The Windham
Community Garden, located on Route 202 next to the Windham Safety Building and
public skate park, celebrated its seventh year by hosting a Morning in the
Garden on Saturday, July 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. With donuts and coffee
available, area Windham residents had the opportunity to stop by and take a
look at the success of the gardens’ growth and discover ways to become involved
as a community gardener as well.
Established in 2010, the Windham Community Garden was the vision
of a few forward thinking individuals who thought that a community garden in
Windham was needed and would be well received. “The first year, we had four
gardeners but by the next year in 2011, we had 37 gardeners,” stated Pricilla Payne, who was one of the core group
members to initiate the garden and serves as the secretary of the garden committee.
“Now there are over 50 gardeners with 75 beds being used.”
In order
to keep up with the success and growth of the garden, new members are being
sought out to help with a variety of tasks. “As always, the garden committee is
looking for new members,” Payne said. “There is always lots of maintenance to
be done at the garden, especially in the spring when we are getting ready for
the opening and in the fall when closing for the winter. If anyone has an
interest in becoming involved we would love to talk to them.”
The
benefits of having and being involved in a community garden are endless. The
Parks and Recreation Department from St. Paul, MN took time and listed the many
advantages of a community garden, like the one in Windham. Some benefits from
that list include the following:
Increase a sense of community ownership and stewardship.
Foster the development of a community identity and
spirit.
Bring people together from a wide variety of backgrounds
(age, race, culture, social class).
Community gardening is recognized by the many police
departments as an effective community crime prevention strategy.
Provide inter-generational exposure to cultural
traditions.
It is a healthy, inexpensive activity for youth that can
bring them closer to nature and allow them to interact with each other in a
socially meaningful and physically productive way.
Add beauty to the community and heighten people's
awareness and appreciation for living things.
And, of course, the ultimate benefit of a community garden
is healthy food production, not only for
the individual but for others in
society as well.
“In the past seven years, we have donated over 7,000 pounds
of food to the food pantry,” Payne said. “And we always encourage all gardeners
to give their overproduction to the pantry.”
The committee works diligently to adhere to its mission to
create a garden following organic practices, provide affordable garden plots,
support a community of gardeners and to help promote a green and sustainable
Windham. In order to do so, they participate in regular meetings, organize and
execute fundraising efforts, write grant applications and spend a lot of time
in the garden helping others. They also solicit donations on behalf of the
garden.
“Our next goal is to place solar panels on the greenhouse so
we can grow produce year round,” said Donna Walter, also a garden committee
member.
To obtain a solar panel, members will work on fundraising
and grant writing efforts to name a few. “If there is anyone in the community
who wishes to donate or make a contribution towards the solar panel and its
installation, we will always accept that as well,” Walter continued.
The garden committee stated that the community has been very
helpful in contributing to the garden’s
break from the heat
while attending to their beds,” said Payne. “Also, Girl Scout Troop #1518 has
two beds at the garden and one of those beds is growing carrots for the MSSPA
horse rescue farm here in Windham.”
success. “We like to thank the Shelter
Man who generously donated a canopy and frame so that we have a nice place for
gardeners to take
Other community organizations that the committee has
identified as making contributions include Blue Seal Feeds, Inc. and Skillins
Greenhouse, which have either donated or discounted a number of items to
include seeds and hay. “We also have the Town of Windham to thank for a multitude of things,” stated
Marge Govoni, garden committee member. “They supply us with a water source
(Fire Department), wood chips, mowing the area around the exterior of the
garden and lastly, allowing us to use this land which benefits us all as a
community.”
Payne stated that committee member, Rachel Michaud, has gone
above and beyond her role as a garden member “for rehabbing and repainting our
sign and being our Master Social Media expert.”
The intertwining community effort and support is among the
community garden’s greatest strengths. “This garden is a huge asset to the
community and to the folks that garden here,” Payne said. “There is so much
satisfaction in raising your own organic produce.”
The Windham Garden Community will start taking reservations
for the 2018 season in late fall. The cost for one plot on an annual basis is
$30. For more information, visit the garden website at
www.windhamcommunitygarden.org.
By Elizabeth Richards
The general protocols
include not coming to the garden while sick or if you think you may have been exposed
to the virus; wearing a mask and maintaining a social distance of at least 6
feet if other gardeners are present; bringing personal gardening tools if
possible; and carrying disposable items in and out, leaving nothing behind in
the garden.
“Committee members
cannot be at the garden all the time and so we are depending on the gardeners
to police themselves,” she said. “The committee members will model the correct
behavior. For example, yesterday I went to the garden and there was
another gardener there, so I wore my mask and we stayed more than 6 feet away.”
