Blessing of the Back Packs

The Garden Summer Update

The garden committee has been meeting every Wednesday evening, mainly to work in the garden, and recently added Tuesday evening as a regular group work day as well. Seeding and planting many donated plants as well as the plants which were started at the Hub was done by the garden committee and some volunteers. Garlic, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cucumbers, nasturtium, marigolds, tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, beans, peas (seeded early and didn’t germinate well), carrots and potatoes are some of the plants populating the garden.

The shed is now almost exclusively available for the garden needs and a garden volunteer craft-fully installed shelving and hooks for more efficient storage space. (A shipping container was placed next to the shed by JHS as extra storage for meeting room and maintenance equipment.) A simple compost bin was initiated and has effectively reduced the first batch of weeds to be ready for next year’s fertilizer.

Some lettuce has been harvested from volunteer plants from last year’s lettuce crop that was let go to seed. Strawberries were avidly harvested, many still in the white stage, which the kids said were very good. (perplexed emoji here) A couple more rows of donated strawberry roots were planted in front of the hascap bushes, so there should be more for next year. Garlic scapes were harvested and divided among volunteers and a few nice carrots were unearthed last night by a frequently visiting seven-year old. Many items were seeded and planted late, so harvest hasn’t started yet, but things are now growing well.

Garden Cities got financial assistance from NB Environmental Trust Fund to assist with the garden and a resident (Eric) has been hired through a JHS program to assist, mainly for watering and social media. A corporate volunteer day organized by the committee chair got a bulk of the prep work done in the spring and Yes!, a JHS program for youth, also assisted in the garden.

Thanks for those from Visions United who assisted with starting seeds, donating plants and transplanting the seedlings!

by John Russell - July-August 2023

Visions United has links to the Kitchen & Garden at the Community Hub on Joyce, so keep informed!

09-30 National Truth & Reconciliation Day Vigil

Late Thursday afternoon rain threatened to cancel the Community Vigil that Visions planned to mark the first National Truth & Reconciliation Day in the parking lot of the Community Hub on Joyce.

Should we cancel or postpone? As we wavered with indecision, people began arriving. We proceeded: some 22 people came in spite of the rain. Thank you for showing up!

Readers gathered under the front porch, others sat on lawn chairs and held umbrellas, and some people sat in their car with a window rolled down to listen.

Our ceremony was somewhat shorter than originally planned. We began with a Land Acknowledgement. Then, we read aloud a summary of each of the 94 Calls to Action, punctuated by the sound of a drum beat calling us to honour these calls with action. We ended the time with a moment of silence and prayer.

A special thank you, too, to Jane Aikman for preparing all the Call to Action cards, to John Foster for the drumming, and Brian Affleck for the sound.

This was our first community 'event' at the Community Hub on Joyce.