Working with Ottawa’s Seniors

Our SOG Manager-Organic Gardening Coach works with each location for a 3-year-cycle.

Offering gardening guidance through workshops and helping gardening committees to sustain the gardening program long term. Senior Organic Gardeners (SOG) offers our community partners capacity building workshops (Train-the-Trainer Workshops).

SOG is able to assist in finding or buying organic seeds and/or seedlings for the seniors to start planting and caring for gardens. We offer workshops to national’s capital seniors on watering and weeding and other topics as needed and then we all celebrate the harvest season, everyone enjoying the fruits of their labours.

Volunteer with  Senior Organic Gardeners of Ottawa

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Areas where the program assists:

  • Train-the-trainer Workshop
  • Developing Gardening Committees
  • Nutrition workshops
  • Information on composting, transplantation and plant care and harvesting
  • Horticultural Therapy experiences during the non-growing season
  • Winter Book Club

We organize gardening committees so that the gardeners learn to make their own decisions about gardening issues that concern them most and to implement those decisions.

We make every effort to encourage participants of SOG to become involved in COG OSO’s programs such as the Urban Organic Gardening Seminars every spring, the COG OSO Demonstration Garden at the Experimental Farm, organic garden and farm tours during the summer, children’s and family gardening activities – the intergenerational component and the events of Organic Week in September.

In locations where SOG gardens with seniors in community housing or community centres, we offer ‘Train-the-Trainer’ workshops to the leaders in community locations so there is always local help available.

Model 1 – Programs in the Community

SOG works to assist Community Development personnel in Community Housing locations to organize gardening on site offering them Train-the-Trainer workshops, information on developing Gardening Committees to involve the gardeners in taking charge of their gardens. SOG offers workshops on request based on the needs expressed by the gardeners. SOG also supports organic gardening programs in community centres where gardeners gather to take workshops on various topics requested.

Model 2 – Private Property

SOG works with seniors in their backyards to garden organically. The seniors choose the workshops based on the knowledge and skills they need to grow their favorite organic produce that best fits their nutritional needs. A professional nutritionist offers information on request about the nutritional benefits of plants and in compatibility of certain plants and medications. Seniors who live within easy distance from each other form Gardening Pods and share in workshops, assistance in locating seeds and seedlings that they decide to grow.

Does your gardening project need help?