Join the Williams Lake Food Policy Council, in partnership with the Cariboo Chilcotin Child Development Centre, on Saturday, July 28 in breaking ground on the new Memory Garden Community Garden site. It has been years in the making, but we are now ready to start building the garden.
The Williams Lake Food Policy Council partnered with the Leadership Class at Williams Lake Senior Secondary School, and came up with the plan to create a large Community Garden near the school.
The WLSS students have named the community garden space The Memory Garden.
“The WL leadership students wanted to make a difference in the community,” states teacher Dena Baumann, “In memory of people they had lost that had inspired and made a difference in their lives.”
The Memory Garden Community Garden space is 25,000 square feet and therefore will be large enough to incorporate a variety of features to demonstrate methods of growing food in our region.
“At present, the plans for the space include over 50 individual raised-bed garden plots, two greenhouses, a community compost center, community root cellar, public access fruit trees and berry bushes and xeriscape garden,” says Cody Slinn, food action co-ordinator.
Over the years, the Food Policy Council has created an extensive network of volunteers, local businesses, schools, and non-profits, and has built strong partnerships with the Cariboo Chilcotin Child Development Centre, the City of Williams Lake, the Cariboo Regional District, Interior Health, Thompson-Nicola United Way, the Williams Lake and District Credit Union and our local media.
It is thanks to all these individuals, organizations and businesses that the Memory Garden Community Garden is breaking ground this month.
We would like to invite everyone to attend our Ground Breaking Work Party on Saturday, July 28, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Come ready to dig in, lend a hand, or meet other people interested in local food. There will be jobs for all ages and skill levels, so bring your family and start planting the seeds for local food production in our city.
The official ground breaking ceremony will be at 12 noon and the Food Policy Council is sponsoring a free local food lunch for all volunteers.
If you would like more information or to RSVP for the upcoming work party, please contact Food Action Co-ordinator Cody Slinn at 250-392-0294.
Story submitted by Michelle Daymond