One World Garden Workshops start June 11 in Kimberley and Cranbrook

There’s never been a better time than now to get your hands dirty and learn how to grow your own food. As part of the Welcoming Communities project, Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy, Cranbrook Food Action Committee and Wildsight Kimberley Cranbrook have teamed up to provide free gardening workshops to connect newcomers and beginning gardeners with local knowledge, resources and the experience they need to grow their own food here.

The One World Garden Series starts June 11 in Kimberley and June 12 in Cranbrook and will follow the development of a garden through the local seasons. The topics covered in the monthly workshops will range from starting an organic garden from scratch, no matter what space you have to work with, to specific techniques aimed at lowering maintenance and extending the season. The perks and challenges with growing here will be a major focus, along with sharing knowledge and skills acquired elsewhere. 

“So much of gardening is rooted in experience and there is such great potential for sharing and learning about each other in the garden” states Shannon Duncan, the project coordinator.

The goal of this series is to increase the local capacity for growing food by offering a place where immigrants or people new to gardening can learn more about growing food locally while gaining hands on experience and exchanging skills from local members of the community.

The Kimberley series will be held at the Cominco Community Garden adjacent to the Cominco Gardens and in Cranbrook at the Public Produce Garden in Eric McKinnon Park. The first three workshops will run from 6-8 pm Tuesdays in Kimberley, Wednesdays in Cranbrook on June 11 & 12, July 9 & 10, and August 6 & 7 and will include a light meal. Three more workshops will follow later in the season.

The workshops are free but require registration. Organizers of the series are looking for more local garden mentors to help build this community by sharing their knowledge and wisdom. This project is made possible through funding from the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.

To get involved or to register, in Cranbrook: cranbrookfood@gmail.com or call (250)427-7981, in Kimberley: shannon@wildsight.ca or call (250)427-2535 ext 223.