ST. PAUL – St. Paul Champions for Change and volunteers gathered at the Town of St. Paul's Parks and Recreation yard on June 3 to plant edible plants for its edible barrels project.
The 60 barrels have now been distributed by the Town of St. Paul to participating businesses and organizations, placed just outside their respective buildings, says Penny Fox, chair of Champions for Change. A few extra barrels were also placed on some walking paths for the community to enjoy.
When the plants grow, members of the community are free to pick and harvest from these barrels, says Fox. For example, tomatoes are popular plants in the community.
“There are vegetables, herbs and flowers provided by Owlseye Greenhouse, that guarantee something new for people to see and to try in their summer recipes,” she says. “Additional plants were donated by the Meyer family, as their children had a school project to grow plants and had a few extra to share with the community.”
Labels will also be added soon to help the public identify what plants have been planted in each barrel and how they are used in cooking recipes.
Judith Hess, Champions for Change treasurer and project organizer, says the project began in 2014, “and has become something that St. Paul is known for.”
“We have shared the model with several other communities,” says Hess. “The project was designed to show our youth how food grows and to show our adults which flowers are edible.”
Initially, when the project began, the idea was to bring more energy and colour into the downtown area.
It soon evolved into something more when Champions for Change decided it would be a good idea to plant edible plants to promote awareness on food cultivation among local youth. Not only do the barrels beautify the downtown, but they also provide educational opportunities for children and families.
Over a decade later, the project continues to grow thanks to support from the community and the volunteers sacrificing their time to get the barrels ready.
Fox and Hess thanked all the volunteers and everyone involved for making the project possible every year.
