Photo credit: Jonathan RausseoI feel fall in the air and can hear the tell-tale sounds of crunching leaves underfoot on my way to class which reminds me that a great initiative on campus is coming to a close as the Community Garden wraps up another successful year.
Although faced with a strange cucumber beetle, tomato blight and scorching heat this summer, the garden has managed to bring joy to its participants who used it as a means of relaxing and producing their own organic and local produce. The Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) driven project took place on King Edward Avenue across from Brooks Residence and included over twenty five participants that had access to free plots and necessary tools.
It was great to escape from work on occasion to help water some of the plots- most notably when a water fight ensued with Marie-Pier during the 40+ degree weather. I hope to be involved next year and make some improvements to make the garden even more enjoyable for members and I have thus, created a satisfaction survey which our Garden Coordinator distributed. After analyzing the data, it is evident that this endeavour provides the campus and Sandy Hill community with an important resource and that it should be continued in the future no matter the difficulties faced in the preparation.
This year the main issue was finding a suitable location (I REALLY wanted to have it on Colonel By!) and next year we may be faced with relocating the garden again as development is constantly occurring here on campus.
All in all, I sincerely enjoyed my first year being involved with the garden and hope to have my very own plot next year (this year I helped out the office’s plot) in which I can spend my summer lunches pulling weeds and snacking on strawberries. Until then, I will rely on the Stone Soup Truck on campus for delicious food fixes.
-merissa