Grand Marais recreation park seasonal guest Connie Lien shows how successful her plot in the new rec park community garden has turned out to be, even though it is close to Lake Superior. Five seasonal park guests and three year-round community residents have been growing lots of things and making good community connections in the process. A lottery to choose next summer’s lucky gardeners will be held September 1.
The community garden in the Grand Marais Recreation Park has proven that things can grow very well by the big lake.
Last spring, with a $5,000 State Health Improvement Project Grant and a partnership with the North Shore Food Project, rec park staff created a large fenced garden that is sheltered by a nearby storage building and highly visible in its location next to the swimming pool parking lot. “Stuff has really grown and grown well,” Park Manager Dave Tersteeg said.
The garden is being used by a combination of seasonal park guests and year-round community residents. The park sent postcards to its regular seasonal guests to let them know they could reserve a spot in the garden. A few plots were still left at the end of May, but “once they saw it in June,” Tersteeg said, “it was quick to fill.”
Five park guests and three year-round residents have been networking with each other as they’ve tended eight plots of various sizes: four 10×10 plots, three 10×14 plots, and one 2×14 plot.
The project has been very successful in building “social capital,” Tersteeg said, which in this case translates into camaraderie and connection between the park community and the town of Grand Marais. “It’s a happy garden club atmosphere out there,” Tersteeg said.
Some finishing touches will be installed this fall, such as gutters and rain barrels to capture rain for watering the garden and a sign telling about the project. This year, city water has been supplied to keep the garden watered. Thecost of that water has been minimal, Tersteeg said.
To facilitate fairness in distributing plots next year, the park will hold a lottery on Wednesday, September 1, 2010. A person can put his or her name in for the plot of his or her choice or can put his or her name in eight times for a chance at any of the eight plots. (Once a name is chosen, it is out of running for another plot.)
If a large number of people put their names into the lottery, the plots could be restructured to accommodate more gardeners. Once again, the plots will be given to three year-round residents and five park guests unless the number of plots changes.
Those wanting their names in the hat can call the park office at (218)387-1712 or stop by and pick up a handout listing the rules. The lucky winners must agree to plant, tend, and weed their plots.
A head gardener, a person tending one of the plots, will be sought to oversee the garden next year.
It sounds like goodwill and friendships will be growing right along with the vegetables.
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