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Lily Ryan

Eating carrots just pulled from thegarden? Salad graced with edible flowers?Steaming broccoli grown within akilometer? All this is possible in Gatineau.Avid gardener, Anne Janssen has beenat it again. Aylmer food lovers mayremember her from last year outside

Boulangerie Deux Frères. Every SaturdayMs Jansson was there selling her Aylmer-grown vegetables. Following enoughsupport for her first year, Ms Janssenhas worked on a business plan with anexpansion in mind. “This is a business thatI’m working on,” she said. “This is differentfrom a community garden.”

There are plenty of community gardensin Gatineau. These are gardens grownby members of a collective who enjoygardening and who will eat the food theygrow. At community gardens, each person

who grows vegetables and herbs enjoystheir own harvest.For Aylmer Backyard Farms, things are

a little different. While there is space forothers to help, there cannot be an opendoor.For people who do wish to contributetheir time and effort, or even their gardenspace, the help is welcome. However thecommitment is significant – full mornings,full afternoons and even full days. The

agreement with Aylmer Backyard Farms isimportant. Each person who contributestime,space,money or effort gets a return inthe form of food. The key is to help thisbusiness grow, which benefits Aylmer –both for food lovers and for residents atlarge.

ORGANIC PRACTICES

BENEFIT EVERYONE

As more lawn area is pulled up to makeway for growing food, the land wakes up.Those who contribute growing space makea commitment to not use pesticides orherbicides anywhere near the growing area.Naturally, no one can control what aneighbour puts on their own yard -unless that regulation comes from the

municipality – but at a minimum, thecommitment to keep chemicals away fromurban landscapes makes the city cleaner.This effort helps those with respiratoryproblems,especially children and the elder-ly.These people are particularly affected bychanges in air quality. Aylmer BackyardFarms abides by organic practices but will

not be able to be certified as such due to thenature of urban farming. It is too hard tocontrol the environment, unlike on a vastfarm. However, gardens are fenced in toprotect from pets, and the fences – espe-cially if they are shrub fences – go a longway toward filtering contaminants sprayedon neighbouring lawns and gardens.Despite the risk of urban dust, foods grownon urban farms have benefits that outweigh

any other concerns.

100 MILE DIET

Eating food grownwithin a kilometer of whereit is sold cuts gas emissionsand provides employmentfor neighbours. Plus, the

landscape is more interesting and colourful.Aylmer Backyard Farms is a name, butfront yards are used too.“There is a seniors’residence near my house,” Anne Janssentold Go Green. “When I planted in thefront, seniors stopped by everyday to watchthe progress of the yellow beans.They knewall about growing food.”

 Aylmer Backyard Farms: a new business takes local food to a new level

Dist.biodirect@gmail.com

 Angus & Hereford Beef

Hormone-free beef.

The right choice foryou and your familyC260 Heath Road

Shawville, Quebec J0X 2Y0

Tel. 819 647-3540

Recherchez pour ces marchands d’aliments spécialisés dans notrecahier spécial qui sera publié à la fin mai dans le Bulletin d’Aylmer et leWest Quebec Post. Vous y trouverez aussi plusieurs entreprises offrant

leurs services aux maisons de campagnes et aux fermes.

Si vous aimeriez faire la promotion de votre ferme ou de votre commercedans notre cahier et être sur notre carte régionale, appelez-nous au819.684-4755 ou au 1-800-486-7678 et demandez pour Izabelle!

Look for these specialty food producers and distributors as well asother businesses providing services for country homes and farms in ourthemed insert to be published in late May in the Bulletin d’Aylmer and

the West Quebec Post.

If you would like to be on our regional map and advertise in thisspecial insert, contact us at 819.684-4755 or 1-800-486-7678 and askto speak with Izabelle!

continued on page 13

In Aylmer there are three collective

gardens: North, Deschênes and Eardley.Contact the Aylmer Food Bank at 819-684-0163 for information about any of these three.Families should register early.

In Buckingham,there is the L’Oiseau-Bleu Collective Garden and in Masson-Angers, the du Ruisseau CommunityGarden. Contact Le Boulev’Art de laVallée at 819-281-0680.

In Gatineau, there is the OutaouaisHorticulture and Ecological Society andthe Petites-Soeurs Community Garden;contact the Centre d’Animation familiale

at 819-561-5196Hull’s Marie-Le Franc Ecological

Community Garden and the ReboulEcological Community Garden are bothrun by the Hull Island ResidentsAssociation, CORPOJARDIN. It is aninter-generational, ecological community

garden run by the de laCabane coporation; theEntre Deux FleursCommunity Garden is runby Entre deux roués at 819-770-2233. The Jean-Dallaire

Ward Garden is run by theMaison de l’amitié de Hullat 819-772-6622.

