Coast Collective garden in Colwood seeks volunteers

The weeds are still winning, but patches of arugula and spinach poke through the soil, fighting to overcome what has been a cold spring.

ItB次元官网网址檚 been a few years since vegetables have sprouted on the picturesque Havenwood property in Colwood, but two avid green-thumbs are aiming to sow the seeds of a thriving community garden.

B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 a beautiful space to help provide food security,B次元官网网址� says Annabelle Baxter,  a 20-year gardening veteran. B次元官网网址淢ost of the infrastructure is here. People get dirt, tools, a greenhouse and knowledge. All we need is participation.B次元官网网址�

Baxter, 38, and her partner Ira Henry, 30, have spent the last few months reviving the garden from hibernation, volunteering up to 20 hours per week weeding and tending to plants and veggies.

Part of the colourful greenhouse building is rough and unfinished, and piping for the irrigation system remains a mystery, but much of the existing soil rich and dark. With enough sweat and toil, the pair think the garden would dovetail nicely with the Coast Collective art studios in the Pendray House.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a great space for people to get involved, and the garden here for the taking. People can participate in any way they can,B次元官网网址� Baxter says. B次元官网网址淏ut this will have to be a grassroots effort. ThereB次元官网网址檚 not a lot of funding around.B次元官网网址�

The pair came across the idle plot after transplanting themselves from Fernwood to a rural home in Metchosin, B次元官网网址渂uilt on a rock, surrounded by Douglas firs with nowhere to grow,B次元官网网址� Baxter says laughing. The artists who run the Coast Collective gave them free rein B次元官网网址� they just need to pay the water bill.

Living in Victoria, Baxter co-ordinated a popular community garden in Fernwood for five years. Henry works as a sustainable agriculture instructor at the Boys and Girls Club property in Metchosin.

Community plots and teaching garden exist in Colwood at the WestShore Teaching Garden on Sooke Road, but Baxter suspects there is room for more. A desire to live sustainably and expand small-scale agriculture is an ever-growing trend across urban areas, Henry says.

To help pay the water bill and to raise the profile of the garden, Baxter and Henry are leading courses in composting, beginner gardening and for students at the Coast Collective over the summer. Ultimately theyB次元官网网址檇 like to draw in lower income people to grow food, although they acknowledge Havenwood, while scenic, is a touch isolated.

B次元官网网址淲e need people interested in creating a steering committee to take this to the next level,B次元官网网址� Baxter says. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 not enough of us to do this.B次元官网网址�

To get involved in the Coast Collective garden, email Baxter at annabellebaxter73@gmail.com. For more on the Coast Collective and gardening courses, see www.coastcollective.ca.

editor@goldstreamgazette.com