Submitted by Penny Fox, Champions for Change
St. Paul Champions for Change is pleased to announce the Incredible Edible barrels were delivered by the Town of St. Paul Recreation Department to the sponsoring businesses around St. Paul on last week. The St. Paul 4H Sheep Club assisted Champions For Change volunteers to plant 63 barrels after school and to water them and have them ready for delivery.
This project is part of the Thrive on Wellness committees goal to encourage healthy eating in St. Paul and to show in a real way how food grows. Part of their “Healthy Food for all in St. Paul” goal - Peavey Mart provided funding to purchase the barrels, dirt, peat moss, etc. in 2014. Each year the business community steps up by renting the barrels and these fees cover the cost of the plants, signage and replacement barrels. What originally started as a downtown idea, has now expanded throughout the community as other businesses became involved. The Town of St. Paul staff takes on the heavy lifting in the project by moving the barrels and watering them all summer long.
All of the plants found in the barrels is edible – each year we try to find at least one new item to add provide something different. This year the flowers (pansy and nasturtiums), herbs (basil, thyme and tarragon) and vegetables (corn, tomato, peppers, strawberries) are planted in the barrels. Five plants are in each one and over the summer they will grow to fill those barrels. In the past we made the mistake of putting in too many plants in the beginning of summer when they were small – by August they were crowding out each other and causing us problems. So even thought the barrels look sparse right now, within a few weeks that will change and they will fill out.
We encourage people to look at the barrels, to check and see if they can identify all the plants. Labels will be put in at least one of the barrels at each location that tell what plants are in the barrels and an idea on how to use it.
On many occasions we have seen people walking past our office with small children. The children are curious as to what is growing and anxious to touch, feel and taste it. We also encourage this activity as it gives an opportunity for learning and to try something new. All barrels are open to being tasted as long as they do not have a sign in it asking “Please do not pick” – in those instances the business already has its own plan for what they are doing with the food from that barrel.
Last year we expanded the program through the Alberta Prevents Cancer committee and placed 10 along the walking path beside the Iron Horse Trail. We are doing the same again this year as we heard many positive comments about them being along the trail.
This year County of St. Paul/Elk Point FCSS is working with Mallaig and Elk Point to test a 10 of the barrels in these locations.
At the end of the day – we want people to start a conversation about food. Where is comes from, how to grow their own, and hopefully how to eat a bit healthier. These barrels have given us an opportunity to work within the community to share that message and to beautify our community in a unique way at the same time. This project is also very popular with the judges for the Communities in Bloom contest which the Town enters every summer. Communities in Bloom judges are coming to St. Paul Aug.1 and we trust the barrels will again be a highlight of their tour.
If you would like information about this project, please call Champions for Change chairperson Penny Fox at 780-645-5782.
