At lunchtime, about 100 people
packed the great hall in the Sawyerville Hotel - aged, middle aged, teens and
young. They were smiling a lot and talking in French and English and in-between.
Janice Graham caressed the piano keys. Salads, cold cuts, cheeses and friends
congregated on the buffet table. Chantal Bolduc ladled out vegetable soup.
She's president of the new Sawyerville Community Garden.
Assorted kiosks surrounded the people. For example,
heritage seeds. Cycling equipment. Goat cheeses. Eaton Corner Museum. Gardening
books. Organic plants. And organic gardening tools - such as grelinettes.
They're fork-like spades that work the soil without turning it over. That
preserves the ecosystem of the soil.
It was Green Day - a feast for the mouths and minds of
garden lovers - organized by the Sawyerville Community Garden on Saturday April
26. It was festive, but industrious, too.
Cookshire-Eaton Mayor Noel Landry welcomed everyone. Francine
Lemay of the Ferme La Genereuse spoke about the "Life of WOWs" - when you step
outside and your five senses are set alight by what's going on in nature.
Richard O'Breham of Mycoflor in Stanstead spoke about growing mushrooms. Brian
Creelman of Seeds for Life in Bishopton spoke about the intersection between
organic gardening and heirloom seeds.
He also spoke about gardening - the raison d'être of
the Green Day. "Gardening is more than just an extracurricular afterthought. It
was once central to people's lives. And it can be again. It stitches
communities together too. Because when you get involved in something, you tend
to talk to each other more, and share material resources and experiences. So
it's a perfect little catalyst for bringing communities together."
And bring the community together, Green Day did.
Countless volunteers and donors chipped in to make it happen. Goat cheeses came
from the artisanal farm Caitya du Caprice Caprin, near Sawyerville. Soup from
the women of AFEAS. Bread from the bakery Les Miettes. Organic vegetables from
the Sanders farm in Compton. Yogurt from the Ferme Groleau in Compton. Moût de pomme from IGA
Cookshire. Cheese from the Syndicat du lait. And cold cuts
from the Syndicat du porc.
Sawyerville Hotel was a partner, too, said Bolduc.
Rent was very minimal, and the owners worked a full two days to help organize
it.
"Really, everybody seems to appreciate what's
happening, and I think we'll have really good vegetables this fall," she said.
Planning ahead for the new Sawyerville Community
Garden also happened. In a corner, five men intently discussed timberframe
construction, getting ready to build the gardening shed. Bolduc said the next
step will be to design and structure the garden. "When the ground gets dry
enough, we'll have two teams of horses plow the garden," she said, "and we'll
invite people to come and gather stones."
"Everyone can have a connection with the Sawyerville
Community Garden," she said. "It's not everybody who has to get down on their
knees to pull weeds. It's really a community project where everybody can find
their place."
For information, contact jcsawyerville@hotmail.com or 819-889-3196.
