The Community Garden will be located at 169 Glenwood Drive in Truro on land owned by and located behind John Calvin Christian Reformed Church.
The church’s social justice committee has spearheaded the effort to make this land available to community members for home vegetable production.
“The church is built on land that was once farmed,” said Pastor Dan Brown, chair of the social justice committee, in a news release. “So we know that it can be productive. It’s been underutilized for the past several years and several church members have spent the past two years looking at ways to make it work as a community garden.”
One of the issues that needed to be addressed was poor drainage. Last fall, using materials donated by Princeport’s Beech Hill Farm and equipment loaned by the church’s neighbour, Kelsey’s Heating and Ventilation Ltd., church members installed tile drains to take excess water off the field.
Another key issue is that of deer fencing.
“The town’s urban deer population have made gardening in many parts of Truro an exercise in futility,” said Thom Boehm, a church member and Wood Street resident whose passion for vegetable gardening has been severely challenged by deer in recent years.
The social justice committee is hoping the Town of Truro will partner with them in covering the costs of installing a deer fence.
A planning meeting for anyone interested in supporting the Glenwood Drive Community Garden or in having a garden plot will be held at the church on March 25 from 7-9 pm.
The meeting will be facilitated by Perennia organic and rural infrastucture specialist Dr. Av Singh.
