A community garden in the Gateway neighbourhood has been growing in more ways than one.
Buoyed by the success last year of installing a dozen raised beds on an expanse of lawn next to the Prince George Christian Reformed Church, at 20th Avenue and Willow Street, a group of mostly local university students were out Saturday doubling that number to 24.
Along with giving nearby families access to their own source of money-saving and health-promoting vegetable patches, University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) ecology professor Scott Green said it's become something of a neighbourhood gathering spot.
When a season-ending "harvest feast" was held last fall, almost 280 people showed up when Green was expecting maybe 25. Green plans to maintain the momentum this year.
"We're thinking about having an outdoor film night with a barbecue and live music, that kind of thing, just getting people together," Green said.
Added touches with the expansion include two extra-high raised beds that seniors can used without bending over and a tool shed with a water tap running out into the middle of the garden so hoses don't have to be hauled as far.
Two of the beds were set aside for tests to see what strains grow best in Prince George and the rest went to neighbourhood families.
"The people who were coming out of the neighbourhood last year were mostly single moms and grandmothers taking care of their grandkids on fixed incomes some of whom, literally, can't go to Save On Foods and buy fresh produce," Green said.
Other than one instance of someone running through a couple of the beds at the start of the season there was no problem with troublemakers - at least not the standing, two-footed kind.
"The major vandalism was from crows," said Green who added serious thought is being giving to putting up a scarecrow.
Community gardens have been sprouting up around the city as part of a trend that Green said is as much about building community as it is about growing food.
"Food is a way to bring people together because we're all interested in having healthy, nutritious and to the degree that we can, local food," Green said. "But it's also about building meaningful relationships among the whole community, so it's not just a church thing, it's not just a university thing, it's no one person's project."
All of the beds are accounted for this season but Green is welcoming volunteers to help out. He can be reached via e-mail at greens@unbc.ca.
