WHATELY — Three months after the start of the Giving Garden, Julie Waggoner, the Selectboard clerk who helped spearhead the project, sees a new future for the program.
Every other Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., local farmers and residents bring their own seeds, plant starts and produce to the Transfer Station. According to Waggoner, between 20 and 30 people stop by for each swap, and about 60 people subscribe to the mailing list.
CONTRIBUTED BY JULIE WAGGONER
CONTRIBUTED BY JULIE WAGGONER
The program started on May 17 with small seeds and plant starts. Months later, Waggoner said participants proudly carried in the vegetables and fruits that were only made possible because of those seeds, representing about 15% to 20% of the donated food.
“You see them coming up with a big grin on their face,” Waggoner said.
While Waggoner said the swap currently relies on donations from local farmers, she hopes to open a community garden next year that would be run entirely by volunteers.
“Who knows what the future is going to look like, but we can be just one more small drop in the bucket of trying to help people who find themselves, possibly unexpectedly, on a tight budget,” Waggoner said.
She and the Giving Garden crew plan to hold public meetings in September to hear residents’ ideas for a community garden’s location, plants and other decisions.
Waggoner hopes to start laying down soil and compost and building raised beds for the plants in the fall before the ground freezes, but she noted that the timeline depends on the outcome of the meetings and the number of volunteers. According to Waggoner, regulars at the Giving Garden are already asking about volunteering at the new project.
“Everybody’s always got a lot of ideas and a lot to say, and we welcome it,” Waggoner said. Referring to the future community garden, she added, “It belongs to the community.”
