The Heritage Garden began as a passion project during Covid-19 and has blossomed into a shared community space.

The Heritage Garden Initiative was conceived as a collaboration between the Museums of Burlington and MM Robinson Secondary School’s Horticulture Therapy Program, a part of the school’s  Community Pathways Program. Under the guidance of their teacher, students visit the garden twice a week beginning in April. Students germinate the seeds at school, till the soil, transplant their seedlings, water the plants, weed the garden, and harvest the produce.

Students also learn about the importance of gardening in Burlington’s history and plant items that traditionally would have been grown by the Ireland family, referencing the 1861 Agricultural Census we have in our collections. Produce harvested from the garden is donated to the Burlington Food Bank.

• Using the garden as a tool to educate visitors on topics such as Burlington’s agricultural history, food production, community service, the positive impact of nature-based activities on mental health, the environmental benefits of gardening (e.g. pollination and rain barrels) and how communities can help fight food insecurity through these types of projects
• Expanding our event offerings to include workshops on gardening, eating seasonally, making preserves and seed harvesting
• Expanding the garden space to increase the amount of produce that we can donate to the Burlington Food Bank
• Enlisting community volunteers who wish to get outside and help contribute to their community
• Ensuring the garden is accessible to individuals of varying abilities so that anyone can participate in programming related to the Heritage Garden Initiative
• Stocking our newly constructed seed library with seeds to grow vegetables, fruit and edible flowers and inviting members of the public to help themselves to seeds for their own gardens