City of Surrey Best Practice Guidelines for Community Gardens during COVID - 19

Best practice guidelines for community gardens during COVID-19
Community gardens are a key component to neighbourhood food security. While we are in an ever- evolving situation, it is important that community garden coordinators, members and volunteers change the way we organize based on the most recent public health information.
The City of Surrey encourages community gardeners to monitor the following resources for COVID-19 updates:
➢ City of Surrey➢ Fraser Health➢ BC Centre for Disease Control➢ Public Health Agency of Canada
Public health advice may change, so please check the above resources for the most current information to protect you, your family and fellow community gardeners.
Keeping each other safe in the community garden
Every person entering the garden is responsible for preventing the spread of infection. Here’s how youcan safely tend the community garden:

• ➢  Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
• ➢  Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth, especially with unwashed hands
• ➢  Practice physical distancing of two metres (6-8 feet) always, even if you are not showing signs of symptoms
• ➢  Avoid close contact with people who are sick
• ➢  Stay at home if you are sick
• ➢  Cough and sneeze into your sleeve and not your hands
• ➢  If you are showing symptoms or have been out of the country, please do not enter the community garden – follow current public health advice about when it’s safe to do so (askanother garden member to water your plot)
• ➢  Garden coordinators will be circulating a garden sign-up sheet as needed – please only visit the garden during your allocated time slot to respect the physical distancing requirements
  Tools:

• ➢  Gardens should remove all community shared tools for the time being
• ➢  Gardeners need to bring and use their own tools
• ➢  Gardeners need to take their tools home when they are done for the day
• ➢  If using a hose:
  ▪ Bring sanitizing wipes and wipe down what you touch▪ Thoroughly wipe down the hose nozzle BEFORE AND AFTER USE

Instructions for Garden Coordinators
Signage
The City of Surrey staff have erected signage at each entrance to the garden (see attached) to inform and prevent members from entering the garden who are showing symptoms or who should be at home according to public health advice (e.g. recently out of country).
Limit the number of people in the garden at one time

• ➢  When at the garden keep in mind physical distancing requirements.
• ➢  Contact members/volunteers via telephone if they have difficulty using or do not have access to a computer. - DONE
• ➢  Older adults and persons with severe underlying health conditions may prefer time alone in the garden, or none at all (if they are self-isolating, ask to see if others are willing to water their garden for them) PLEASE HELP YOUR NEIGHBOUR!
• ➢  Cancel all planned, in-person committee meetings and transition to virtual meetings DONE, IN-PROGRESS: virtual meeting planning
• ➢  Cancel all large work parties and switch to sequential work parties while practicing physical distancing DONE, IN-PROGRESS...assigning spring clean up tasks.