After the Borough Assembly last month approved expansion of its Memorial Cemetery, the Wrangell Community Garden Committee needs new digs to plant in.
Started in 2010, the garden group reached an agreement with the city allowing them use of their current patch, by the old ball field west of the cemetery. Since its start though, group committee member Kris Reed explained their numbers have withered somewhat and they’re looking for new members.
Currently there are five garden users, who in addition to pulling weeds and sowing seeds divide club tasks like managing the site, coordinating activities, keeping records and planning for the future.
“We’re kind of looking to lighten the load elsewhere,” said Reed, who sits on several other boards and committees.
A benefit of the garden is its promotion of “food security,” giving locals a spot to grow greens for themselves. At the start, the group took garden tours through town for inspiration, held harvest potlucks around the year-end clean-up, and gathered early in the season for a party and site preparation. Over the years though, the group’s ability to carry on these activities has diminished.
“Those are activities that we haven’t been able to sustain,” said Reed. “We don’t want to see it go away. There are a lot of things the garden could be doing.”
One of the perks the club has maintained is the community compost area, sited along the fence line facing the cemetery. That gives residents a place to bring their compostables, saving on the general solid waste burden, while also getting a hold of some nutrients for their own efforts.
While the bins are important, it’s the future which will weigh heaviest on the group’s activities. The city has for some years been trying to solve its shortage of grave space. The town’s oldest, Memorial Cemetery is currently considered to be at capacity. The addition of Sunset Gardens across the street of Memorial has eased some of the burden, but by late December that only had 18 unreserved plots available for purchase, with another 31 niches in its columbarium available for cremated remains.
This may seem like plenty, but preparing a new cemetery site can be an expensive and time-consuming process. What with the marshiness and steepness of much of the island’s available land, finding a suitable site to develop is also difficult. Of several possible places, Public Works recommended the public lands nearest Memorial due to its lack of trees and relative ease to develop.
This means the garden will have to go, though likely not for several more years.
“We still have a few seasons of growing,” Reed said.
Where to go from there is a tough prospect, as there are not many public options available. Reed suggested there may be some arrangement to be met with the local elementary school, which itself has a lively gardening program.
“That’s another project that the next garden committee would have to tackle,” she said.
Ahead of the new growing season, those interested in possibly participating are invited to attend the group’s next meeting, set for 6 p.m. on February 16 at the Parks and Recreation multipurpose room. People can also check out the Wrangell Community Garden page on Facebook for more information.
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