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Winnipeg, Man.
Lori’s garden: Winnipeg resident connects to community through gardening


Famous for its arson fires, Winnipeg’s north end has been called “the black hole” of Winnipeg. But a young couple sees it differently.

Jon and Lori Unger Brandt moved to the north end of the city three years ago with the intention of making a difference in their community.

“We wanted to get to know our neighbours,” says Lori, adding that they wanted to live out their faith.

This summer, with the help from her neighbours, Lori turned a vacant lot across the street into a community garden. A house on the property had succumbed to an arson’s match two years earlier. The fence had fallen into disrepair, and the site was a mess. People often used the open lot as a thoroughfare.

Winnipeg Free Press photo

Lori made inquiries of the 90-by-120-foot lot and contacted the owner, who was living out of town. She told the owner she wanted to take care of the property and plant a garden. The owner liked the idea.

Lori approached the North End Community Renewal Corporation, an agency supported by Mennonite Central Committee Manitoba, in order to get corporate sponsorship for her plan. With the North End Community Renewal Corporation backing her, she was able to present a proposal to Neighbourhoods Alive, a joint provincial government/City of Winnipeg initiative helping to revitalize older communities in the city. Neighbourhoods Alive provided her with a $2000 grant.

The Unger Brandts brought in 40 yards of soil, built garden boxes and bought some seeds and tools. On a community service day held by their church, River East Mennonite Brethren Church, they built a new fence, made a compost heap and cleaned up the lot.

Five families from the community, all with different ethnic backgrounds, planted gardens, using their own unique gardening techniques, pitched in to help each other and shared the produce with others. The whole community has taken ownership of the land, says Lori. She credits that for the absence of vandalism to the property.

Even the community children got involved and some grew their own gardens. They took pride in the garden lot. They could identify the different vegetables and couldn’t wait for the tomatoes to ripen, she says.

“The most amazing thing was when the children came to the door and said ‘Let’s go see the garden’!”

The garden lot has space for eight families, and Lori hopes to add a storage shed next year.

Lori is happy she is able to make a difference in her community. While she admits she doesn’t find it easy to share her faith with her neighbours, she believes the first step in witnessing begins with building relationships with them. She says the connection to the community has been great and the experience has been positive.

“It brings me face to face with a reality that isn’t mine,” she says. “I just have to look over the fence to see that it’s different. It’s a good reality check. It doesn’t let us retreat into comfortable Mennonite suburban ghettos.”

 – pjw, with files from the Winnipeg Free Press

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Last modified December 7, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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