” he said.
The GSA has yet to take the proposed new location to its members.
“Some people feel very strongly about where it is now,” MacNeil said.
Runte apologized to the GSA for the relocation of the garden at a University Senate meeting Oct. 25.
“The apology, though well intentioned, was an afterthought. The only reason the garden came up was because a grad student mentioned it. As a result, the president said, ‘we’re really sorry about the inconvenience.’ It was an apology that we were inconvenienced by what was going on,” MacNeil said.
“We don’t really consider it an official apology,” he added.
MacNeil said Runte undermined her apology moments later when she said it would be easy to move the space.
The community garden was named Kitigànensag or “little gardens” by Algonquin elders, to recognize that Carleton is located on unceded Algonquin territory.
The idea that the garden can be moved easily after the Algonquin elders put time into the project and the naming of the space was insulting, MacNeil said.
“She didn’t respect that we were trying to make the space a place of decolonization,” he said. “It was more of a nicety than anything else.”
Addressing the room at the Senate meeting, MacNeil said “don’t worry, we’ll send a bill.”
He said the garden is being treated as if it’s still going to be there next year. The only update has been the proposal of a new space, but the GSA will not agree to a new site unless they know it’s usable.
The university’s plan is to have the new residence ready to accept students in Fall 2016, according to Boyce.
