14
Wednesday, July 22, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
GARDEN: Many
contributed to
successful completion
Garden is a years-long community project
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
Gardeners are people full
of hope and belief. If they
weren’t, they would never
plant that first seed, hop-
ing and believing that it will
sprout and grow and bloom
and provide more seeds for
next year.
Nine years ago it took
that same hope and belief,
and a tremendous amount
of hard work, by a group of
dedicated gardeners to trans-
form the idea of a community
garden here in Sisters into a
thriving Eden full of flowers
and vegetables and friendship
– a place of community and
camaraderie.
The idea for a garden grew
out of the community vision-
ing process that occurred
on October 7, 2006, when
some 250 citizens gathered
at the high school for a half-
day and hammered out the
Sisters Country Vision for the
Future. It was a statement of
the residents’ dreams of what
Sisters would be in the next
five years and beyond.
There was a spirit of
cooperation and excitement
in the room that day as peo-
ple put words to their hopes
for Sisters. In one morning,
working with respect for one
another’s ideas, the citizens
crafted a vision statement that
is still viable and accurate
today, almost nine years later.
To breathe life into
the vision, groups were
formed to create projects
or organizations that would
actively support the tenets
of the statement. They were
tasked with having projects
up and running in one year’s
time. One of those groups
cultivated the idea of creat-
ing a community garden in
support of our “village atmo-
sphere with many public
gathering places and venues.”
The purpose behind the
garden was to promote a
sense of community, by
gathering gardeners together
in one place to grow fresh
vegetables and flowers for
themselves and for others in
the community. Excess pro-
duce would go weekly to the
Kiwanis Food Bank. Flowers
could be made into cheery
bouquets and shared with
shut-ins and elders in Sisters.
Residents would be encour-
aged to visit, wander through,
and relax in the garden. Plans
included providing space for
community art and offering
gardening and composting
classes.
The committee consisted
of about 20 volunteers who
began meeting weekly in
November 2006 to outline
their goals, assign tasks, and
report on progress. There was
never any question about the
success of the project – no
doubters or naysayers.
The first obstacle to be
overcome was to find the land
for the garden – hopefully for
free, in the city. Presentations
were made to the Sisters
Garden Club, the Lutheran
church that had vacant land,
Continued from page 3
photo by sue staFFord
the original site of the Sisters community Garden. the garden is a prime
example of the community rallying to create something special.
Kiwanis, the City Planning
Department, and Habitat for
Humanity, which had several
empty lots on Adams Avenue.
Habitat agreed in January
2007 to let the garden use
one of the vacant lots for $1 a
year, with the understanding
the land would eventually be
put up for sale.
The next hurdle was the
fact there was no money
for the project. Fundraising
became of paramount impor-
tance. Donations of time,
materials, talent and money
came from every corner of
the community.
Hap Taylor (now Knife
River) donated all the topsoil
for the beds (a large dump
truck plus trailer). Gary
Tewalt and Doug Cavanaugh
brought their equipment and
expertise to cut trees, move
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huge rocks, remove an old
oil tank left from the house
that used to sit on the lot, dig
post-holes, and smooth out
the ground. Patterson Ranch
provided well-rotted manure
to amend the soil. The City
provided compost from their
recycled yard waste and a
community grant.
Students at the elementary
school grew vegetable and
sunflower starts. Sisters Park
& Recreation District carried
the garden as a subcommittee,
providing liability insurance
and bookkeeping services.
Tim Clasen installed, free of
charge, a complete under-
ground irrigation system as
See HIStory on page 29
contributed their time, money
or support to make this beau-
tiful oasis in the desert come
to life.
The greenhouse structure
has been a major accomplish-
ment thanks to financial gifts
from the Bensons, Sisters
Garden Club, Sisters Rotary
Club, the estate of Anne
Keith, an anonymous donor,
and a community grant from
the City of Sisters.
The Meyer Family Trust
“Cultivating Local Food
Grant” provided funds for
pavers and irrigation mate-
rials. Tim Clasen, “The
Irrigation Guy,” installed
the sprinklers. Sisters Rental
provided the use of equip-
ment free of charge. Marshall
Electric ran electric service
from Marvin Benson’s house
to the greenhouse. Robinson
& Owen Heavy Construction
bulldozed the berms around
the outside of the fence. A lot
of plants, bushes and trees
have been donated by vari-
ous people and planted on
the berms to provide a greater
buffer against the winds that
come sweeping down from
the Three Sisters.
As the light began to dim,
The Anvil Blasters played on
and people hung around to
chat and watch the sunset on
another lovely day in Sisters.