Growing Hope — A Photo Story
By Emma Bjornsrud
June 12, 2020
SALEM, Ore. —
A sign posted on the outskirts of the Sunnyslope Community Garden in Salem, Oregon, informs visitors that the garden is closed in the wake of the coronavirus.
Dawn Mach takes advantage of the sunny day to check in on her plot. Because of COVID-19, gardeners are required to socially distance themselves and disinfect shared tools, but are still encouraged to spend time in their community space.
Norm Reiss, coordinator of the Sunnyslope Community Garden, sorts through big leaves to find the artichoke at the center.
Each plot has a different assortment of vegetables and flowers. Most gardeners will donate about 10% of the food they grow, and some plots are designated specifically for produce that will be grown and donated to the Marion Polk Food Share.
Painted rocks are a fun, colorful alternative to traditional produce markers. These pretty labels are found in different plots throughout the garden.
Bins at the edge of the garden allow plant scraps to turn into nutrient-rich compost, which gets mixed in with soil to produce healthy plants.
Visiting the garden on sunny days can provide an escape for many of those quarantined in Salem.
SALEM, Ore. — Sunnyslope Community Garden in Salem, Oregon, is still operating during the coronavirus pandemic with entrance limited to gardeners only. Norm Reiss, the Sunnyslope coordinator, said rules have been implemented requiring gardeners to maintain safe social distancing and to disinfect all shared tools and materials they’ve used. Aside from these adjustments, Reiss said the garden is running on the same schedule as last year.
About 42 families of gardeners cultivate Sunnyslope Community Garden’s 70 raised beds. The garden doesn’t even span the length of a city block, but greets you with a big gate surrounded by apple trees. Passers-by are welcome to pluck off apples, but the ones left hanging don’t go to waste.
The Marion Polk Food Share supports more than 60 community gardens in Marion and Polk County. Part of their mission is to bring people together to end hunger. Sunnyslope participates in the program, and gardeners are encouraged to donate their extra vegetables. Several of the plots are designated specifically for donation to the food share.
The garden has donated almost two tons of produce to the food share alone.
Reiss said in his six years at Sunnyslope, the garden has donated almost two tons of produce to the food share alone. That doesn’t include anything donated to church drives or other food pantries. About a quarter of the Sunnyslope gardeners are food-challenged, Reiss said.
In the midst of a pandemic, gardening might be more of a necessity than usual. Many of the Marion Polk Food Share pantries have already seen a 50% increase in need this year, according to Amy Joens, the gardens and education program coordinator for Marion Polk Food Share.
Millions of individuals have no option but to file for unemployment and for some, the safest way to get fresh produce is to grow it themselves, according to Joy Eno, the secretary for Sunnyside Community Garden, another garden in the Marion-Polk food share program.
Dawn Mach has gardened at Sunnyslope for almost four years now. She said for her, gardening is a reason to get out of the house. Mach said gardeners are doing well keeping their distance from each other, although she laughed about one complication to the COVID-19 prevention measures: the theft of a bottle of hand sanitizer from inside the tool shed.
Gardeners at local community gardens are excited to keep working despite the pandemic, said Joens.
“When we all are feeling out of control and there’s no predictability as to what the future looks like, I think people have been appreciating gardening as a very tangible, actionable step forward,” Joens said.
Not only do the gardens allow for fresh produce, they also allow for social (albeit distanced) interactions.
A 2018 study in South Australia found that individuals valued community garden participation for a variety of reasons, one being social connection. According to the study, 83% of community gardeners had organized or participated in a group gardening activity.
Sunnyslope is unable to put on work parties because of the risk of spreading COVID-19, but Mach said the work will still get done through creative solutions.
Community gardens are still connecting people with nature.
Although some activities are on hold for now, community gardens are still connecting people with nature. By donating their time, food or resources, community members are having a positive impact on each other.