A Food Security Project
This project started in 2021 as a collaboration between the Salvation Army’s Lighthouse Ministries, Shuswap Food Action and Lekker Land Design to address local food security and will continue to produce more food for those in need each year, with your help. (more on the story below)
The Story…
In the summer of 2021 we started discussing the possibility of installing an edible garden on the front lawn at the Salvation Army Food Bank in Salmon Arm. Donations of food had been declining during the pandemic and the need for the food bank’s services had grown. (Before picture of the front lawn, Summer 2021)
Executive Director Joel Torrens of the Lighthouse Mission believed there could be a better and more abundant use of the space, so he reached out to Melanie Bennett of the Shuswap Food Action Society and she introduced him to our Permaculture Designer and Project Manager Keli Westgate.
Future Food Forest (the site before)
We sketched up a hybrid food forest including fruit trees, berry bushes, raised beds for annual vegetables and herbs and more and by the Fall the group had already done a good chunk of the toughest work installing the “hugelkultur” mounds which would settle a bit over the winter and be ready to be planted in the Spring of 2022.
Site Conditions
As most will recall, the summer of 2021 brought apocalyptic-type conditions to the Interior of BC, with a deadly heat dome starting it off, to historic wildfires, choking smoke and unbreathable air, followed by landslides and road closures, so the food security of the region was looking rough…talk about great timing for a project that responds to that! Here’s a map of the fires around the BC Interior at one point!
Community Volunteers
The community really came together quickly and generously with donations of services like excavation and trenching for irrigation Mountainside Earthworks which saved our backs from digging so was very appreciated! Mulch, dry wood to use as organic matter from Andrea Gunner of Rosebank Farms, dead leaves for mulch and filler and more from all over the valley (see below gallery)
Building Soil
Quality soil delivery deeply discounted came from Reimers Farm Service, being shovelled here by happy volunteer Adam of Hatchworks.
Certified organic compost donated by Spa Hills Compost being delivered by another generous volunteer Green4Earth!
Passive Remediation Systems (PRSI) donated some biochar, which not only sequesters carbon, but it gives all of the soil beneficials a great home to nestle into.
We lined the hugelkultur bed trenches with cardboard to hold back the weeds. Although these raised beds just looked like piles of straw at first, they are super-charged after the first season of settling (although ours produced very nicely the first year, prayers answered!)
Planting Flower Bulbs
With the help of some hard-working and dedicated Girl Guide volunteers, we start planted garlic bulbs in the hugelkultur beds and flower bulbs to mark the perimeters for the fruit trees and their guilds that would be coming later and to entice the pollinators to the site as early as possible in 2022. This wasn’t an easy job as the soil on this site was hard compacted clay that really took some effort to dig into!
The first crocus flowers starting to show themselves through the mulch, Spring 2022! These will come back every year in March to start the growing season.
First Spring (2022)
We assembled steel raised beds and filled them with soil (no small task!), compost and mulch and even some biochar, once again with the help of wonderful volunteers! Once these beds were in, the community really started to take notice and we’d often hear people wandering by with a compliment about how much they liked these beds and how excited they were about the project. The hope was building!
This project was not without its challenges and finding people to help was a struggle at times. In 2021 and 2022 people were falling ill or caretaking someone else who was, and we had the supply chain issues everyone else struggled with, not to mention price changes, environmental challenges, mental health issues and so some things took a bit longer than expected, but it got done with perseverance and effort! (huge kudos to Melanie Bennet!)
Now THAT is dedication and community spirit!! Emily with baby in tow, what an amazing Mom! Many hands make light work, and it also warms the soul knowing that these efforts will go to feeding the community in need.
Fruit Trees and Berries
We planted 6 fruit trees including a couple of “fruit salad” trees to increase biodiversity even more, a few berry bushes, some comfrey, a bed of gorgeous and delicious strawberries …(Thank you to Recline Ridge!) with onions as well as raspberries on the perimeter of the site by the fence.
Very quickly we had lettuce and radishes with the help of yet more volunteers! The intergenerational efforts were heartwarming to see, and the parents that brought their kids to help out gave them a gift that will last a lifetime. Inspiration and a feeling of value in their service.
There are no guarantees in growing food, as any farmer or gardener will tell you, so you learn and try again and pray for the best!
Composting To Reduce Waste
The up-cycled pallet 3-bin compost system was assembled by a fantastic group from Telus. So nice to have such a good turnout with these happy and hardworking helpers. This compost area can process all of the organic “waste” produced on site, including the leaves from the large existing deciduous tree. We wanted this to be at the centre of the space as it’s the shortest distance to walk with debris and also, as any gardener will tell you, compost and soil it supports is at the heart of any successful garden or edible landscape. Just remember, carbon (“browns”, leaves) on top, turn it regularly, add water when needed and please, only add organic material from the site, nothing else.
Collecting Rainwater
Finally, the 1000 litre rainwater harvesting system went in as a backup for watering. Water is an ongoing concern as it was difficult to get help with a number of irrigation issues, so having some backup and displaying water harvesting gets people thinking, talking, adapting and recognizing that we need to have some redundancy in our designs as the climate changes.This 1000 litre IBC tote is now decommissioned due to site development.
The connections this site has created have warmed our hearts and the interactions with the plants and insects and food certainly feels healing. Early on we had some adorable painted identifier rocks created by …. and had a good start on peppers and tomatoes as a few folks agreed to start some seeds and foster seedlings for us! The concept of just taking food is a tough one for many people to accept, as they see it as “stealing”, but all of the food at the Lighthouse Community Food Forest is free to those who need it, like all food bank donated food.
New Food Forest!
The food forest will take years to fill out completely, but the foundation has been laid and the intention is to have more and more food to share over the coming years. Some things will survive, some things will fade away as the system grows and regulates itself and the learning will continue. Access to healthy local food is an absolute essential and we are so proud to be a part of increasing food security in B.C.!