Warren Community Garden continues to 'grow' with shed addition
Parcel at Schoolhouse Road and Kinnicutt Avenue nears readiness
The town's nascent Warren Community Garden project continues to take shape, the latest addition being the situating a storage shed refurbished in recent months by students at the Mt. Hope High School …
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Warren Community Garden continues to 'grow' with shed addition
Parcel at Schoolhouse Road and Kinnicutt Avenue nears readiness
The town's nascent Warren Community Garden project continues to take shape, the latest addition being the situating a storage shed refurbished in recent months by students at the Mt. Hope High School Career and Tech program.
The inaugural season of the garden, located at the corner of Schoolhouse Road and Kinnicutt Avenue, is nearing readiness for the some 30 eager participants who paid $50 to secure one of the available beds, raised structures situated inside a 120 feet by 100 feet footprint.
The project was made possible after the parks and recreation department, at the lead of director Tara Thibaudeau, gained a Rhode Island DEM (Department of Environmental Management) grant of $72,000 and $8,000 from a General Assembly legislative grant.
The garden is fenced in and is accessed by 8'x10' double drive gates as well as a single 8'x4' gate. The beds, themselves, will be made of stainless steel instead of wood so as to prevent rot. A well is in the process of being dug to provide irrigation. And 10'x12' storage shed, once used at Burr's Hill Park for the town beach, is now in position. The shed will also be electrified.
There are actually 31 beds at the ready, according to Thibaudeau, and there might also be space for a few more once there are put into position. Thibaudeau said anyone still wanting to participate can contact the parks and rec office.
The next steps in the process are for the gardeners to fill their beds with loam. The town will also be supplying compost. Chuck Staton, a Warren resident and owner of his namesake landscaping company, has offered the use of some needed equipment.
Gardeners are available to grow anything that's "legal," Thibaudeau said. The garden is also open to anyone interested, not just town residents per the guidelines of the DEM grant.
MHHS Career and Tech instructor Zach Fenster and some of his students are also soon expected to build a ramp/steps to complete the shed, which rests on cinderblocks to avoid deterioriation.
Thibaudeau will work with a committee of gardeners on management processes. The effort, while having parks and rec oversight, will be "self-sufficient," according to the director. Gardeners will use a key pad to enter the location.
"I will oversee the whole thing, but, the day to day maintaining and responsibilities will be up to a committee of individuals that use it," Thibaudeau added.
The first year of the garden will be a bit of trial and error, the director admitted, Thibaudeau saying. "I'm throwing everything up in the air and hoping it lands on its feet."
Yoga doubledip
As part of its agenda Tuesday evening, June 10, the town council approved a pair of requests submitted by Thibaudeau for the use of town beach as staging ground for two, separate yoga instructors this summer.
One was a renewal for Jeffrey J. Brown to once again use the location for classes on Sunday mornings from 7-9 a.m. and Wednesday night, from 5-7 p.m.
The other came from a new resident of Warren, Anne Saimeri, to offer lessons in the discipline as of yet to be determined schedule, according to Thibaudeau. Saimeri's classes will not conflict with those provided by Brown.
New Rec Board member
Also from the June 10 council docket, the body approved the appointment of Lanasia Fuller-Bey to a vacancy on the Warren Recreation Board. The body now has a full quorum of five voting members.
In her resume seeking the position, Fuller-Bey, also a recent transplant to the town, wrote, "I will have the opportunity to contribute to decisions that positively shape our community; help the town with challenges it may face and provide guidance while learning something new as well as meet new people and grow personally."
