Community roots built in a garden

More than 30 volunteers gathered at the Rural Organizing Project’s front yard on South East Maple Street in Scappoose Saturday morning to create a community garden. 

Raised beds were built and sod was busted under the guidance of Heather Bee, a newly minted master gardener, and Mike Edera, a professional landscaper.

Volunteers of all ages helped. Fourth-grade teacher Sherri Leeper and her 5-year old son, Liam Leeper-Heiner, weeded a neglected flower and herb garden. Liam helped move bricks out of the way.

Marine Seidl, 4, helped cultivate a raised bed made with hay bales. Under Edera’s guidance, Marine carefully turned the soil, getting it ready to plant with flowers.

The Rural Organizing Project is a Scappoose-based grassroots organization that works with other groups throughout the state on issues relating to human dignity and democracy. One overall goal of the group’s new garden is to provide food to the Columbia Pacific Food Bank, said Bee, the new master gardener.

Within six weeks, Bee hopes there will be enough lettuce grown in the garden to donate it to the food bank. 

“It’s not about feeding our faces,” Bee said. “It’s about helping the community.”

Bee hopes the community garden will become a place neighbors will visit and help out at, as well as an inspiration for them to build a garden at home. 

The time feels right for home vegetable and kitchen gardens, Bee said. 

“Vegetable gardens are in this year,” she said. 

Bee attributes the wave of interest in vegetable gardening to the economy; many people are looking for less expensive and more sustainable ways to eat.

“Gardening is a nice way to get outside and enjoy life,” Bee said.

Juan Martinez came to help with the garden from Castle Rock, Wash. because it is “the right thing to do.” He busted sod and prepared raised beds for planting. 

Rick Kaminskis, a retired commercial flower grower who lives in Scappoose, spent the morning building raised beds and moving compost. 

Conversations ebbed and flowed around gardens, from horticulture to community. 

Emily Reynolds, a student at Portland State University, pitched in and helped weed flowerbeds and prepare raised beds for planting. She talked with Joe Lewis, a Scappoose School District School Board member, about making a school garden proposal to the board. 

Reynolds’ vision is to create school-based gardens that will teach students about horticulture, sustainability and to introduce them to the wonderful foods that come from gardens.

“Kids eat better when they grow their own vegetables,” she said. 

Reynolds doesn’t expect every school will want to make a garden, but she’s hopeful at least one will pick up her proposal and run with it. 

By noon, six raised beds were built, filled with compost and planted with strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, beans, lettuces, beets, marigolds, zinnias, sweet peas and sunflowers. The first phase of the garden is complete and Bee is planning the next planting day. 

Materials are needed to make additional raised beds and a composting system. More raised beds means there will be a need for additional vegetables plants and seeds. 

“I was very wowed by all the people that came,” Bee said. “People brought donations by and stayed to help. It was just great.”