Community Garden

COMMUNITY GARDEN COMMUNITY GARDEN COMMUNITY GARDEN

Cultivating More Than Plants

BY ANNA SWARTZ

Tucked behind St. Clair Shores Civic Arena, a transformed space has literally bloomed into a unique place for gardeners and gatherings. In its fourth year, the St. Clair Shores Community Garden offers engagement for residents with not just communal gardening, but also social events throughout the season.

“The garden has evolved since it was irst conceived,” said Paul Bjorngaard, St. Clair Shores Community Garden Committee co-chair. “It started mostly as a place to just grow things and evolved into a place that allows for even more community engagement than we originally imagined.”

The garden was the brainchild of Bjorngaard and a friend who were both serving on the St. Clair Shores Cool City Committee at the time. The garden has since been spun off into its own separate committee.

The garden sits on a roughly halfacre plot of land and boasts a total of 54 raised beds (2,250 square feet of gardening space). Twenty of these beds are rented to residents, and the rest are community beds.

The garden also includes three large lower beds and will soon have ADAcompliant beds that are wheelchair accessible, Bjorngaard says.

Volunteers are always welcome in the garden to help with weeding, watering, harvesting and general maintenance. A “harvest payment” will be given to volunteers, says Bjorngaard. To inquire about volunteering, send an email to scscommunitygarden@gmail.com. Plans for 2022 events include yoga in the garden, arts and crafts, planta-seed for kids, as well as story time events with community leaders and irst responders. The Fall into Fun Festival, which was a hit last year, will be back again with pumpkin painting, story time, costumes, cider and donuts. In addition, local beekeeper Mike Lawler from Unbeelievable Honey, who will be installing two hives in the garden to increase pollination, will be doing a presentation on the basics of beekeeping. To stay up to date on upcoming events, follow the garden online at www.facebook.com/ SCSCommunityGarden

The garden is located behind Civic Arena, 2000 Stephens St. in St. Clair Shores.

The St. Clair Shores Community Garden offers a total of 54 raised beds. Aerial Photo by Ron Warren / www.RonWarrenPhotography.com (L-R) St. Clair Shores Community Garden Committee Members: Secretary Tracy Hayden, Joe Babula, Co-chairs Cyndi George and Paul Bjorngaard Bottom and background photos courtesy of Cyndi George