Community Garden Project at Healthy Peninsula

BLUE HILL—Somethings “growing” on here! If you have recently walked by the old Woodward building, now owned by Blue Hill Memorial Hospital and across from the Blue Hill Public Library, you may have noticed some new, tasty curb-appeal sprouting up. Generously funded by a Maine Farmland Trust Blue Hill Peninsula Community Food grant and donations from M.A Astbury and Son, EBS, Mainescape, Vaughn Leach/BHD Containers and Viking Lumber, a new kind of community garden is taking root. Accompanied by a band of enthusiastic volunteers, local retired teacher and gardener extraordinaire; Jo Barrett is working with Healthy Peninsula to coordinate their Community Garden Project. With an eye toward building networks and infrastructure for more formalized gardening opportunities in coming years, two multi-level, raised bed gardens have been placed and planted on the front lawn of the building where Healthy Peninsula’s office is located. Blue Hill Memorial Hospital is happy to be hosting a garden site that promotes fresh, healthy food and which demonstrate that you do not need a big space for impressive results! As well as looking great, the raised beds will also act as an outdoor classroom for public instruction on topics such as harvesting, making compost, and wintering-over, or, as Jo says, “putting the garden to bed!” Jo also envisions teaching canning techniques in the fall to interested community members. The harvested bounty from the Community Gardens will be used to supplement the deliveries of the Magic Food Bus, illustrating the notion that local, home gardeners can share some of their fresh veggies, helping to make the Magic Food Bus Project more sustainable and community connected. St. Francis Episcopal Church and their Sunday School class have joined in on the fun, volunteering to grow their own Magic Food Bus community garden, digging their hands into the soil to help support their friends and neighbors in their community. If you would like to learn more about getting involved with the Community Gardening Project, the Magic Food Bus, or the work that Healthy Peninsula does, contact info@healthypeninsula.org, or check us out and like us on Facebook. Oh, and do walk on by and take a look, I think you will be impressed.