Victoria - Twice a week from spring to fall at a large garden overlooking the Blenkinsop Valley a small miracle occurs. A very diverse group of about 20 people gather together to work, talk, laugh, and learn to grow food for themselves and others in our community. The official name of the program is Feeding Ourselves and Others, but friends and family call it Serenity Farm.
Six years ago the Feeding Ourselves and Others community garden project was created to provide a therapeutic environment for marginalized people struggling with addictions, mental illness and chronic offending. This project is a partnership between the John Howard Society of Victoria as the sponsor, Island Health, the Assertive Community Treatment teams (ACT), the Victoria Integrated Community Outreach team (VICOT), the Victoria Integrated Court, and the Seven Oaks Tertiary Care Facility.
In the garden, located on the grounds of the Seven Oaks Facility, participants and community volunteers work side-by-side to produce healthy organic vegetables and fruit which are provided free to the participants and community agencies, and the remainder is sold to the community.
Between April and October 2017 a total of 33 participants and 18 volunteers nurtured the garden. Together they worked more than 2,400 hours; produced more than 4,000 pounds of vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers for themselves and generated more than $8,000 for the project.
Come learn more about the project at our annual Open Garden event.
When: Tuesday June 26, 2018 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Where: Seven Oaks Facility, 4574 Blenkinsop Road.
For more information contact serenityfarm2018@gmail.com
Media Inquiries:
Meribeth Burton
250-519-1815
Meribeth.burton@islandhealth.ca