Sooke community garden

This month's CR-FAIR meeting was held out at Sooke, where we got a look at Sunriver Community Garden,



officially unveiled a week ago, and already thriving. It was created with the energy and guidance of Sooke Food CHI, who are in the process of handing its management on to a garden committee. They've done a dazzling job of raising funds and finding donations of everything from labour to garden sheds.



We sat beneath the gazebo



enjoying some excellent cookies - in a burly bowl by the Food CHI's Phoebe Dunbar -



before moving on to discuss the garden, which was on land set aside by the the Sunriver housing development. Half the 65 plots are intended for residents of the development with the rest for people from Sooke. It's an organic garden, so participants must sign agreements to hold to organic growing principles, and they are bound by a 'use it or lose it' guideline. The community has embraced the idea and given generously of time and in-kind donations so it's off to a good start.



We were treated to a lunch that included local bread and ALM Farm greens - in another of Phoebe's bowls - and then departed.