Bryson Farms 

Communitygardens

Bulletin d’Aylmer • West Québec PostS-10 avril 2011

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David-Lawrence DumesnilThe shared bike phenomenon has

spread throughout the world; Gatineauand Ottawa are switching into high gear,too. In cities such as Paris, Mexico City,Rio de Jeneiro, Tel Aviv, Beijing,Melbourne, Brussels and countless oth-

ers, programs such as bixi-bike are help-ing residents move around their citywithout the burden of personal property,such as cars and personal bikes. Theshared system in Gatineau and Ottawahave two ways to get your rollon with Capital BIXI: a credit card ora subscription.

24-HOUR ACCESS

WITH CREDIT CARD

This option gives you the right to anunlimited number of trips in a 24-hourperiod.For each trip, the first 30 minutesare included. Usage fees will be chargedfor longer trips (see fee structure).

Here’s how it works:1. Go to the pay station and choose

the icon of a bike, then read and acceptthe usage contract.

2. Pay by inserting your credit card(Visa or MasterCard). A hold of $250 isplaced on your credit card. Since yourcredit card serves to identify you as auser, a maximum of two 24-hour access-es can be charged to your credit card atany one time.

3. Print or post your unlocking codeon the screen. It is valid for 5 minutes. If you take longer than that, go to step 8.

4. Enter your unlocking code on thekeypad of the bike dock of your choice.

5. When you see the green light turn

on*, pull the handlebars firmly towardyou to release the bike.

6.Your 30 free minutes start now!7. Return the bike to any BIXI

station. Push the front wheel firmly intoany empty bike dock.

IMPORTANT: Make sure the greenlight turns on* after having locked in thebike.You must wait 5 minutes before tak-ing out another bike.

8. To obtain a new unlocking codeduring the 24-hour period, start over atstep 1 and insert your credit card again:the system will recognize it and nosupplementary fees will be charged toyour card.

* In case of difficulty, try another bikedock or call customer service at 514-789-BIXI (2494).

BIXI SUBSCRIBERS

(1-YEAR OR 30-DAY)Simpler, faster, more economical.You

get the right to an unlimited number of trips, with the first 30 minutes includedfor each trip, a BIXI-key and a personalWeb space My BIXI space. Usage feeswill be charged for longer trips (see feestructure).

1. Insert your BIXI-key directly intothe bike dock of your choice.No need to

use the pay station.2.When the green light turns on*,pull

the handlebars firmly toward you torelease the bike.

3. Your 30 free minutes start now!4. Return the bike to any BIXI s

tation. Push the front wheel firmly intoany empty bike dock.

IMPORTANT: Make sure the greenlight turns on* after having locked in thebike.You must wait 5 minutes before tak-ing out another bike.

5. At any time, check out information

about your trips at your online BIXIspace.

(source: bixi.com)

How to get your roll on:using the Bixi bike

 Aylmer Backyard Farms: a newbusiness takes local food to a new level

continued from page 10

COMMUNITY SUPPORTEDAGRICULTURE

Community Supported Agriculture, orCSA, is a growing movement that connectsfood lovers with farmers.The idea is simple.Farmers produce food, families eat it. Butwhat happens in between can negativelyeffect both farmers and families. Not always,

of course – there are plenty of great places tobuy fresh food in the region. But buyingdirectly with the farmer is a guarantee thatboth the farmer and consumer benefit. Onemajor challenge for food producers is stabili-ty. If farmers plant a hundred carrots, theybudget to be paid for thosehundred carrots. One way toguarantee this return is to con-nect with large distributors.However the downfall here isthe big food companies negoti-ate the price down, creating a

loss of profit many farmerscannot handle. The other chal-lenge for farmers dealing withbig companies is that big chainsneed massive amounts of food– more than can be grown eco-logically in Outaouais.Most of the organic food sold in bigchains comes from the south.

The solution,therefore, is tobe stable,and to sell to region-al neighbours. This brings usback to CSA, Community

Supported Agriculture.Families make a deal withfarmers directly. They order aweekly box which is eitherdelivered to their home or to acommunity space. Sometimesfamilies have a choice of whichfresh foods come inside the

box. Some CSA services also include itemssuch as grains, milks, cereals etc. There areseveral in Outaouais. Contacting each onedirectly is recommended – some evenencourage a visit to their site so that familieshave a stronger connection with where theirfood comes from. Some local CSA services

advertised their contact information in thisguide, please contact them directly – andmention where you saw their ad! This helpsus help you.

Information:aylmerbackyardfarms.wordpress.com

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Bulletin d’Aylmer • West Québec Post  April 2011 S-13

BIKE-SHARING SYSTEM