Local gardeners give back to provide fresh produce for patients at the Huntsville Hospital

Local Gardeners Gives Back to the Community.

Brenda, Margo and Ryan like to garden but they also like to give back to the community.

This year they decided to donate the produce they grow at their community plot at the Huntsville Fair grounds, to the Huntsville and District Memorial Hospital and agreed to help Pamela Leeder the Activation Coordinator, Rehabilitation Services to plant their garden at the Hospital grounds. On June 3rd they planted vegetables at the hospitals 3 raised beds and had planted all their vegetables at the Fairgrounds the week before.

All summer long on Friday mornings from 9 to 11 they will be at the Fairgrounds working on their organic garden and anyone who would like to drop by and lend a hand is welcome. They have also arranged with the Board of Directors for the Huntsville Fair to allow the hospital to bring their kitchen waste to the fair grounds for compost. Bev Leslie-Suddaby, Manager of Clinical Nutrition and Supports Services is pleased that the hospital compost can go back to growing the vegetables that will come back to the hospital.

Nancy Weber who assists Brenda, Margo and Ryan has gardened in Muskoka for over 30 years and has a large vegetable garden at home. “I began to worry about our food security and the chemicals involved in large scale farming so about 10 years ago I began to put most of my efforts into growing food with my husband Kris. Every year since, we have expanded our garden to see how much we can provide for ourselves.”

Brenda stated “I love the feeling of soil through my fingers.” She is an enthusiastic gardener who remembers eating vegetables from her own family garden and talks about her grandfather’s garden as well. She also thinks that the garden group are a good team.

Ryan likes to be helpful in any way possible and enjoys watering and working in the garden and especially likes meeting other gardeners at the community garden and the staff at the Huntsville and District Memorial Hospital.

Margo loves planting and watering, she also likes meeting other gardeners at the fairgrounds and the hospital staff.

Christine at Home Hardware donated all the supplies for our Community Garden and we are very grateful to her for the support. We are hoping to have lots of healthy organically grown produce to share with the hospital.

The gardening group is accepting new community members- do you love gardening or would you like to learn how? Please contact Nancy at nweber@clhuntsville.ca

The gardening club is free and is an inclusive group that welcomes everyone. They look forward to increasing their membership.

Huntsville Hospital Foundation

From left Rob Alldred-Hughes, Bev Leslie-Suddaby, Ryan O’Connor, Debbie Stone, Brenda Wood, Pamela Leeder, Margo Cybulski and Nancy Weber