Yarmouth has its first wheelchair accessible community garden and outdoor recreation space for people with disabilities. It also is the first such place on Cape Cod for people that Community Connections serves.
Three entities came together to make the garden possible, Christen Gray, Community Connections’ fundraising manager, said on a visit to the site. First, Yarmouth’s Community Preservation Committee released $16,200 in August for the garden at the Community Connections Center at 127 White’s Path in South Yarmouth. National Grid then provided the space on its property where Community Connections has its offices.
The third entity, Starboard Side Landscaping of Dennis, removed brush and leveled the ground, laid the brick walkways and built the three raised beds in a few days, Gray said. The beds are surrounded and accessible for wheelchairs.
When the gardens are planted in the spring, Gray said they will provide both socialization skills, therapeutic benefits and a sense of accomplishment for the agency’s 50 consumers in the Day Habilitation program. They also will supplement the present garden club and cooking class in the Life Skills program. In addition, the garden will provide a place for the programs’ consumers to get outside for fresh aid, Gray said.
“The agency as a whole is really excited about it,” she said. “It will be a place for everyone to come together.” The community garden also will be available to all town residents. An official dedication will take place in the spring.
Community Connections President and CEO Donna Sabecky said in a press release, “The simple act of gardening – planting seeds and watching them mature, picking and eating fresh vegetables or getting one’s hands dirty with fresh soil – not only brings joy to our hearts, it also helps with reduction in stress and improves health. We often forget that those with limited mobility, either using a wheelchair or a walker or experiencing arthritis, miss out on such experiences.”
Community Connections’ clients have participated in other community gardening plots, but it’s proved a challenge for those in wheelchairs or those with medical needs. Arranging special transportation and the inability for wheelchairs to maneuver once at the site laid the roots to establish an accessible garden at the White’s Path location that Community Connections leases from National Grid.
“Donating land from our Yarmouth facility for this project is a great fit for us,” Marcy Reed, president of National Grid, Massachusetts, said. “This space is not just about growing vegetables next spring; it’s about building a beautiful and sustainable garden that will not only inspire people with disabilities, but provide them with a place to work together, meet new people and develop an appreciation for horticulture and the environment.”
Some important features of any accessible garden include raised beds that allow individuals with physical limitations to garden from a seated position and wide, smooth walkways that allow for wheelchairs to back up and turn around. In spring the raised beds will be planted with vegetables, herbs, and flowers.
The garden also has traditional beds that will be planted with flowers, shrubs and grasses and a bench. Gray said she will continue raising funds to get a picnic table and memorial bricks for the garden area.
Jeff Eldredge of Starboard Side Landscaping has helped to shape the garden since he was brought on board over a year ago.
“Our crew removed undergrowth but was able to create the space without removing any large trees,” Eldredge said. “We were also able to tap into existing water lines for full irrigation even in the raised beds, making maintenance down the line extremely manageable. Empowering people with the ability to make something grow gives a real sense of achievement. Not only do the plants grow, but the individual does as well.”
Christine Boggs, Community Connections Yarmouth Day Center and Life Skills manager, said the agency has begun reaching out to local garden centers for spring plantings and to horticultural clubs for tutelage and advice “in turning our black thumbs green.”
The Community Preservation Act funds were initially approved in April 2011. CPA grants are awarded to community projects, which among other things, meet the requirements for the acquisition, creation and preservation of land for recreational use.
About Community Connections
Community Connections serves more than 675 people in 62 cities and towns throughout southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod.
To learn more about Community Connections programs and services, call 508-744-1103 or visit CommunitiyConectionsInc.org.
Susan Vaughn can be reached at svaughn@wickedlocal.com
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