Become a member of Tallinn's first allotment garden Pelguaed

This year, the start of the gardening season is special because of the opening of Tallinn’s first allotment garden Pelguaed – a modern community garden concept where there are opportunities to grow your own food both in garden boxes and small allotments. From today to May 8th, you can sign up to become a member of Pelguaed. 

The allotment garden Pelguaed will be opened in Põhja-Tallinn district on the Pollinator Highway, at the corner of Kolde pst and Ehte Street. In Tallinn’s largest and most modern urban garden, you can grow food in garden boxes, plots and greenhouse. In addition, there are many fruit trees and bushes in the garden. Locals can also host community events there, schools and kindergartens can organize outdoor lessons.  

“The planning and construction of the allotment garden took place in cooperation with the local community and the city and is therefore a good example of participatory planning. By now, the construction of the allotment garden is nearly completed, and the last improvement works and the application for a use permit are currently underway. We plan to open Pelguaed garden and organize the opening event as soon as the use permit has been issued,” explains Lea Vutt, participation project manager at the Tallinn Urban Environment and Public Works Department. 

The aim of the allotment garden is to offer Tallinn residents the joy of community activity through urban gardening and in this way to strengthen both environmental awareness and a communal way of life. Therefore, in the allotment garden, special emphasis is placed on environmentally friendly gardening and joint activities and responsibility. Members of the garden can use a garden box or plot for their desired plants. At the same time, the common beds, greenhouse and common garden area are under collective care of all members. More specifically, each garden member must contribute as a volunteer at least 15 hours per season (about 2 hours per month) to the activities of the allotment garden, such as gardening, translating, organizing events, etc. 

Pelguaed allotment garden is a further development of the previous community garden under the same name, which has been operating in the same location for five years. According to Martin Pennaste, the leader of the NGO Pelguaed, with the renewed concept of the garden, nearly 100 people will be able to grow their own food, instead of the 40 people before. “We are looking for new community members who want to engage in urban gardening together and are ready to contribute to joint activities in caring for the garden as well as in other ways that support the garden's activities,” says Pennaste.

With the support of the city of Tallinn, 33 community gardens have already been created, where more than 2,500 people are active. This shows that urban gardening has a positive effect on both the gardeners themselves and the city as a whole – a good-neighbourly and environmentally friendly way of thinking spreads, there are more activities in public space and environmental diversity is preserved. 

The admission to become a member of Pelguaed is open till May 8th. If there are available places, you can sign up to become a member on an ongoing basis. To become a member of the allotment garden, you have to fill out an application form online or register at the Northern Tallinn District Administration (Kari 13) or Sõle library (Sõle 47b). 

Residents of North-Tallinn have a priority to become a member, but if there are vacancies, all interested people from other districts are also accepted. Since the allotment garden works on a community basis, a symbolic membership fee is also asked from each gardener, and a willingness to contribute to the activities of the garden is expected.  

The online application form and more detailed information about Pelguaed can be found here: http://www.tallinn.ee/pelguaed. 

Pelguaed allotment garden is built as part of the "Pelgu allotment garden construction and follow-up activities" project, which is funded by the European Economic Area climate change adaptation measure. The construction of the allotment garden began in Tallinn's European Green Capital in 2023 and is an important part of the Pollinator Highway, a flagship project of Tallinn's Green Capital.