Volunteers help clear the Winnemucca Community Garden in preparation for spring. There is still work to be done at the Winnemucca Community Garden and those of all ages and gardening experience levels are welcome to volunteer.
For most it’s easy to stay huddled up in the warmth of the house as soon as the weather turns cold, but for some, the prep work they’re doing now is setting them up for a prosperous garden come spring time.
Megan Toala, chairman of the Winnemucca Community Garden Committee, and Tanner Ames, the vicechairman of the Winnemucca Community Garden Committee, have been spending many hours volunteering in the garden, working to get it in shape for the next growing season. Both are leading the charge to revamp the Garden after the original committee disbanded in recent years.
“I joined the Garden Committee last year as the Secretary and worked on rebuilding our social media communications," said Toala. "When that committee fell off I stayed on the board to try to keep things going because I felt like we were just getting started with our cause to restore the Garden for the community. I wasn’t ready to give up on the Garden project and now as Chairperson I help run the monthly meetings with our Vice Chairperson, Tanner."
Clearing weeds and prepping the ground for delicious fruits and vegetables to be planted is no easy feat, especially when starting with ground that needs quite a bit of tender loving care, but there has already been a great turnout of volunteers helping to clear the ground and prep the garden for planting next season.
“I believe the garden can be another staple place in our community once it’s fully restored to its fruition and beauty. Community gardens have proven to enhance the community that helps to take care of one. It would not only be an amazing addition to our environment, but we can help grow food for those that struggle to afford groceries or even just a garden of their own. It’s also a great opportunity for an enriched academic learning environment; we would like to partner with other community organizations and individuals that can help teach different aspects of nature and gardening tips and tricks,” explained Toala.
Toala and Ames are currently the only two committed to the Board, each serving in multiple capacities, but they are hoping to inspire others to join as well.
“We work together to plan our clean up events and we are still trying to recruit more “Friends of the Garden” committee members,” said Toala.
The Friends of the Garden have hosted a few clean up days and meetings where volunteers have been able to share ideas and get their hands dirty in soil and also intend on holding more until the Garden is ready, which they announce on their Winnemucca Community Garden Facebook page.
Toala and Ames both believe that an invigorated garden will be beneficial to the community in many ways and not just for those that get to reap the benefits of growing and eating fresh garden produce. Those working the ground can experience increased levels of serotonin—a chemical in the brain that makes people feel happy and acts as a natural antidepressant, also strengthening the immune system— from the bacteria that live in the soil, according to multiple scientific studies.
Restructuring the system that governs how the plots are taken care of and rented by the community has also been a priority for the Friends of the Garden, according to Ames, and they are communicating with other gardens to find the best way for the plots to be utilized and looking for local people that have new ideas.
“We want to invite all the community to any meeting that we have to really just make it a very community oriented garden,” said Ames.
Even if volunteers cannot physically help at the garden with their time as it is cleared and prepped or monetarily, Toala and Ames said that donations of garden tools and equipment or even simply sharing the posts from the Winnemucca Community Garden Facebook is a huge help to the success of the garden.
“The main thing is communicating that support of the Garden,” said Ames.
“This is a huge community project and we would love nothing more than for the community to get involved and come together to work towards making a piece of Winnemucca thriving and beautiful again,” said Toala.