Our organization was founded in 2015 by Cara Smith, who sadly is not longer with us.Β Her vision was to provide the opportunity for people to have a place to garden, in circumstances where they wouldn't be able to otherwise, while also creating food security by growing food for donation to local organizations such as the local food bank and church.
We have over 80 boxes for people to rent for the season, as well as many boxes devoted to grow food for the community, so we assist well over one hundred people.
We hope to educate people on the importance of knowing how to grow food by offering opportunities to do so, as well as providing food to people whose financial situations are not ideal.
We feel that gardening plays a role in bettering the lives of individuals in our community by the simple fact that being outside in nature is beneficial emotionally and the effort it takes to garden is excellent exercise!
Our organization started from very humble beginnings in a vacant lot beside a community centre. Β We were actually asked to move, to provide room for baseball fields. Β We dug up many plants and moved to a location that is more in a neighborhood, and we are thriving! Β Because we are situated in a small town on a large lake, our garden welcomes not only those in our immediate community, we also welcome those in the other communities around the lake.
You can find us on Facebook at Lake Cowichan Community Garden