Flowers growing at a pop up park located at 1110 Elm Street.

By Tiffany Goodwein

Pop up Parks building and beautifying communities through plants

Aug 22, 2021 | 9:38 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB- Behind River Valley Community Church in the Flats, it’s a place where flowers and vegetables grow. One of the gardens bursting with blooms is a product of Pop up Parks a non-profit group in the city.

Since launching in 2015, the group has transformed underutilized and neglected lots into parks where people can come together, pick some vegetables and learn about food. They started in the downtown core, and moved to their Elm Street location earlier this year. Dina Jubrak, chair of Pop Up Parks said the initiative has taken on an enhanced meaning the past year.

“I think after the COVID-19 realization of our supply chains in general and the food chain specifically Having the knowledge to grow your own food is fundamentally important,” she said.

When Pop-up Parks was moving to their new location, the volunteer group also provided opportunities to people at the McMann Daytime shelter. Users of the shelter volunteered to help build some of the structures and fix some of the planters. Jubrak said she wanted to do that for two reasons. One was to debunk some of the misconceptions.

“I live in the neighborhood and I felt that some of the neighbors were not quite aware that the daytime shelter moving in, wasn’t the spike in challenges. We have always had challenges with partially housed, or homeless people, people struggling with addiction, so this is still existing,” she said.

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Jubrak added that she wanted users of the shelter to feel more connected to the community, and in turn have more ownership.

More details about Pop up Parks can be found on their website.