Land van Ooij

Land van Ooij is a community garden run by a foundation on the Dijkgraaf van Wijckweg, at the edge of Nijmegen by the Ooijpolder, where volunteers sow, plant and harvest food together.

The foundation calls everything that grows in the garden organic, though it holds no organic certificate; what qualifies it here is that it uses no pesticides other than those allowed in organic growing and keeps the vegetable and flower gardens as part of a mixed habitat for insects, birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Plastics are avoided where possible.

The harvest isn't sold. Instead it is shared among the people who work the garden and given out to people who can use it, so the way in is to volunteer. You email them your name, phone number and why you want to join, and they invite you for an introductory talk; volunteers are expected to help in the garden regularly. If you would rather look first, you can make an appointment to come to one of the work days, and visits in general are by appointment.

The land lies in the polder district of the Circul van de Ooij, and the garden is managed to fit in with it.