Proposal Essay: Gardening for a Healthier Tomorrow

Gardening for a Healthier Tomorrow!

Growing a garden can be an extremely beneficial activity, when it is expanded out for a community to enjoy and work in, its benefits expand. The community of North Pole has worked hard and come a long way towards “beautifying” the small, cheerful town. Adding a community garden at the local park will bring North Pole residents together, to work towards a common goal. Although it is easier to pick up produce at the grocery store, community members of North Pole should start a local garden because it creates a strong community bond working together, it leads to exercise and heath benefits from eating fresh produce, and it results in cheaper produce than importing.

The benefits of working on a community garden vary dramatically. Going to the gym or doing an at home workout video can get boring. Carrying full watering jugs, lifting a wheel barrel, mulching and digging in the dirt all provide a great physical perk. The exercise is low intensity but helps to ward off obesity and other diseases. Breathing in the fresh summer air beats staying inside a sweaty gym or your home. As well as all the exercise, eating the nutrient rich plants produced from the organic garden is good for the body.

With everyone working together, a strong bond is formed caring for the same property. Pride in each other and one self is great for producing a great community bond. Everyone can contribute their time and work as well as funding for the garden giving a feeling of belonging and ownership. Anyone can run to Safeway and grab their vegetables for dinner but that can add up. Driving just a bit further down the street, where there is a big garden open for fresh vegetables, herbs, and possibly fruit can make the difference in saving money for well-balanced meals. Saving money is a big deal these days with the economy prices increasing everyday. Buying produce in Alaska can be expensive compared to the lower 48; shipping and packing the vegetables to keep them fresh adds to the cost we pay in stores. With everyone contributing seeds, gardening tools, and the community space, a garden can be virtually free minus the time spent caring for it.

Planning a garden in Alaska can be tricky. Summers are beautiful, but very short and many plants need a longer time to grow to full potential. Lettuce, Carrots, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Peas, Potatoes and a few other plants do best and can be planted at spring. Other plants such as corn or pumpkins take a longer summer then we have. These plants could be skipped, or volunteers with a heated greenhouse can start the slower plants from seed earlier in the year. Several meetings throughout the year should be put in place to plan the garden. Tasks such as deciding what plants that are going to be grown, and when they will need to be started will be discussed in the meetings. A majority vote will decide all the details. Several people can volunteer to hold the jobs of calling the meetings, starting the growing season, getting the plants together, preparing the land, taking care of the garden throughout the summer and at harvest time. People can either contribute money, plants, seeds, time or equipment. The land will have to be prepped and fertilized to produce optimal crops. A sign in sheet can be located at the community garden to sign in scheduled time for working on the garden to make sure the work is shared fairly.

Many people may not want to give up the time to work in the garden but want the benefits of locally grown fresh produce and a simple solution can be found. Near harvest time at the end of the year, if extra vegetables are available, a weekend market can be pulled together selling extra produce to those who like the fresh garden produce but don’t have the time to volunteer with it. Prices can still be under supermarket prices but receiving the extra money for the community garden can help with the next year’s crop.

Growing a community garden can be simple, exciting, inexpensive and healthy alternative. Involving kids in the process of creating a community garden can teach valuable lessons: volunteering, hard work, and business during market time as well as planning and buying plants. Many would rather run to the store but in a time like now when the economy is down and in a recession, people are looking for any alternatives to save money. Creating a community garden can save money in the long run as well as great healthy benefits from working hard tending the garden and eating the wholesome vegetables grown. A strong community bond will be formed and the City of North Pole will be well on its way to aiding in a “green” environment as well as beautifying the city!