“Barrhead’s community garden looks much different than it did a few months ago when it first opened to the public.
“It has transformed from a piece of untilled land ... Now most of the plots have exploded with vegetables — zuchinis, potatoes, cabbages, carrots, peas, beans, onions, lettuce, corn, and beets.
“Though some of the plots were flooded ... that wasn’t the end for the unlucky gardeners who rented them ... They lent a helping hand wherever they could, and gave advice where it was needed.
“It truly is a community garden.”
That’s a few excerpts from the editorial published in the Sept. 3, 2013 edition of the Barrhead Editorial. That would have been the first year the community garden had been established.
For a small farm town, Barrhead’s community garden is truly a wonder. Most projects of this type wither after a couple of years; while the passion for such an initiative is high at the start, they often die due to a lack of volunteer interest.
But Barrhead’s garden has managed to thrive. Today, there are 76 plots rented out by individuals and organizations. Volunteers have put in hundreds of hours readying the soil and installing raised garden beds, while the students at Barrhead Composite helped build the fencing and the nearby gazebo.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that other small communities look to Barrhead’s community garden with envy. Oh, there are larger gardens in Alberta, no doubt about it. But they’re also in larger centres, and they’re often tended by municipalities. Barrhead’s community garden is almost entirely a volunteer effort.
No doubt the location has played a big part in that, as the garden is but a stone’s throw away from the Shepherd’s Care facility and nearby apartment buildings. Sometimes people don’t even go there to actually garden; sometimes they just like to walk around the area.
As such, this is why the town’s decision to order the community garden to re-locate is such a disappointment.
Now, the town has every right to do so; they own the land, after all. And from what we understand, the community garden volunteers have always expected this day to come, or at least for development to occur around them.
But it’s certainly not a decision that’s going to make anyone happy. Town council seems to know this, or else they would have discussed sending the letter to the community garden people in open council, not in-camera.
Of course, they have suggested a new location for the garden, which is a kind gesture. We don’t know exactly where it is, but it could serve the garden’s needs capably.
Then again, the volunteers could decide that they don’t want to go to the effort of a move. That would be understandable, but it would be a shame to see the comunity garden die after all the volunteers have acomplished.
