Since 2024, when the Gardens 4 Joy team began piloting this initiative, and in collaboration with various departments at Queen’s university and passionate gardeners beyond Queen’s, they have hosted a range of both structured and spontaneous events in the gardens and indoors, delivering nature-based experiences through gardens and gardening. Examples of these events include planting, harvesting, savouring nature, creating flower bouquets, nurturing nature and protecting our planet, saving the bees, “Thank a Farmer Today,” and donating harvests to food banks, to name a few.

Starting in the current season (2025), they began advocating for Portable Gardens—promoting the idea that people can connect with nature and create and enjoy gardens at home or in the office, whether it’s a creative plant pot on a windowsill or a portable garden in a sunny office space that’s easy to manage.

They now also host a weekly event every Tuesday called Water. Connect. Harvest. This gathering invites the community to connect with nature, engage with others and share gardening tips, harvest and enjoy the vegetables, and capture the beauty of the flowers through photography.

We encourage you to visit the new gardens at Queen’s, located behind Nicole Hall, and see the small portable garden set up beside the three garden beds by the stairs, which the Gardens 4 Joy team is utilizing this season.