Now here’s a happy little story with much bigger implications. In the UK, “Conor Gallagher, a former architect from Belfast, gave up his job last year and launched a website, AllotMe, to match want-to-be gardeners with owners of green spaces that were otherwise lying unloved or unmanaged.”

Got a corner of your yard where a garden might be nice but lack the time/energy or interest to put one in? Have the time and interest to have a garden but lack the space? Go on Allotme and find a match. From the article, the pairings benefit both sides and AllotMe assists with an existing widespread need.

Which brings us to Nanaimo. For at least two reasons, the story seems relevant. First, the approach facilitates gardens and gardening just for pleasure for those inclined. I found it fascinating (and kind of wonderful) that people with a bit of space would make it available to others. And that others would take up the offer. Everyone reaped the pleasure of seeing things grow and sharing in the produce.

The second aspect is food security. We’ve heard increasing talk about the perils of our food supplies both on Vancouver Island and globally. Sharing spaces for local gardening is a way to mitigated these risks. More of us can pop out to the plot and get fresh raspberries or carrots. Put up a few preserves.

The same model could be adapted to serve cities. Municipalities like Nanaimo could make their own gardening-suitable but unused spaces available to the community. As AllotMe’s creator, Conor Gallagher observed, “It was clear we [need] a new approach to create more plots out of unused space across the country.”’ And we have currently unused space (already denuded of forests) locally and across Vancouver Island.

At the recent Nanaimo all-candidates meeting hosted by the local chapter of the Green Party we heard lots of talk about coming food shortages and our need to become more self-sustaining in our food supply. Unless the comments were just fickle election promises, the political will for approaches such as this seems present.

So when we go to the polls October 15, perhaps we should consider which candidates support this kind of facilitation. And when we vote them into office we should make sure they are accountable for their campaign promises.

And if someone would start up a website equivalent to AllotMe for Nanaimo and/or Vancouver Island we could watch this form of empowered gardening activity grow locally, as well.

A place to grow: the gardener and land owner pairings making happy unions and plenty of produce. The Guardian. September 18, 2022. “People keen to garden but who have no outdoor space of their own are connecting with people eager to have someone work their land thanks to a new online initiative. Meet four green-fingered growers and their ‘hosts’”