Windham – Hope springs a new with Windham Community in Action’s (CIA) Community Garden of Hope. This past Saturday, Windham CIA held a ground breaking for their community garden that they will plant when the weather breaks. Prior to the ground breaking ceremony, they held a name the garden contest and Victoria Showalter won the contest with the name, Community Garden of Hope. The new garden will be located just north of the Cortland Bank on Maple Grove Road.
There are two parcels of land they will use for the garden, one is owned by the Village of Windham and the other is owned by Portage Woods. Windham CIA has lease agreements with both entities at a very minimal cost.
The stage was set, approximately thirty people were waiting for the actual ceremony to begin when all of a sudden right before the scheduled start time the skies opened up and it poured. The rain did not dampen the spirit and the show went on, which included several speakers. Mary Lou from the county extension office and Portage County Master Gardeners talked about how gardening is beneficial to the community and the future of Windham. Bill Kot explained the process of composting and how it will be used in the garden. Paula Daniels explained how the schools will be involved in the garden and how beneficial the garden will be to the students as they learn about plant life. Julie Kelley, pastor of the Nazarene Church in Windham spoke on hope and how it is a gift, that it is intangible, invaluable and never ending. Hope is the beginning of the future.
Following the speeches, the first shovel was inserted into the ground only to hit roots. Following the ceremonial first shovels, the event was then moved to the fire station for refreshments.
This year, they plan to have approximately 10 raised bed, fruit tree, grape arbors, black berries bushes, and strawberry plants, with more items being added each year. They plan to have lighting, benches, a walking path and more, making the garden a place to reflect as well as help meet the nutritional needs of the community. A tentative design was drawn, however Matt Sorrick, Director of the Center for Science Education at Hiram College will assist with the layout and a new design to ensure the plants are getting the right sunlight etc for optimum growth and production.
Windham CIA wishes to thank the following donors Maruf Awad, Windham Hardware, Windham Historical Society, Stoney’s Pizza, Cortland Banks, Roubic Law Offices, Randy & Brenda Slusher, Sharon & Larry Eye, Kenny & Freda Shearer, Miller Sand and Gravel, Little Tikes, Dollar general, Bob Cline, Andrea Hostetler, Michael Wallace, Cliff McGuire, Tom Hickman, The Village of Windham and Portage Woods for all their donations. They also want to thank the Windham Garden Club who has come on board to assist with the project. A special thanks to Rita Mullenax for her monetary donation to the project. Speaking of monetary donations, folks can make monetary donations at Cortland Bank in Windham. Please make checks payable to Community in Action.
