Our plan this year was to continue on with our neighbourhood gatherings which we started with a weekly summer garden share two years ago. This year we had great ideas but it ended up being a very busy summer and our gardens were not so plentiful. However we were able to have one summer gathering and have plans to have 2 more gatherings in November and December.
We changed what we had planned to accommodate new neighbours and new babies. We gathered for a back alley salsa making event. We decided that it was easier for us to buy our tomatoes from a local farm as trying to coordinate ripeing tomatoes was a tough one. We used what we could from our backyard gardens.
One of the successes of this year’s projects was involving new neighbours to host and plan the events. This was so wonderful as it engaged more people and shared the work load. We had many neighbours come out which included new neighbours and new babies. We have been adapting our events to include all age ranges from elderly to newborns. In total for the first event we have 15 people attend and learn how to make new salsa recipes and quesadillas . This has been such a check in with everyone. Seeing if people need help and support. It has also inspired our group to plan two more events over the next few months. This will really helped people to get out as in the winter we don’t seem to connect as much.
The biggest challenge was trying to figure out canning. We did not succeed at this part of the project. This summer our lives have been very busy. We decided to have a salsa making party and share many different recipes for people to test. The biggest learning was to plan many small gatherings rather than one big event. So our events this season are salsa making, family games day, winter solstice gathering.
Thank you for the financial assistance with the grant. It has made it easier for people to participate without having any concerns about money.
