Sparwood Community Garden on track

Sparwood could soon find itself home to a brand new community garden, with the District Council voicing support for a community initiative.

Vice president of the future Sparwood Community Garden, Dina Dominick made the case for a community garden at a recent general council meeting, saying it was important for food security, education and community engagement.

“(Sparwood has) a large population of elderly who enjoy gardening but can’t take care of big land lots on their own,” said Dominick. “Then we have the highschool and the elementary school kids who have shown a key interest in seed saving (and) growing their own food.”

The land needed for the community garden is to the south of Juniper Court on Engleman Spruce Drive. Plots would be available for $30 a season, along with a communal garden, a kids garden and a greenhouse, with the majority of gardening supplied to be donated by local businesses.

“Everything it set, we just need the approval,” said Dominick.

Councillors showed enthusiasm for the project, with Mayor Wilks saying he supported the idea.

“I think its a great opportunity for the community,” he said. “It will be a great addition to the community, and if there’s an opportunity at some point in the future to make it a little bigger, maybe we can do that.”

The matter now goes to council staff who will sort out the legal side of matters for the proposed garden before it comes back to council for a vote.