What started as a visionary brainstorming session during a staff retreat in March, has come to life - a vibrant, green, growing life, in the form of a new community "Learning and Sharing Garden".
Envisioned as a way of taking therapies outside, teaching kids about healthy eating, teaching parents about food preparation, and providing countless opportunities for learning and growing, we have been working towards putting a 'community garden' in place. On Thursday, June 18, we officially opened the new space, with local media to help share the news.
Community sponsors Home Hardware and GardenWorks are the reason that this space exists today: Home Hardware Penticton provided the six raised beds, and GardenWorks provided a truckload of soil and fertilizer, as well as veggies and berries galore.
We were thrilled to welcome Joe Chwachka, General Manager of Home Hardware, along with Leanne Johnson, Chief Operating Officer of GardenWorks, and Scott Austin, Nursery Manager of GardenWorks Penticton, to witness the bounty of the garden beds.
KinderPlace Developmental Preschool kids, helping OSNS Executive Director Manisha Willms inspect the cucumber plants.
GardenWorks' Chief Operating Officer Leanne Johnson gets some help planting a few eggplants!
OSNS Senior Behaviour Interventionist Jeremy S. offers up mini 'taco salad' treats, made with love (and OSNS lettuce!) by the KinderPlace children.
OSNS Occupational Therapist, Katie J, on camera for Shaw TV, talking about how the therapists plan to utilize the garden space as part of their therapy sessions.
Wayne from Shaw TV got lots of great footage - stay tuned for the story this November, to air during Telethon!