We received the following information about the Creekside Community Garden.
ARTICLE – Creekside Community Garden Spring Update
It is Spring and with the warming weather, we are looking towards all of the activities in the Creekside Community Garden this year! If you were not aware of the Creekside Community Garden, it is located in the far West end of the City of Lowell’s Creekside Park by the soccer fields. When visiting, the best place to park is in the Creekside Park parking lot that runs along Gee Drive (by the soccer fields). The garden was established in 2013 by local volunteers and has been slowly growing in participation from the community.
The garden has numerous plots available for an annual rental fee, both large and small. The garden comes equipped with plenty of sun, fresh air, a dedicated water source, and a rich ecosystem to support pollination and control of insect pests. Organic gardening methods are practiced and encouraged. A small wildflower garden, bird baths, and multiple perennial flower beds provide food and shelter for the many types of animals and insects that contribute to a healthy, balanced garden.
As well as the existing features, we are excited about some new features being added to the garden this year! We are in the process of adding five to ten smaller raised garden beds thanks to a generous grant from Lowell Community Wellness. This program is also funding a grant to provide soaker hoses to all of the beds this year. The plan is to water all of the plots on a regular, timed cycle. Not only does this help out the busy families renting plots in our garden, but it also conserves water, and minimizes weeding by only putting the water where it is needed, on the vegetables and not the weeds!
We also wanted to share with you the following partnerships in the garden
Girl Scouts – The Girls Scouts from troops 4129 and 4694 are helping paint some new, creative signs, working with volunteers on Spring garden clean up, and growing their own vegetables to share with the community.
CLAY Chefs – CCG gardeners will be partnering with the Construct Local Area Youth (CLAY) chefs to grow some vegetables they can use in their menus; providing an inspiring experience with fresh produce straight from the garden to the table. Swiss chard, beet greens, kale, radishes and fresh peas are at the top of the list for the spring.
Impact Church – Impact Church has been a solid supporter of the garden and has generously added small projects to their Love Week efforts in the month of July each year such as edging of beds, mowing, removal of rabbit fencing and general clean up.
Community Fund – Community gardens provide both a way for communities to connect socially and to practice healthy lifestyles through activities and diet. The Lowell Area Community Fund grants significantly elevate the community gardening experience for our community gardeners.
Breakfast with the Chamber – Chamber members: mark your calendars and come join us July 17th for breakfast in the garden with the Chamber.
CCG will be hosting an open house Saturday, April 27th from 10:00 – 3:00 and we hope you will come and see what this space is all about! We will have strawberry plants for sale and will be offering tours. To get more information about the garden please follow our facebook page at www.Facebook.com/CreeksideCommunityGardenLowell or contact the City of Lowell for forms.
Excited for this years community garden!