It was a cloudy day as several members of the community gathered together behind St. Hyacinth’s Academy on Ridge Road in Lackawanna, New York, to start getting the Community Garden ready for harvest. This is a unifying project that St.Hyacinth’s Academy and Access of WNY works together on each year.  This year, the harvest preparation took place on Saturday, May 16, 2015 between 11am-2pm.  

There was a diverse group of people of all ages who came out to help.  Children and a variety of youth were very excited to learn about planting and were enthusiastic about being able to prepare the garden.  The day began by pulling the weeds that had accumulated throughout the previous seasons, and after this arduous task, the group was able to talk through the experience of leveling the ground.  As the community shared the responsibilities of weeding and leveling there was an air of relief and delight throughout the garden.  The tarp was snugly laid across the top while afterwards, newspaper was laid underneath the edges of the tarp to prevent further weeds from growing.  All of the plants were entirely donated for this community initiative from Home Depot, Kimberly’s Greenhouse and cash donations from the community members.  Each plant was taken out of the plastic holder while the children were shown how to plant fruits, vegetables and herbs through the tarp into the soil.  The kids were shown how to make a slit through the tarp big enough to place the roots if the plants into the dirt and then cover each with soil under the tarp so as to secure the growth.

The activity concluded with a cookout provided by the Board at Access of WNY which included halal hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, soda and water.  Each adult was given a gift of appreciation for their attendance and helping with this event.  Although the weather didn’t tun out as bright as we hoped, the day was filled with momentum and memories.  All of the fruits, vegetables and herbs grown will be given away to local community members in need.

For additional pictures from the day, please click here.

For more information on ACCESS of WNY, please click here.

For more information on St. Hyacinth’s Academy, please click here.