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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.