Article by Patricia Wales
Social Concerns ConvenerWindsor-Essex Branch
Retired Women Teachers of Ontario
As a dreadful winter recedes,
nurseries and garden centers herald the coming of Spring. I love to wander the aisles checking out the
flowers, herbs, and vegetable plants. Retirement
has awakened my love of gardening; I realize that putting on garden shoes to
dig and plant and water yields renewed energy and creativity. As a child I spent many weekends on my
grandparents’ small farm in Puce running the fields trying to avoid having to
weed. Later as an adult, when I was
showing our first home to my grandmother she suggested that the yard beside the
driveway would be a fine place to grow onions.
I didn’t take her advice at the time but now I revel in planting and
find it enhances the joy that Spring brings.
Members lacking a suitable space for
gardening may find community gardens an intriguing option. There are several Community Supported
Agriculture projects locally, which provide a variety of gardening
opportunities. For example, there are seventeen
community gardens located across Windsor and Essex County with hopes of adding
more. Becoming involved in such a
project is a great way to be outside, meet new people and engage in a healthy group
activity. If you want to garden, the coordinator is willing to assist our R.W.T.O.
members to locate a community of gardeners.
Perhaps R.W.T.O. members would like to establish our own community
garden? The Windsor Essex County Community Garden Collective website contains plenty
of information for gardeners interested in growing local produce.
Information
about community gardens and other interesting projects can be found at:
Or
you may contact: Steve Green, Windsor
Essex County Community Garden Network Coordinator at (519) 258-3033 Ext.1148
If
you wish to be connected to the earth by planting, weeding or reaping the
benefits of the harvest, many local opportunities abound. These include:
·
Purchasing
a farm share to obtain locally grown produce throughout the summer season.
·
The
Downtown Windsor Farmers Market will operate again this year on Saturdays from
May 31st to October 11th at Charles Clark Square.
·
The
Southwestern Ontario Gleaners dehydrate unmarketable garden produce into soup
mix for distribution to feed the hungry locally or overseas after the produce
has first been offered to nearby residents or the food bank association.
·
The
School Garden Project fostering the connection of earth and gardeners by
supporting the planting of school gardens has begun across our province with
some suggestion for local participation.
Consider,
it was Katrina Mayer who said: “Spending time in nature has a way of nurturing
the soul.”
~
Patricia Wales
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