Fairfield Community Gardens
Welcome to the Fairfield Community Gardens! We are currently managing the Fairfield Food Forest & the Ross Bay Native Plant Garden. Learn more about the gardens and how to get involved.
Click here to subscribe to our Monthly Newsletters with garden-related events, workshops, and updates!
Please contact us for more information on how to participate.
Upcoming Events:
Fall-Winter Work Parties (Sept-June)
Help us tend to the garden, learn about plants, and enjoy fresh air. These work parties are low-commitment and provide a great opportunity to be out in the gardens! Free to drop-by if you’re interested! No experience required. Everyone welcome!
Location: Fairfield Food Forest
Time:12:00-2:00pm
Dates/ Themes: Last Sunday of the month
Jamming Workshop (RSVP required)
Discover how to turn fresh fruit into homemade jam! The workshop covers everything from selecting the best fruit to the cooking process, making it perfect for beginners.
Bring your own fruit and mason jars. We will provide a commercial kitchen where everyone can gather. Leave with some jam and friends!
Location: Corinne’s Kitchen (1341 Thurlow Rd.)
Time: 6:00-8:00pm
Date: Saturday, September 28th
Cost: Free
RSVP here
Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop (RSVP required)
Join us for a hands-on pruning workshop facilitated by Welland Legacy Park & Community Orchard. You will be guided through pruning techniques to help maintain your personal gardens and trees. Discover how to make precise cuts, replace dead wood, and promote healthy plant growth.
Location: Fairfield Food Forest
Time: 1:00-4:00pm
Date: Sunday, November 17th
Cost: Free
RSVP here
Ross Bay Native Plant Garden
Location: Between Ross Bay Cemetery and Memorial Crescent. It will extend from Dallas road to Bushby St.
The southern section of the garden has been approved by the City of Victoria and construction will begin Summer 2024.
Salt-spray and wind resistant native plants will be planted on the site. It will be a natural community gathering area where anyone can come and learn about coastal plants that thrive in our area.
Some plants that we know will thrive in this area include:
Ocean Spray, Oregon Grape, Nodding Onion, Sword fern, Junegrass, Seablush, Evergreen huckleberry, Snowberry, Pearly Everlasting, Woolly sunflower and more
More information & FAQs on this project here
Fairfield Food Forest
Location: Porter Park, on Thurlow Rd between Kipling & Durban Streets.
Fairfield Food Forest is a permaculture garden growing a wide variety of small trees, berry shrubs, herbs and more!
Everyone is welcome to visit the Food Forest at any time to grow and harvest food while following permaculture techniques. This is not meant to be a vegetable garden but instead be a garden where anyone can come to and cultivate plants for the whole community can enjoy for years to come.
Some things that need to be done in this garden include: tree pruning, weeding, compost mulching, under-story planting, irrigation revamping, preparation for installation of a second fence to encircle the rest of the garden.
There are many edible and medicinal plants in the Food Forest! Click the plant maps below:
Fairfield Community Gardens are generously supported financially by the City of Victoria
Garry Oak Restoration Project
Location: Robert J. Porter Park along Fairfield Rd.
There are specific plants that grow in healthy Garry Oak eco-systems that each help keep that area in balance and provide an important habitat for Indigenous animals. We have an opportunity to reintroduce species that are lacking in the meadow and foster healthy soils to make those plants thrive. Increasing the biomass in the Garry oak meadow will also greatly reduce the flooding experienced in the lower fields of Porter park and also reduce the dryness seen in the summer months.
An important part of this project will be community education through activities in the meadow as well as signs and barriers. You can be an influential part of this project just by helping a few weekends a year.