Garden project takes root in Donkin
Grocery shopping seems to have become a social activity for me these days. That’s sure not saying a lot about my social life!
I love looking at the colourful displays of fresh produce as I walk in the door. Strolling up and down the aisles gives me an opportunity to admire the new products on the shelves. The international foods aisle has expanded tremendously to accommodate international students.
Quite often, I run into someone I know so it’s a good chance to stop and chat to catch up on the news.
What I don’t like about grocery shopping is the high cost of food. It’s almost like you are going into sticker shock when you pick up an item.
There’s not a lot we can do about it. Or is there?
Nutritionists encourage us to eat fresh fruit and vegetables every day to keep our bodies healthy. The high cost of produce has many shoppers reducing their consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables.
For the past few years, I have participated in the free seed program at the Glace Bay Library. My tilling-the-soil days are long gone but I do some container planting with moderate success. My family and every rabbit in Homeville enjoyed the cherry tomatoes, spinach and string beans.
The folks in the neighbouring community of Donkin have started an interesting venture that will provide fresh fruit and vegetables for many in the community.
Every good project needs strong leadership. Daniel Dillon and his wife Libby are spearheading the Coal Coast Community Garden Project in the village.
This couple is a combination of come-from-away and come-back-home. Daniel grew up in Donkin and they wanted to raise their daughter close to family. They have travelled extensively and are bringing fresh ideas to the village.
The Coal Coast Community Garden work crew scouted out appropriate sites and the grounds of the Donkin school were perfect for this undertaking.
In front of the school, there is a grouping of 20 minigreenhouses. On the day of my visit, the seeds were poking their heads through the soil. From my limited gardening experience, I spotted radishes, spinach, kale, carrots and beets plus a few I didn’t recognize.
The plan is that some of these vegetables will be ready for the students to take home before the end of school.
On the side of the school, the crew has erected a large greenhouse. After I took the picture for this column, they started to plant the tomatoes that they had grown from seed.
This is only the beginning. They have plans for a much larger greenhouse on the concrete pad where the former Donkin High School used to stand.
An undertaking of this massive size didn’t happen overnight.
Coal Coast Community Garden is a collection of likeminded gardeners, community members and students working together as a non-profit society. As a group, they share a passion for growing food organically, teaching about food literacy and increasing access to affordable, healthy and sustainable food options.
In March 2023, they incorporated as a not-for-profit society and expanded their membership. They distributed seeds that were donated by the Glace Bay Food Bank for the members to plant at home. By June, through hard work and determination, they received a $5,000 Community Food Literacy Access Grant from the provincial government and $2,500 from the Cape Breton Regional Municipality as a micro-grant. Those funds were earmarked for raised beds building supplies, soil and garden supplies.
In January 2024, CBRM and the Cape Breton Victoria Regional Centre for Education granted the group the use of the land where the old school stood. The next month, they received $5,000 from Nourish Nova Scotia. In 2024, they installed small greenhouse shelters over eight of the 20 raised beds in front of the school. In April, the students were ready for planting. Each grade level had a specific crop to plant. The pre-primary students planted a wildflower garden which has already started to grow. The pollinating bees will love it!
It’s worth a drive over to Donkin to see what’s happening on the school grounds. I hope this will serve as an inspiration for other communities.
These words cannot come close to expressing how impressed I am with this group and their gardening project.
Kudos for taking on such a massive endeavour!