EHS in the Community
From the Vacant Lots Gardening Program to Front Yards in Bloom, working in the community is a long-standing EHS tradition.
Partnerships with the City of Edmonton enhance public spaces, support local horticulture, and educate and encourage gardeners. We work together annually on Communities in Bloom, Front Yards in Bloom, Partners in Parks and other events.
Under the Partners in Parks initiative, our City Gardener team plants and maintains perennial beds on the grounds of the Muttart Conservatory. A second City Gardener team works at the Edmonton Valley Zoo to provide herbs and vegetables to enrich the diets of the zoo animals.
We connect with other like-minded groups (affiliates) and welcome community garden and corporate memberships.
Our Current Programs
Our Neighbourhood in Bloom
With a focus on local involvement, storytelling, and celebration, Our Neighbourhood in Bloom aims to keep the tradition of garden recognition thriving—one front yard at a time. Beyond collecting addresses and delivering recognition cards, communities are encouraged to share photos and uplifting stories of gardens and gardeners. This helps to showcase the powerful role green spaces play in connecting neighbors and enhancing our city.
City Gardeners: Muttart Conservatory
Located on the east side of the path between the Muttart LRT Station and the Muttart Conservatory are several glorious flowerbeds packed with perennials and shrubs that grow well in the Edmonton climate. EHS volunteers created and continue to maintain these beds: planting, pruning, weeding, and deadheading all summer, doing fall cleanup and spring maintenance.
City Gardeners: Valley Zoo
The EHS maintains several gardens at the Edmonton Valley Zoo, under a partnership with the Zoo and Salisbury Greenhouse. There’s a pollinator garden and several vegetable gardens to provide enrichment for the animals in the Zoo’s care. The produce of the gardens can provide both sensory stimulation and a valuable addition to the animals’ diets. EHS volunteers plant, weed and harvest the gardens over the summer.
