Pender Harbour’s first community food garden has seen such interest that next year’s plots will be decided by lottery, organizer Kym Harris said during a town hall meeting in Pender Harbour on Sept. 13.
“All 25 spaces were taken within two days of announcement and this caused a small wait list of people wanting to join in on the fun,” Harris said, explaining the lottery system next year will “allow a more fair way of distribution of the space.”
The community garden sits behind the Pender Harbour Health Centre and it was made possible through partnership with the health centre, support from the community and much work by Harris.
“A lot of people asked me why I wanted to start a community garden when so many people in Pender Harbour have such beautiful gardens at home,” Harris said.
“I believe that gardening in public spaces is not like gardening in your own backyard. Community gardens bring together like-minded people to grow and share in something so basic as food, and in doing so we break isolation within the community and create a more positive and social environment.”
When looking for a space for the garden, the health centre seemed a perfect fit. “It made sense to me that the garden be associated with the health centre as what we feed our bodies has such a direct influence on our overall health,” Harris said, noting the centre pitched in 30 per cent of the overall cost of the garden set up, by way of an endowment fund.
“There were no health care dollars used towards this project.”
The remaining costs were covered by the community through donations of cash, materials and labour.
“This project would not have been possible without the very generous contributions of members of our own community,” Harris said.
She hopes to make the garden available to more people via the lottery system next spring and she’s interested in expanding the endeavour to other areas of Pender Harbour, if there’s interest and more support.
If you would like to get involved, contact Harris at 604-251-7488 or email [email protected]
