Oil company retirees harvesting hope
At the Chevron retirees country garden, the scarecrows are actually for the moose who have a taste for beet greens.
Fortunately, they don’t seem to like the beetroots, or so far the onions, potatoes, zucchini, or carrots, all of which are destined for the Calgary Food Bank.
The garden is maintained by volunteers from the Chevron Retirees Club, which last year harvested over 4,000 kilograms of food from the land north of Cochrane. Despite this year’s drought conditions, they are optimistic they’ll reap the same bounty this year.
“It's terrific to help people out that need a little help getting going, whatever their situation is,” said Ted Spearing of the Chevron Retirees Club. “If we can grow the veggies that help them do that, help them and their families be well-fed, and able to get on with life, that's wonderful.”
The food bank provides the seeds to the group which plants, maintains, and harvests the crops.
“We always get feedback from clients that they'll say, Wow, I didn't expect that I would get carrots that still had dirt on them from someone's garden yesterday," said Calgary Food Bank spokesperson Shawna Ogston. "The idea that we're growing such fresh produce just for them to say we care about your resiliency - they don't just see it as ‘Oh, great. I've got carrots.’ It’s (more) like ‘Wow! Somebody really cares’.”
One of the fruits of the garden run by a group of volunteer retirees
The land for the garden was donated by a homeowner, about 20 minutes north of Cochrane, three years ago. In the first year, the club was able to clear the land and break ground, but it wasn’t until 2020 that they were able to harvest a crop.
There was nowhere for them to store their tools and supplies, until Wednesday when a team from the construction manufacturer ZS2 technologies held a building bee to erect a shed for the group.
Using the company’s proprietary magnesium oxide sulfate cement paneling, they built what might be the most fireproof, weatherproof, and best-insulated shed on the prairies.
“The shed that we are building for the community garden is probably the Cadillac, or Mercedes of all sheds” said ZS2 CEO Scott Jenkins “I's a great demonstration of how quickly we can build this entire shed. It will be done in one day. It's an opportunity for us, also, to support such a worthy organization like the food bank.”
The garden is maintained by volunteers from the Chevron Retirees Club, which last year harvested over 4,000 kilograms of food from the land north of Cochrane. Despite this year’s drought conditions, they are optimistic they’ll reap the same bounty this year.
The Chevron retirees will be conducting a preliminary ‘test harvest’ this week to judge the state of the crop. They expect to harvest the full garden in mid-September, and while they expect to reap tonnes of food for the food bank, Ogston says even if you have just a row or two in your garden at home the food bank would be excited to see it wind up in one of their hampers.
“Donating to the food bank, if you've got a row in your backyard of extra potatoes, or who knows what this growing season is super easy,“said Ogston “Remember these are perishable items, so we've got to get them into hampers right away. If you're pulling out those carrots on a Sunday with your children, you could get those into hampers Monday afternoon.”
Ogston advises to check the food bank's website for the drop off locations and times.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.