Healthy Living coordinator Rose Favel, left, with staff member Calvin Wuttunee work on the Every Child Matters dedicated garden plot Tuesday as part of the Community Garden project. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Hands helping hands

Community garden project in bloom in the Battlefords

Jul 6, 2021 | 6:12 PM

NORTH BATTLEFORD, Sask. — The Battlefords Family Health Centre Community Garden project in the southeast part of North Battleford is flourishing this summer with help from plenty of heat and intermittent rain.

Healthy Living coordinator Rose Favel says some of the produce being grown includes potatoes, onions, carrots, cucumbers and lettuce. There are also raspberries, saskatoons and tomatoes.

“This year our gardens are growing beautifully,” she said. “The weather conditions have been awesome, without too much rain.”

People are able to water the gardens daily too to keep conditions suitable for growing whenever there are longer dry periods.

Favel said participants are allowed to grow whatever vegetables they choose, so the options are open for everyone.

Court Proceedings

Former Sask. Stockyards Company fined $250K for fatal workplace incident

May 16, 2024

Gene-edited livestock feed

CFIA says gene-edited livestock feed is safe

May 08, 2024

seeding

Lack of moisture allows some Sask. farmers to begin seeding early

Apr 25, 2024

The non-profit also runs a community garden project in Battleford too. In total, there are about 65 garden plots in both the North Battleford and Battleford initiatives.

The Battlefords Family Health Centre’s Community Garden is also a land-based learning initiative.

Participants in the project take part in “hands-on experiences” everyday, from learning to grow and cultivate their own fresh produce, to harvesting it when it is ready.

There is also an educational component to the project, honouring culture and traditions. Many gardens have a theme focusing on Indigenous traditions.

The land-based learning garden project also provides a bridge of cross-cultural learning in the community.

Elder Jenny Spyglass is also participating in the project, as a gardener herself. She also delivers programming for families taking part on most years, before COVID-19 restrictions were in place.

Among the garden themes is the “Heart” garden, to recognize reconciliation. There is also the Seven Teachings garden, the Red Dress garden, and the Orange Shirt garden.

Favel said she appreciates when Spyglass is present at the community garden to speak on many of the themes, to offer an educational component to the initiative.

Spyglass often speaks to the seniors about gardening, and also is there for the younger generation too.

“I’m going to be 80 years old in a few months time,” she said. “I love gardening. I love fresh potatoes, onions. When I get home I am going to cook them, and make some fresh bannock. That’s all we used to eat in my younger days, when my mum was alive.”

The active Elder said people are never too old to grow their own garden, and have easy access to fresh, nutritious foods for their table.

She also appreciates having many of the garden plots inspired by Indigenous teachings to increase awareness, for all generations.

“I feel it’s all healing for us native people,” she said. “This is Mother Earth we are walking on. It’s healing for us—healing for our bodies and spirit.”

Spyglass also takes the opportunity to reach out to children taking part in the garden project as a land-based learning initiative, to show them how they themselves grow healthy and strong, just like the flowers blossom in the garden with care.

“I would help them plant the flowers and tell them: ‘This is you, and this is you. You are growing up as a flower,'” she said. “They are just like little flowers. We would chat and eat with them, and I would pray in my language before we would eat. It was awesome.”

–

Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow