While everyone is counting down to spring with varying degrees of impatience, no group is marking their calendar with as much anticipation as the force behind the upcoming community garden.
The committee behind the introduction of a community garden into Estevan met again on Feb. 24 in the Estevan Public Library to go over where they were at in the project and what must still happen to be able to organize in time to begin planting by the end of May.
The group is still working with the City of Estevan on acquiring some land to be used by the gardeners. Barb Wright, one of the organizers, said they are looking to submit a formal request for the land at the March 24 regular council meeting. From there, the city will look to the public for input and any objections that may be raised.
The group looked at costs during the meeting, the estimated fees they would require from each gardener, and they determined the entire operation could run on a relatively small scale, at least for its first year as they are anticipating between six and 12 gardeners.
With six confirmed gardeners, Chantelle Dubreuil, a local landscaper and driving force behind the garden, said they could probably operate with a small handful of tools, a shovel, a pair of hoes, a rake and perhaps some smaller gardening tools.
The bulk of the garden's cost will be building the raised garden beds. The plan is for the beds to be raised one foot from the ground and Dubreuil will work on a prototype wooden frame for the beds plots that will be 12 feet long by four feet wide.
The group also plans on holding a work bee at the site in late April or early May to build the remaining frames and to prepare the location for the upcoming gardening season.
The group has looked into community gardens around the province to get a sense of what others are doing. They found annual fees range between about $20 and $50, and they have borrowed a set of rules from an organization to base many of their own regulations, like ensuring gardeners who have a plot plant it in a timely fashion so there aren't plots being taken up by someone who isn't going to use it while others may be waiting on a list.
Dubreuil noted the community garden in Weyburn is run by the City, which manages the plots and keeps a regular watering schedule. Individual gardeners may water their own gardens more if they wish, and some places keep rain barrels, which can be used for watering if extra irrigation is required.
Dubreuil also said a local company has offered the group a small sea can container to use at the property as a shed. The only issue is that the City doesn't allow sea cans within the city limits. She said they may speak to the city on that issue and said if they were able to use it, they might ask youth from the community to bring paint and style it to spruce it up.
The group is still pursuing their grant options but is preparing a budget that can operate without any assistance from grants.
The community gardeners have a table at the flea market on March 15 at the Wylie-Mitchell Building, and they will be able to provide information to interested parties on what the community garden will look like, and they will also be accepting donations, either tools or financial contributions.
