Community Garden plants seed with Barrhead town councillors

BARRHEAD - The Community Garden Society has big plans for its new location east of the Pembina West Co-op's food store that would necessitate going outside its borders on Town of Barrhead property and creating a community fruit orchard.

Jay Byer, Marilyn Flock, and Sue Rees from the society's board asked councillors at their Nov. 28 meeting to allow the society to use a piece of town-owned land close to the existing garden site to the northeast, near the lagoon.

Flock said that although the society has a long-term lease, they are concerned about potentially planting plants that have a long life, such as trees and their proposed fruit orchard.

"If the garden, for some reason, we would like to plant the trees where we know they won't get cut down," she said, adding from what she can tell, the municipality isn't utilizing the land.

Byer added he believed the area would especially be suitable for larger fruit trees, such as apples or pears.

"There are a lot of varieties that do pretty well here, and [the orchard] would enhance food security by teaching people how to grow small and larger fruits," he said.

History and future plans for the garden

This spring, the society moved to its new location after several years of uncertainty at its old location, a five-acre plot of Town of Barrhead-owned land on the west side of the town, just north of the apartment buildings on 53rd Street home. 

However, when the municipality sold the three-acre parcel that the garden was on in 2021, their new landlord said they had to move out by Oct. 31, 2022.

And this January, Byers said, against all odds, the society signed a 20-year lease with Oscar Daase and Edwin Winkler for their new location, allowing for the garden's continuation without operation.

"But it wasn't without a lot of work and a bit of luck and serendipity," he said, noting much of the funding that allowed them to transform the land into a new and improved community garden space came from two grants, a Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) Community Spaces grant of $88,000 and a Rural Mental Health Network grant of $20,000.

"They got us off to a great start, and it was against the odds," he said.

Byers noted that the FCL grant alone was one of more than 900 applications vying for the 15 grants they received the highest amount.

"It speaks well of all the cooperation from the community we have received," he said.

The community garden held its grand opening ceremony near the end of the growing season in late September, hosting more than 200 people. 

Byer said they were a little worried that the garden might not produce well in its first season as the land had previously been used for corn production, which is nutrient-intensive, and they received their first actual precipitation in June.

But in the end, he said, it turned out to be a productive season, as demonstrated by the 1,600 pounds of produce they produced through the garden's 15 dedicated plots for the Barrhead Food Bank.

Heading into the future, Byer said, they want to make the community garden a space that everyone, not just member gardeners, can utilize.

Flock said the garden hosted several Grade 4 classes from Barrhead Elementary School, and in the new year, they plan to host several courses, including how to freeze and can produce and how to make healthy meals.

In 2024, the society plans to construct a large deck or stage and add more picnic tables and seating.

"We want to cooperate with the town, including the parks and recreation department, to see more events," Byer said. 

Flock agreed, saying the garden would be a good location for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in the winter.

Byer added the garden would also be a good location for stargazers and photographers interested in astrophotography, as it is easily accessible and away from the town's lights.

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com