Gardening Brings People Together

Our church, Saanich Community Church in Victoria has converted a small area previously covered by lawn into a garden planted to native species.  

“Last year we also planted a vegetable garden as a pilot project,” says writes Ken Marr. “It succeeded fairly well and we donated lots of potatoes, salad greens, cauliflower and onions to a local foodbank.”

Another very positive outcome of their effort was to bring people together to work in the garden who otherwise did not interact with each other much.   The congregation was fortunate in having two or three members who carried a lot of the "load" and the others pitched in when they could. The congregation also got great gardening tips from A Rocha in Whiterock, a national conservation organization that strives to show care for all creation. “Garden Saturdays” or weekday evenings were organized and included a potluck meal, which also brought people together.

“We could be producing so much food for ourselves and habitat for other creatures on those vast expanses of lawn,” Ken muses. “It is quite a shame to devote so much space, chemicals, etc. to something that doesn't produce more.”