Michael has been living in the Pavilion for two years, yet it seems like he has been here for far longer by the way that he has settled in.
Michael has a wonderfully unique way of seeing the Village community “well they are all like a flock of sheep to be looked after and guided, I think it must be my lifetime of farming.”
One of the many ways that Michael keeps an eye out for the community is by running the community vege garden. The garden, situated by the Pavilion, was built by Springbank School to enable us to grow fresh healthy veges.
When our head gardener Debbie discovered his passion for horticulture, she encouraged him to tend and maintain the community garden, which he has embraced, producing an abundance of healthy vegetables for our residents.
“I’ve gardened since way back in the 70’s when I was farming; wherever I went I made sure I had a garden. Even at Christmas I could say that all the vegetables on my plate were from my garden.
I like the Village community garden to look nice and full so that everyone can see the abundance. I like to have tomatoes, beans, and corn and lots of variety so the whole lot looks spectacular. Most people like quite ordinary vegetables, but I am slowly introducing more interesting plants like bok choy instead of cabbage, and varied lettuce instead of iceberg.
The seedlings come from the Potting Shed Garden Group and when they are ready to plant out they come in here. I distribute the veges to residents at the various activities like the Wednesday morning coffee group. Any surplus veg I preserve or freeze in the communal freezer ready for winter soups and stews.
I am an official volunteer with the Village, even though I live here, I am on the books and record my time.
“I love eating fresh vegetables, and I can see the benefit. When I moved in here, I had a high cholesterol reading, and now it’s back to normal! I put that down to lots of fresh veggies.”
Thank you for all your time and energy Michael!
Back
