Garden and Gather Brings Leamington Community Together

An open piece of unused property at The Salvation Army’s Leamington Community Church will be transformed into a beautiful ‘Community Garden and Gather’.

“Community Garden and Gather provides a comfortable, safe environment for community members to gather, collaborate and enjoy social interaction,” says Major Judi Wickens with Leamington Community Church.

This project was made possible thanks to $40,000 in funding from The Salvation Army Canada, Bermuda Territory’s Innovation Grant program. The scope of the build will be a 30′ x 100′ public garden and a 30′ x 50’ pavilion to hold family movie nights and a place to connect and relax in a safe space.

The open grassy space is underused, and Major Wickens envisions a safe place where community volunteers can plant and tend to gardens that will provide fresh and healthy vegetables for vulnerable community members who are not able to afford produce.

“This initiative will share hope by helping to improve peoples’ lives while creating a community in the neighbourhood,” Major Wickens says. “It encourages stimulating social interaction and self-reliance while providing nutritious food, with the outcome of lowering grocery budgets and addressing food insecurity in the community. There will also be opportunities for recreation, exercise, therapy and education.”

Garden boxes, some with accessibility in mind, will be built by community volunteers. Potential uses for the outdoor pavilion space will be worship and Bible study, games, and exercise programs like Zumba, Tai Chi, yoga and line dancing.

“Our community would experience a place of hope and relief from hardship, with plenty of love, where families can work together, people can cultivate friendships, and those experiencing difficulties in their life have an opportunity to be part of a setting where they can grow and learn more about The Salvation Army and other programs and supports we offer,” says Major Wickens.