Senior and youth volunteers worked together to plant a new garden at a Surrey park on Earth Day, and the day after.
“The Garden of Generations” launch at Newton’s Unwin Park involved COVID-19 protocols last Thursday and Friday (April 22-23), according to a news release posted to surrey.ca.
Mask-wearing volunteers planted vegetable seedlings at the community garden, which will be harvested for donation locally in Surrey to support vulnerable youth and seniors.
Made of wood in tiered boxes, the garden will include baby leaf lettuce, loose-leaf lettuce, chives, scallions, snap peas, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, radishes and cilantro, and passersby will be welcomed to sample a portion of the crops.
In preparation for planting, Surrey Parks staff organized online workshops where volunteers shared tips on growing seedlings and connected regularly on the progress of the plants and garden plans, the news release says.
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PICTURED: Student volunteer Alexa Delfin helps plant seedlings at the new “Garden of Generations” intergenerational community garden at Unwin Park in Surrey. (submitted photo)
The garden is part of the Connecting Generations project launched in partnership with Surrey Intercultural Seniors Social Inclusion Partnership Network (SISSIPN) and funded in part by the federal government’s New Horizons grant.
Connecting Generations aims to provide seniors and youth with “positive, safe and inclusive community engagement opportunities that increase connection and support the community.”
The city’s Age Friendly Strategy for Seniors (surrey.ca/agefriendly) is a framework that aims to ensures seniors and families are supported through advocacy, policy, partnering and service delivery, project manager Sahra-Lea Tosdevine-Tataryn says.
“The opportunity to bring youth and seniors together through projects such as the Garden of Generations can help to create diverse life experiences and recognize the value of all individuals and their contributions in building a healthy, active community,” Tosdevine-Tataryn said.