Okotoks green thumbs will get another place to grow vegetables and plants in town.
Work began Sept. 21 on an expansion of the Okotoks Community Garden in Kinsmen Park.
A volunteer team helped build 21 new raised garden beds next to the existing 35-bed garden, which opened in 1999.
Wayne Meikle, Healthy Okotoks Coalition member, said demand for space has grown in recent years to the point there was a waiting list with 35 names.
“In the last couple years it’s just boomed,” he said. “Before, two years ago, we could fill everybody who wanted a spot, not the last two years we can’t.”
Meikle said there has been a growing interest in gardening and people wanting to grow their own fruits and vegetables.
“We have smaller lots, more condominiums in town, more apartments in town and people want a little garden spot to grow,” he said. “Not too big, but just enough to manage.”
The Healthy Okotoks Coalition, the Okotoks Garden Club, Okotoks Food Bank and Town of Okotoks have partnered on the project.
Meikle said this is first phase of a two-part expansion project. The new plots will be 18 feet long, by four feet wide, the same as in the current community garden. They will be ready to use in the spring, though he said there may still be some construction ongoing to wrap up work on the project. He said they will do some renovations of existing garden plots in the spring.
The expanded garden will include space for the Okotoks Food Bank to grow vegetables.
The coalition is covering a portion of the costs from its own savings and it received a $5,000 grant from The Calgary Foundation to contribute to the project. The Town of Okotoks also provided equipment and gravel. Meikle said the coalition will apply for additional grant funding to build the second phase of the project.
Work kicked off with help from employees of Stantec Inc.
Graham Harman, manager of Pipeline engineering for Stantec, led a team of volunteers as part of a company-wide community day working on initiatives in the Calgary region. Thirty employees worked in two shifts to start construction. Harman said everyone likes getting out of the office and help support initiatives in the community.
“It’s just a way of giving back to the community.”
