Garden volunteers help fill a growing need
A group of Brantford women got together for a garden party of a different sort on Tuesday.
Wearing shorts, T-shirts and hats to protect themselves from the sun, these women spent the evening weeding and harvesting some of the produce being grown in the 72 beds at the Earl Haig Community Garden.
The crew included Teresa Walchuk, Meredith Barker, Sue Clark, Deborah Vickers, Lindsay Guy and Katie MacDonald.
“I really like the social aspect of it,” MacDonald said of the time spent at the garden located next to the Earl Haig Family Fun Center on Market Street South. “We all know each other from the Gretzky Center and when it was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic I reached out to people to see if they’d be interested in being a part of this.
“It’s a healthy way to stay active and give back to the community.”
The Earl Haig Community Garden is part of the Equal Ground Community Gardens initiative, which began in 2009. It is one of 26 such gardens planted in municipally-owned parks throughout Brantford and Brant County.
Volunteers, led by community champions like MacDonald, plant and maintain the gardens throughout the growing season. The idea is to provide easy access to fresh produce to neighborhoods.
There is a roster of about 25 volunteers who will contribute to the Earl Haig garden and of those, 10 are part of the core group, MacDonald said.
“One of the things we’ve learned is that when it comes to community gardens, there is never enough volunteers,” MacDonald said. “We’re always looking for more people.
“There is a way for people to volunteer online and we try to match people to gardens that are close to where they live.”
To learn more about the initiative visit www.egcgbrant.com/help-us.
Vegetables grown at the Earl Haig Community Garden includes eggplant, cucumbers, beans, peas, kale, tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, herbs, broccoli, lettuce and corn. There are also berry bushes and fruit trees as well as pollinator gardens at the site.
The most popular vegetables are the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and lettuce, MacDonald said.
The COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on how the community gardens operated. Gathering restrictions were in place and as a result almost everything that was grown was donated to the Brantford Food Bank.
Now, with restrictions lifted people in the neighborhood have easy access to the garden. They can pick what they need to help feed themselves and their families.
“This year, we’ve been open all season long and lot of the produce is being harvested by people in the neighborhood, which is great because that’s what this is here for.”
“I think that indicates there is a need for access to freshly grown food in the community – the cost of food is going up.”
The Equal Ground initiative also has a ‘host garden” program to help residents grow their own food which they can then share with family, neighbors and the food bank.
To learn more about community gardens visit www.egcgbrant.com/help-us.
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