North Bay’s waterfront is a draw for residents and visitors alike, in large part due to the volunteer efforts of the Heritage Gardeners.
People passing by will often stop to admire the wide variety of thoughtfully placed plants in the well-maintained garden beds, all thanks to the efforts of this community group.
What many might not realize is that a new generation of gardeners is assisting the older, more experienced volunteers.
Known as the Special Ops team, the youngsters provide a great deal of the manual labour needed for the different projects.
”The Special OPS team is an idea that we had where the youth, the teenagers who are pretty strong, will go and they’ll help different garden teams who want some help with physical heavy work. So, we got a team of young people together that had a lot of energy and were tired of just pulling weeds and wanted to do some more physical work,” explained Wesley Johnson, team co-leader.
“The Heritage Gardeners love that the young people are coming in and doing some of the heavy jobs. Some of the teams can be in their 80s and so the boys are coming in and doing the mulching, the heavy digging, they’re moving heavy plants. The youth get to learn gardening and the older gardeners get help with heavy, physical tasks. It is kind of fun because they get to help out everywhere and we get to meet lots of different people. I’ve been enjoying it, and I think the kids have been enjoying it too.”
The entire waterfront is divided into multiple gardens.
Karen Johnson is team leader of the Fortune Tillers, which takes care of Bed 47 near the flagpoles.
“We’ve had a massive garden redesign. So, they’re (kids) digging up plants, they’re splitting perennials, they’re weeding, they’re taking care of pest management. We had a tree that was attacked by those little caterpillars that make webs so, the kids were cutting the webs out and disposing of them,” explained Johnson.
“It’s really two different teams but we work together because Karen and I are co-leads of both teams, so it’s more like Special Ops works with the Fortune Tillers, but we’re available for special assignments,” shared Wesley.
The Johnson children started at a young age.
“My kids started when they were three years old. So, Jared has actually had over 10 years of service to the community. My daughter Michelle will be on her 10th year this year. So, when they were little, they did stuff like pull out sticks and pick up cups. They’re coming with a parent when they’re that young, but we think of it as a classroom. So, this is a place where you have mixed ages. I think we have people in their 80s on this team and so the young are learning from the experienced,” Karen noted.
Fourteen-year-old Jared Johnson prefers time spent working outdoors to playing video games at home.
“You get more out of it. Gaming you don’t get anything out of it,” shared the grade 10 student.
“I enjoy making the waterfront look better, helping to improve it.”
The tradition continues with his younger sister Michelle who enjoys growing friendships with senior gardeners.
“I like to learn from other people and listening to their experiences and stories, and I like to learn about all the flowers and all the design work. At home we all have our own gardens, we get to choose our own flowers and vegetables. I have roses, hostas and raspberries in mine.”
Ollivier Babin is in year two as a volunteer, earning volunteer hours for school.
“I enjoy the outdoors, working with the plants, it is peaceful, it is calming” described the 15-year-old.
“School mandates 40 hours of community service, so it started as a nice idea for community service. It gets you outside, it’s nice and fresh, and we just keep doing it. It’s not just for the hours, it beautifies the city and the gardeners are very, very nice.”
Leo Babin is wrapping up his second year as a volunteer.
“I’m proud when you see the entire garden at the end of the season. I honestly enjoy this a lot and will continue to do it even after I get my 40 hours in,” stated Babin.
Zavier Babin enjoys the feeling of pride that comes from hard work.
“I like cutting plants in half, moving them somewhere else. I just like helping. I get a feeling that I help the community, make it look better and make it look more natural and nicer. And it makes me forget all the things that stresses me,” said Babin.
Nathaniel Riesen enjoys the social component of the volunteer work.
“I enjoy making friends and helping with the garden. The older gardeners are a lot of fun; they give you advice on what to do. It has helped me grow my self-confidence,” shared the 12-year-old.
Riesen had this to say when asked about future plans with Heritage Gardeners.
“I think I will definitely stick around.”
The work they do together with the experienced gardeners benefits the entire community.
“We’re trying to make this garden be a beautiful, accessible place for anybody of different abilities. You see people here with wheelchairs, with strollers, with pets, it is a very accessible path, and we’re making it beautiful for everyone in our community to enjoy. And we get lots of tourists too,” stated Karen.
“I joke with the youth that this is a competitive sport. I think about when the Babin boys joined the team, we were at the provincial level of competition for Canada Blooms. We actually made it to the national level and I joked with the kids that we’re in the national competition this year.”
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