SEEDS greenhouse project flourishes organically at Lakeside Park
By Bill Metcalfe
There’s a refreshing, vibrant feeling in the Lakeside Park greenhouses these days. It comes partly from the aroma of fresh soil and young growing plants, but also from the obvious feeling of camaraderie—at once focused and relaxed— among the people there.
In the 3.5 minute video above, coordinator Lee Reid takes us on a tour.
The greenhouse workers are all volunteers—mostly seniors and sometimes kids—and they have spend the past month or so planting and tending fresh organic chard, lettuces, herbs, flowers, kale, spinach, Asian greens, radishes, and more.
The City of Nelson used the greenhouses to raise its bedding plants until a few years ago, when it discovered it was cheaper to buy them from private greenhouses. Since the, it has only used its greenhouses during the summer months.
Seeing an opportunity to grow food, give seniors something meaningful to do, and train young people in gardening, Nelson resident Lee Reid formed the Seniors Economic Environment Development Society (SEEDS) and applied last year to city for permission to use the structures to grow food for donation to the Food Cupboard and Our Daily Bread.
To read a June, 2012, article in The Nelson Daily about the beginnings of this project, click here.
Quoted in that article, Reid said, “This seems to grab people’s hearts. Seniors are sometimes isolated in the winter, and the greenhouses offer an opportunity for community collaboration, for social inclusion. The idea just came out of the earth. It is a bit like compost heating up internally. There have been many sources of interest and questions asked about it.”
Interest in the project has steadily increased since then. Planning and fundraising is already underway for the fall. Read about the project further in the latest edition of the SEEDS newsletter.
