A big thank-you to Associated Arts of Ocean Shores for sponsoring the 4th Annual Kids Art in the Garden this past September. Linda Parisi, Sandy DeLuna, Sylvia Schroll, Pam Neal, Karen Young and Bridget Timme were all instrumental in assisting the kids in various art projects with a final safari through the garden identifying vegetables, herbs and flowers. They had a great time and so did we.

Every year the garden looks forward to community service groups that come and visit Ocean Shores for their annual conferences or retreats. Most times they are a mixture of youth and adults like the Bellingham middle schoolers and their chaperones from Calhoun Church in June. They gave me a call and asked if they could help us in any way. Part of their mission is to give back by engaging in community service projects wherever they go. We try and have several areas of interest for them like painting or planting. Not just pulling weeds. The garden always needs work so when you have 20 youth and 10 adults for 2-4 hours at your gates, you open them up.

This last October we were also fortunate enough to get a call from Angela Bove, Program Support Specialist For Catholic Community Services Grays Harbor Family Center. They were attending a training seminar at the Shilo. We gave them all some brief instruction, safety rules and handed them gloves, shovels and spades. So for 3-4 hours we had 8 adults helping to winterize the garden and the beds. They were so wonderful and gracious while enjoying the physicality of garden work and the connection to the earth.

The community garden also would like to send a big thank you to all of our donors, volunteers and a dedicated Board of Directors for their part in a very successful 2016 Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Tasting fund-raiser on October 15th despite a very stormy weekend.

The delectable trays we received from Chef Anthony Case at The Quinault Beach Resort and Ocean Shores IGA certainly represents some of the very best businesses here in our Ocean Shores community!

Our garden has thrived this past year because of the continued support we receive here. For the last eight years it has been our goal for the Community Garden to be able to contribute produce to the hungry while educating adults and children on growing fresh food. We have succeeded in making the difference. Our gardeners grow and harvest a variety of vegetables and then take it home to their families to nourish their bodies. Our community benefits from fresh produce from our garden that is grown all through the year.

We wanted to create a garden that would be beautiful but at the same time impact a lot of people while feeling connected to each other as well as the earth. We have done just that. It is the kind of thing I would recommend to almost everyone.

Thank you,

Sushila Ravard, President Garden by the Sea