Garden tours to celebrate community fellowship

The Campus Community Garden, in collaboration with the Windsor and Essex County Community Garden Collective, will hold a harvest tour on Saturday, October 13, to celebrate the success of the community gardens initiative in the area.

The event, themed How Does Your Garden Grow, will have city and county residents take bus tours to commemorate the first anniversary and achievements of the community garden group. The campus garden will also hold a tour on the premises to introduce its ‘Ecolot,’ the newly-created extension of the garden.

“Community gardens are an environmentally responsible way of building a sense of community,” says Adam Wright, a volunteer and former campus garden attendant. “As a part of the collective, we encourage people to grow their own food and supply food for those in need.”

The Windsor-Essex County Community Garden Collective is a group of 10 established and emerging community gardens. Michelle Leger, the United Way’s community development coordinator in Food Systems, says the group has been instrumental in leveraging support and growing healthy food for the community.

“The group shares knowledge, encourages fellowship and provides a green space for our communities,” she says. “We want to promote the greater impact community gardens are making in providing fresh produce for families, food banks and programs that need the assistance.”

Participants will get to enjoy a garden-grown lunch on either one of two tours. The city pick-up is at 9:30 a.m. outisde the United Way office, 300 Giles Boulevard East. County participants will meet at 10:30 a.m. at the Youth and Family Resource Network, 23 Mill Street West in Kingsville. Bus tours cost $5 for adults and are free for youth aged 16 and under. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own reusable water bottle for fill-ups.

Alternatively, attendees can take a tour of the campus garden at 380 California Avenue from 1 to 4 p.m. The Essex County Ramblers, a local bluegrass band, will entertain guests at the afternoon tea.

The event is supported by the United Way/Centraide Windsor-Essex County, Youth and Family Resource Network, Food Matters Windsor-Essex County and the Ontario Trillium Foundation. For more information, contact Michele Leger at 519-258-3033, ext. 1148, or foodmatterswindsoressex@gmail.com.

— by Chantelle Myers