Calling all gardeners — beginners and experts alike. Help is needed at the Bonner General Health Community Healing Garden.
Area residents are invited to bring their gardening tools and take part in the hospital’s annual Clean Up the Garden Day on Saturday, April 18. The cleanup will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Healing Garden is a place of solace for those seeking peace or a tranquil retreat in difficult times, BGH officials said. It also serves to honor and remember loved ones who are no longer with us.
With a common goal, employees, residents and volunteers came together to create a place of healing that reflects the surrounding natural beauty of North Idaho.
Now, the Healing Garden needs the community’s help, said Kate McAlister, BGH volunteer services coordinator.
“The volunteer pool has been dwindling over the last several years, and we are reaching out to the community to keep the garden going and ready for community members to enjoy,” McAlister said.
The Healing Garden is 100% funded and maintained through donations and volunteer work. Anyone wishing to make a donation to keep the gardens thriving can visit Bonner General Health’s website at bonnergeneral.org.
All gardeners are welcome — from those with decades of experience to those who have yet to put a spade in the ground or a glove to the weeds. Clean Up the Garden Day is ideal for both, especially those just beginning their gardening journey, as it offers a chance to learn from some of the community’s most experienced gardeners, hospital officials said.
“Our volunteers are getting older and would love to have others shadow them for a summer to learn the garden’s protocols,” McAlister said. “We need people who are ready and willing to help keep the garden going for our community. Without more volunteers, the garden is becoming harder to maintain.”
The garden is divided into easy-to-work sections. Volunteers can choose a section and tend it from spring through fall. Ideally, each group would have a section leader responsible for coordinating volunteers for that plot.
Volunteers are asked to bring their own gardening tools, and BGH will supply the rest.
In addition, the hospital is seeking someone to maintain the rose bushes throughout the season, as well as volunteers to help water the garden on a regular basis.
The peace the garden offers the community makes it a special local treasure, officials said.
“Stroll the grounds of the garden and surround yourself with the beauty of nature,” McAlister said. “Young or old, solemn or joyous, in sickness or in health, the Healing Garden will wrap its arms around you.”
Those interested in volunteering may contact McAlister by phone at 208-265-1159 or by email at [email protected].
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