From the Spring 2020 eNewsletter

The team for the learning garden at SLT’s Garden Greenway was in the process of starting work when the shelter-in-place order was issued in March 2020, changing the hopes and plans for the summer.

Our partners in the garden, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Shasta, Bear Wallow Herbs, the Mt. Shasta Community Resource Center and the Mt. Shasta Library were planning fun events and crops for the the kids to plant.

Those plans were canceled with COVID-19. But a small group of gardeners decided to forge ahead. We researched the official safe practices for agriculture, and volunteers are now preparing the garden and planting crops. If the Boys & Girls Club is back in session this summer, the kids will be able to jump into a garden in process; if not, we’ll be growing food to send home to families in need.

A brand new area we were planning with the Community Resource Center for families with kids under five is postponed for a year. The fun events with the Resource Center and the Library are on hold, but we’re looking forward to the time when we can gather together in the garden again.

Our business partner, Bear Wallow Herbs, has created a native medicinal herb garden, most of which is outside the fence and visible from the street. Owner Cara Saunders began the work last fall with a dedicated group of volunteers, amending the soil in anticipation of planting. Over the past few weeks, Cara and her volunteers have put in plants from the Dunsmuir Community Resource Center’s garden, including calendula, lemon balm, catnip, chickweed, cleavers, yellow dock, and more.

Inside the fence, the raised beds are conditioned. Spring weeds are pulled.  A compost bin was quickly constructed. Gardners will continue to get the berries and fruit trees fertilized, grapes tended, asparagus tilled and vegetables planted.

It’s been great to see volunteers helping community members that they may never see, but digging in with masks, gloves and social distancing to make a positive impact.  We appreciate the donations made by volunteers for materials and by businesses like Spring Hill Nursery, which donated soil amendments. It is such a joy to take action and see the garden space thrive and grow.