Altona’s Community Garden Keeps Growing

Interest in the Altona Community Garden continues to gain strength, and more plots will be available for rent this year as a result.

Due to high demand, the community garden will be adding 32 more plots this year. Committee spokesperson Jack Heppner explained 12 additional plots are being created on the west side and town council recently approved another 20 on a piece of land to the east of the current garden.

“Last year we had 110 plots that we rented, and it just seemed like this year, people kept coming and so, we just needed more room,” said Heppner. He feels there are a few reasons for this spike in interest.

“Quite a few of the people who are doing half-plots are asking for a full plot now, or the ones that had one plot are asking for two,” said Heppner. “Perhaps another reason is the price of groceries. Some of these people are on fixed incomes.”

Heppner added, the gardens are also quite popular with new residents to town.

“For example, we now have between 20 and 25 Ukrainian families that came this past year, so I have a number of them signed up for garden plots,” he said. “And also from other places...different places in Africa. There’s always new people coming.”

For Heppner, it is this diversity and sense of community that he enjoys so much about the community gardens. That sense of community will hopefully be further fostered by the completion of the garden pavilion this summer.

Complete with washrooms, the plan is to use the space as a gathering spot and as a venue to host events like gardening workshops and potluck meals.