Rain or shine, the Ladysmith Community Gardens Society (LCGS) will host its second annual Harvest Event on the first official day of fall. And according to LCGS secretary treasurer Anne Russell, the society would like to see it grow in the coming years.
"Each year, we're hoping to grow the event, it's still fairly small scale so far," she said. "For the second year, I think it's fine just to have a small couple of hours recognizing all the work that's been happening at the garden."
The Harvest Event this Friday (Sept. 21) is a partnership between Ladysmith Family and Friends (LAFF) and the gardens society. This week, they will get together at Aggie Hall to bake fresh fruit crisp with fruit donated by the community.
"That's a neat project in itself because there's a youth that's going to do a Youtube video on intergenerational groups working together," Russell said.
The Harvest Event will take place at the gardens on High Street from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday and is open to the entire community. LAFF will be holding its annual outdoor event and there will be activities for children.
"We will have lots of fruit crumble, so anyone who wants to come check out the community garden is welcome," Russell said.
The event will also recognize its volunteers and celebrate LCGS activities over the past year, including the building of the tool shed, greenhouse and community gardening workshops. Talk of picnic tables have since been discussed in an effort to draw more community members to the gardens.
The gardens society has also formed a stronger partnership with the Ladysmith Food Bank, and regularly harvests and donates produce for their Tuesday morning distribution.
With a current wait list for beds, Ladysmith is proving itself to be an environmentally conscious community.
"We live on an Island, so we do have to be thinking about sustainability," Russell said. "It would be great if there would be more planning for events to happen at the Garden."