By Terra Avilla
Our town may be small, but monotonous – it is not. I often get asked what I am going to do, when I ‘run out of topics’ to write about. I can tell you that the hard part of writing about our community every week is not finding something to write about, but picking which topic I want to write about, as every week, I am reminded that even though we are small, we are concentrated with amazing things and even more outstanding people.
This week, I wanted to write about a very unique treasure we have in our town, which is spearheaded by two even more unique and amazing people. The community garden – loved and cherished by Sandra Horst and Seth Anderson.
I will tell you that gardening has never ever been my thing. This is coming from a girl that killed her cactus in her college dorm. So when I found out a couple of years ago that our City was planning on supporting a community based garden, it really was something that did not interest me at all.
However I recently had the opportunity to spend some time in the garden, with both Seth and Sandra and was blown away at what they (and other dedicated community members) have been able to do.
The Community Garden located near Pat Murphy Little League park as tripled in its original size. As I walked through the garden, both Sandra and Seth gave me a tour of the property I was blown away with how organized and well-taken care of our community based garden was. Within seconds it was apparent that the people who frequent it cherish and respect the garden.
Seth and Sandra were so excited to provide tours, and were so patient with my children running around. You can tell that they are passionate about this little spot of heaven in our community and want to share it with others.
In fact, I was surprised to learn that there are approximately eight homeless families who are growing in the garden. Learning from Sandra and Seth and tending their vegetables. How awesome is that?
While I was in the garden, I observed people of all ages enter to water, weed or tend to the plants. I saw families with little kids molding the dirt, and spending quality time together.
Our community garden is proof that good hearted people, who you have never met are totally capable to join forces and support one another in a project that unites us.
Now of course, the string of gardeners has a very strong foundation, led by Sandra and Seth. Two people who I just very recently met, yet it is evident that their benevolent nature extends way further into the community than the community garden.
I was instantly impressed with both of them, and I was willing to bet, that if you went to the garden and they were there, they would show you the same hospitality and patience they showed me and my family. I strongly encourage all of you to take a moment and visit the garden, say hi to Seth and Sandra and see for yourself, why it is one of the reasons I love the place we live.
