LITTLE CURRENT—The Little Current Community Garden has been one of the amazing success stories of the Manitoulin Island local food movement and now the organizers of the garden are hoping to harness the leaf raking efforts of residents to help take things to the next level by diverting their leaf litter from the landfill to the soil of the community garden.
Seems the community garden has been going gangbusters, with the plots fully subscribed.
“There are eight plots and three raised beds,” said Shane O’Donnell. “All are being used this year.”
The Grade 1 students at Little Current Public School planted squash in the leaf litter at the community garden this year and the results were over the top. “We must have 20 to 30 football-sized squash,” said Mr. O’Donnell.
Mr. O’Donnell had hoped to be able to put signs up at the Northeast Town landfill advising residents that they could divert their leaf litter and grass clippings to the community garden instead of taking up space in the landfill site, but town staff indicated that due to Ministry of the Environment regulations on diversions, putting up signs wasn’t possible.
“There is nothing stopping folks from dropping the leaves off at the community garden on their own accord, as far as I am aware,” admitted CAO Dave Williamson.
“Diversion is a pretty good thing,” noted Mr. O’Donnell, “and it helps us too. So it’s basically a win-win situation for everybody.”
In fact, the diversion of recycling from the landfill has already extended the lifespan of the facility to the extent that the originally estimated 40-year lifecycle when the landfill was built two decades ago is still just about exactly that today, another 40 years. For anyone familiar with the process and especially cost of building a new landfill site, that is very good news.
There are a few things that the community garden folks would like people to keep in mind when dropping off their leaves at the Cockburn Street garden site.
“Just leaves and leaf litter please,” said Mr. O’Donnell. “No garbage, or plastic bags. If people could just dump out their leaves and recycle or reuse their bags that would be great.”
Also avoid brush or branches, pieces of wood. “We have to remove that by hand and deal with it and we are entirely volunteer-driven, so please don’t add a lot of work and find another home for your brush and tree branches.”
There are plenty of nutrients and minerals in leaves, notes Mr. O’Donnell, pointing out fallen leaves are how the forest rejuvenates and builds up the soil on the forest floor. While microbes and other tiny critters find the leaves a great source of hearth and home, there isn’t really anything in there to attract other vermin, racoons, bears or even deer.
“And there is no smell to speak of,” he adds. “Well, there is a bit of a scent of earthy forest, but I think most people associate that with a pleasant walk in the bush.”
As a bit of an incentive to drop off leaves, Mr. O’Donnell said that, on a first come, first served basis, folks can pick up a squash when they drop off their leaf litter. “We don’t guarantee the squash, because although we have quite a few it depends on how many people take advantage of the offer.”
Mr. O’Donnell is co-owner of Heartwood Mushrooms and that group has been experimenting with winecap mushrooms inoculated into the leaf litter to help speed up the process of breaking the matter down. “We have already had a successful crop,” he said.
“They are pretty voracious in breaking down leaves and stuff,” said Mr. O’Donnell. “We have now established that they can be successfully grown on Manitoulin Island.”
In addition to the garden plots, the community garden now boasts several fruit-and nut-bearing trees, thanks in large part to two workshops held at the garden by Ron Lewis. “There are gooseberries and currants, hoskcaps and hazelnuts, even a few apple trees,” said Mr. O’Donnell.
In dropping off your leaf litter or grass clippings, just look for the big white sign at the community garden site on Cockburn Street, and remember to grab a squash and take your plastic garbage bags home with you.
