Midtown Community Garden seeks artistic flair and donation of concrete

By Kathy Smith
In the spring of 2011, Danny Soles and the Farmer’s Institute held a meeting to discuss interest in creating a second community garden. He proposed that the group ask the school board if they could provide the land beside J.S. Clark school, which was an unused overgrown site at the time. They agreed, and Soles and his helpers prepared the land and created the Midtown Community Garden. In its third year of planting and harvesting, the garden now requires improvements.
Soles says, “Our original intent was to encourage families in the community to grow their own food as much as possible. By arranging to have the site, our hope was that the gardeners themselves would begin to collaborate and take ownership, so the garden would become the fixture we wanted to see in the community. There’s certainly a lot more infill this year than we’ve seen in years past.”
Most of the 36 plots have been spoken for, although a few were not planted. Soles is pleased that people have embraced the garden, and maintains his role in ensuring the soil is kept up to par and the garden is ready to use each year. Lois and David Zimmerman have taken on the volunteer task of managing the garden.
Sadly, theft and vandalism continue to be a problem. On one hand the garden is central and visible for the users, but because it is exposed with no fencing it can attract vandals. Brand new chain link fencing was donated, but it remains in storage because the gardeners need a donation of concrete. So far no one has offered this next step. The ideal plan is to get the fencing up and put climbing plants and possibly sunflowers along the fence to make the site more appealing, and create more privacy.
In the interest of beautifying the setting, Soles would like to see the water tank on the property painted and decorated. He urges anyone with an artistic flair to contact him with ideas. He mentions the arts council, an individual, a group, or the high school art class might enjoy taking on the project.
The tank would also double as an advertisement for the garden with room for signage as part of the art work.
“It would be a visible representation of the garden and would really enhance it. If it becomes aesthetically beautiful it would be much easier to own it as a community, and say hey, that’s our garden!” says Soles.
Soles anticipates a meeting will be held soon to discuss improvements, and adds, “There are all sorts of other areas in town that could also have community gardens.”
He encourages anyone with concrete to donate for fencing, or artistic ideas for the water tank to phone him at (250) 233-2012.

: Lois and David Zimmerman pick vegetables from one of their plots in the Midtown Community Garden. On this day they are minutes away from expecting company for dinner and the beets look especially good. The couple resided in Haida Gwai for about 30 years before moving to Fort Nelson a year and a half ago. They love the long days of the growing season here, and Lois says the bonus is no slugs! Broccoli, radishes, cauliflower, tomatoes, beans, peas, corn, cucumbers, squash, and zucchini are among the many tasty veggies they grow. Lois and David volunteer to manage the community garden where theft and vandalism are occasional problems. They would like to point out that some families with lower income levels very much rely on their vegetable plots to sustain them.

: G.W. Carlson School planted a pumpkin patch in the Midtown Community Garden and students will be thrilled to see their pumpkins mature in the fall. The Zimmermans are helping to weed while school is out. Photos by Kathy Smith