from The Rotary Club of Halifax North West
Welcome to the monthly newsletter from the Rotary Club of Halifax Northwest, where we share the club’s news with the community we serve. This issue highlights our club’s relationship with the Urban Farm Museum Society of Spryfield (UFMSS). The aim of the Society, which was founded in 1996 is to revive the farming heritage of Spryfield by creating a working farm museum in the heart of the community.
In 1999 the Kidston family offered the Society a license to create a working farm on 3.5 acres of their heritage property. Clearing the land began in 2000 and in October 2001, a team of oxen ploughed the land for the first time in more than 60 years. The first gardens were planted in 2002 and the dream of an Urban Farm in Spryfield started to become a reality.
Our Rotary club’s relationship with the Society dates back over a decade and started when it became one of the beneficiaries of our club’s Toonies for Change (TfC) fundraiser. The relationship was mutually beneficial in that Society members were very involved in the weekly toonies draws, which supported a number of other non-profits in the Spryfield area. Our club’s financial support for the Society was interrupted by the pandemic and the demise of TfC but has been resumed through the introduction of our latest fundraising initiative, the Rotary Adventure Club. (https:// rotaryadventureclub.ca)
The focus of our support through the years has been the “Come Grow with Us” program, in which families enrol and are provided with a garden bed for their use. Families are expected to plan their garden, plant the seeds and tend to their plots by regular watering and weeding – and to reap the benefits of their efforts!
The Society has 12 garden plots dedicated to the Come Grow With Us program. This Spring, when Patricia MacLean, past president of the Society, addressed our Club, we were made aware of the deteriorated state of the 12 wooden frames in which the plots reside. Our club is always looking for opportunities to get physically involved in support of the community, and we decided to take on the task of rebuilding the garden plot frames. Aided by a modest financial donation from the Club, the Society purchased the lumber, and over the span of several week-ends, Club members “got it done”.
For more information on the Urban Farm please go to www.urbanfarmmuseumspryfield.org
Our Rotary Club of Halifax Northwest welcomes everyone to explore community service with us! We pride ourselves on being diverse and inclusive – and we’re friendly! We currently meet virtually every Tuesday from 1145 to 1 pm. at Freeman’s on Dutch Village Road in Fairview. For more information contact Roger Chiasson at rogerchiasson305@gmail.com or 782 234 9408.
