By JoAnn Saccato
PART I ? What began as a casual conversation at the Judge”s Breakfast in Clearlake a year ago has blossomed into a series of connections that has fostered the development of agreements and partnerships between the County of Lake, the City of Clearlake, the Highlands Senior Service Center (HSSC), the Lake County Community Co-op (LCCC) and the Konocti Unified School District (KUSD).
While each partner in the project had envisioned the idea of a community garden, the recent wave of renewal of the local food movement, and particularly community gardens, whisked the idea into a working relationship that at this writing consists of a $40,000 allocation by the County of Lake for the creation of a community garden at the Clearlake Senior Community Center. The provision, secured by Jeff Smith, includes completion of the center landscaping and the bulk of the garden infrastructure.
The organic garden, which will be co-managed by the Highlands Senior Service Center and the Lake County Community Co-op, will consist of three different models to help meet the needs of the community. One section will be reserved for the senior center to utilize for its daily meal programs that includes meals served on site at noon each weekday and the Meals on Wheels service to home-bound seniors. The added fresh vegetables to the cuisine will not only add a refreshing flavor twist to the meals but will contribute to healthier nutrition for the center”s clientele and help stretch the center”s food budget. “Most of our clientele grew up with gardens and fresh produce daily. A return to this in our community will boost more than nutrition ? it”ll raise the spirits of our seniors, an unquantifiable benefit,” said Senior Center Executive Director Linda J. Burton.
Another section of the garden will be one that gardeners can work in exchange for food, as well as provide excess for local food programs, such as the Lake County Community Action Agency (LCCAA). While the LCCAA”s budget has been hit hard due to the recent economic crisis, the demand for services has increased dramatically, as the number of working poor continues to increase. In addition, high school seniors in the KUSD have recently been given a community service component requirement for graduation. They can take advantage of working at the garden as a means to meet this requirement, as well as develop connections with their food source. This model is nothing new to KUSD superintendent Bill MacDougall who fostered a school garden program and a community service component at Carle” where he was principal for 14 years.
In still another section of the garden, small plots will be rented out to individuals, families and organizations desiring to custom design the types and number of crops grown. Here, for a small annual fee that covers the cost of the plot, folks can plant anything they like, as long as it is legal and grown organically and/or bio-dynamically. Preference for these plots will be seniors age 55-plus. “With the large population of seniors just across the street, we”re hoping they”ll want to take advantage of the convenience the community garden offers,” noted Linda J. Burton, HSSC executive director, referring to the senior housing complexes across the street from the center.
JoAnn Saccato is the executive director of the Lake County Community Coop.
263-5636 ext. 28.
