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Communities Take Bloom with 10 New Gardens, Green Spaces Across Canada

ScottsMiracle-Gro announces GRO1000 grants for community gardens and green spaces

TORONTO (June 1, 2015)—Today, Scotts Canada, part of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, kicked off summer by announcing the 2015 GRO1000 Grassroots Grants in Canada. The grants are awarded to communities across the country to support public gardens and green spaces. Now in its fifth year, the Grassroots Grants are part of the company's GRO1000 commitment to advance the creation of more than 1,000 community gardens and green spaces in Canada, the U.S. and Europe by 2018, in conjunction with its 150th anniversary.
“Programs like GRO1000 remind us of the importance of community,” says Karen Stephenson, director of regulatory & stakeholder relations at Scotts Canada. “Cities are growing so fast, and we’re proud to be working with Canadian communities to make sure they have beautiful and sustainable gardens and green spaces.”
The 2015 GRO1000 Grassroots Grants recipients include:

  • Division 11 Kindergarten Garden, J. G. Diefenbaker School (Richmond, BC)
  • Community Gardens Program Winnipeg Harvest (Winnipeg, MB)
  • Edible Essa, Essa Public Library (Angus, ON)
  • Evergreen a United Neighbourhood, Evergreen Community Gardens (Thunder Bay, ON)
  • Parallel Garden, Carrefour jeunesse-emploi de Duplessis (Sept-Îles QC)
  • Community Garden, Ville de Shippagan (Shippigan, NB)
  • Raised Bed Vegetable Garden, Pictou Landing First Nation School Green Team (Nova Scotia)
  • Can You Dig It? Community Garden Bonavista Area Youth Network (Bonavista, NL)
  • Community Garden, Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (Old Crow, YT)

The 2015 GRO1000 Showcase Garden award winner is Scott Creek Community Garden in Coquitlam, BC. Through the grant, the Community Garden will add gardens and educational opportunities to Eagle Ridge Park, which provides access to Eagle Ridge Elementary School, Scott Creek Middle School and Gleneagle High School. The grant will support the installation of 26 raised planter beds, which will be available to the public for their use to grow flowers, fruit and vegetables. A number of plots will also be set aside for a youth gardening program that will allow local students to develop and grow their gardening skills and knowledge.

Since 2011, more than 500 grants have been awarded globally, including 43 in Canada. In Canada, Scotts Canada partners with Communities in Bloom, Plant a Row – Grow a Row and Nutrients for Life on the program, to help bring together national and local groups to collectively advocate for and demonstrate the benefits of gardening and green space development.
“The communities we work with reap more benefits than just beautiful, green spaces,” Stephenson continues. “Community spaces offset pollution, increase physical activity and lower stress. More than aesthetics, these spaces are about building strong, vibrant and healthy communities for future generations.”

To learn more about GRO1000, visit www.GRO1000.com.

About Scotts
Scotts Canada is a subsidiary of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG) based in Marysville, Ohio, the world’s leading marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and garden care. Scotts line up features Canada’s favourite brands, including: Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, Scotts Turf Builder®, Scotts EcoSense®, Ortho®, as well as Roundup*, marketed in North America and most of Europe by Scotts. With a global investment in R&D and innovation in addition to industry leading stewardship initiatives and consumer education, Scotts is committed to developing and enhancing the lawn and garden care practices in Canada.

Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Scotts Canada provides lawn and garden enthusiasts choices that invite people to … Grow the World You Want ™.

About Communities in Bloom
Communities in Bloom is a Canadian non-profit organization committed to fostering civic pride, environmental responsibility and beautification through community involvement and the challenge of a national program, with focus on the enhancement of green spaces. The pride, sense of community and feeling of accomplishment generated through participation are visible in communities across Canada.

For more information about Communities in Bloom, visit www.communitiesinbloom.ca.

About Plant a Row • Grow a Row
Plant a Row • Grow a Row builds on the long-standing tradition of gardeners loving to share their harvest with others. The program, which has its roots in many communities in North America, launched nationally in the Year 2000 thanks to a joint partnership between the Garden Writers Association, the Compost Council of Canada and local food banks across Canada. Relying on the passion of volunteers and the reality that once the harvest comes in there are always extras, Plant a Row • Grow a Row combines the passion of gardening ---and in particular, the ever-growing interest in veggie gardening – and the importance of sharing food with neighbours-in-need to create local connections that are helping make our communities and neighbourhoods stronger.

For more information about, Plant a Row • Grow a Row visit, www.growarow.org.

About Nutrients for Life
Nutrients for Life Foundation Canada is a registered Canadian charitable organization made up of educators, community groups, scientists and representatives from the agricultural sector, including farmers, agri-retailers and members of the fertilizer industry. Together we produce and distribute educational materials on soil science and agricultural sustainability. Our goal is to help Canadians better understand how nutrients increase the health and quality of our soil, improve production of nutritious foods and preserve green spaces.

For more information about Nutrients for Life, visit www.nutrientsforlife.ca.