An enormous load – or four – of yellow cedar boards was dropped off in the corner of Charstate Park last week in preparation for this coming weekend’s work.
The wood, of course, is the material that will be used to construct the raised beds for the city’s newest community garden.
The garden will be overseen by Greenways Land Trust after the organization came to an agreement with the City of Campbell River in late 2017. It’s taken a while, but this weekend’s work will be the final major hurdle to jump – or rather board to cut – before the dirt can go down and the seeds can go in.
“Now that we’ve got all the wood on-site, we’re going to be doing a big work day on April 27 to put the beds together and hopefully even get some soil in them, as well,” says Greenways executive director Cynthia Bendickson. “We’re almost there and it’s really exciting.”
“Almost there,” entails a corner of the Charstate Park property fenced off and the construction of about 40 garden beds that measure “about five by 20 feet, so they’re a significant size bed for the gardeners,” Bendickson says. “The soil is going to be about 12 inches deep, so that should be enough to grow pretty much anything you want.”
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Once the garden is fully functional, the individual gardeners – or groups of gardeners – who have plots will maintain their own beds, but Greenways will oversee the operation of the facility as a whole.
“We hold the insurance, which is really nice for the gardeners, because that means they won’t have to purchase their own,” Bendickson says. “And we hold the license of use agreement with the city, so, ultimately, Greenways will be responsible for the site. But we have a specific garden committee who will be responsible for the maintenance of the site, making sure the grass is cut, that kind of thing.”
Bendickson says there are already 20 people signed up for a plot, but there are 40 available, so there’s still room – despite some being set aside for school groups and daycares. Anyone interested in a bed can contact them by dropping into their office at 1195-C Fir Street or by calling them at 250-287-3785. You can also email info@greenwaystrust.ca to get your name on the list.
Anyone interested in helping out this Saturday (April 27), can show up on-site at 10 a.m. Greenways will have work gloves available, but if you have a charged-up drill or impact driver to bring along, that would certainly help, Bendickson says.
The garden is located behind the Hospice Thrift Store on South Dogwood Street. Head down Cortes Road and take a right on Charstate, or wait and take a right on Quadra Avenue to get around to the other side of the park closer to the garden.