Urban agriculture
Community Gardens
Share the Harvest
Located at the corner of 6th Street and Harmston Avenue in Courtenay, the Share the Harvest Community Garden is a welcoming space to grow food, learn new skills, and connect with others.
From March through November, LUSH Valley provides gardeners with learning and mentorship opportunities, food-growing resources and access to urban growing space.
Work parties in the Share the Harvest Garden happen Tuesdays from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Wednesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. from early March until November. Everyone is welcome; no experience or equipment required. Join us by showing up to a work party.
Interested in an allotment plot? Reach out to communitygarden@lushvalley.org.
Tsolum Educational Garden
Located at 4795 Headquarters Road, behind the yellow gate across from G.P. Vanier Secondary School, the Tsolum Educational Garden is a space for learning, growing, and connecting with the land.
The Tsolum Garden focuses on permaculture, regenerative agriculture and food growing education, and hosts public workshops, Farm & Forage youth camps, and seniors programs throughout the growing season.
Work parties in the Tsolum Garden take place every Monday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. from March through November. Everyone is welcome; no experience or equipment required. Join us by showing up to a work party.
LANDSCAPING SERVICES
Through our Urban Agriculture program, we help create vibrant, resilient outdoor spaces rooted in sustainability. We use native species, perennials, and drought‑resilient plantings to design and maintain pollinator‑friendly, edible, and climate‑adapted gardens. Our projects integrate permaculture principles to support soil health, water efficiency, and biodiversity.
Interested in working with us? Get in touch at communitygarden@lushvalley.org.
Services include:
- Garden maintenance and “babysitting”: Taking off for summer holidays? Trust that your garden will be in good hands. We offer watering, weeding, and general maintenance so you can have peace of mind that you’ll be coming home to a healthy habitat. Plus, if you’d like garden items harvested while you’re away, you have the option of donating directly to the LUSH kitchen!
- Cleanup: Our team can give overwhelming gardens a clean-up to bring them back to a manageable state. We can weed, prune, and select for species based on your personal priorities, maximizing your garden’s potential so you can focus on the fun stuff, like harvesting!
- Consultations & education: Whether you’d like to focus on food crops, pollinator plants, or native species, LUSH can provide one-on-one education on your own backyard ecosystem. We’ll talk about how to make the most of your existing space and species, how to increase soil fertility, and what to plant to create the garden of your dreams.
- Designs & builds: If you are looking to install a new garden, we have the knowledge and skills to bring your growing dreams to fruition. We can take on bed construction, species selection, and irrigation installation customized to your space.
Rate: $50/hour for all services. Materials and supplies are quoted as needed.
school garden program
LUSH Valley’s Urban Agriculture team partners with Comox Valley Schools to offer customizable garden programs and workshops that have been proven to:
- Improve students’ food literacy and food-growing knowledge
- Create functional garden spaces conducive to outdoor learning
- Strengthen school garden culture
We can help increase engagement, offer crop selection direction, and promote learning in your school garden through the following offerings: School Garden Offerings.
To explore grant opportunities that may support your school garden endeavours, visit School District 71’s Environmental & Outdoor Learning Grants & Funding page.
Grow Food Everywhere
Created by LUSH Valley Food Action Society in partnership with the Comox Valley Food Policy Council, the Grow Food Everywhere network facilitates the sharing of tangible and intangible resources between gardeners, farmers and food growers in the Comox Valley.
The goal is to facilitate collaboration between community growers, and ensure that everyone has access to the resources and support needed to grow their own food.
If you wish to connect with the community, please visit Grow Food Everywhere on Facebook.
Little Seed Libraries
Did you know that LUSH Valley hosts two Little Seed Libraries in the Comox Valley that create resilience through resource sharing?
These community lending libraries aim to promote seed saving, increase biodiversity, and encourage community engagement. They provide access to a variety of seeds including heirloom, open-pollinated, and locally-adapted varieties.
Folks are encouraged to borrow seeds for free, then return some of their own saved seed at the end of the growing season. This way, the library can continue to provide seeds for future seasons’ growers.
Seed libraries are located outside of the Tsolum Garden at 4795 Headquarters Road and at LUSH Valley HQ at 2342 Rosewall Crescent in Tin Town.
LUSH Valley would like to sincerely thank our community partner organizations, community members and volunteers for their generous donations to our Urban Agriculture programs.
Banner image by McKinnon Photography.
