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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, April 21, 2016 | 12 Blueberry Fields community garden supports HSH by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff A 5,000 sq. ft. patch of unused lands located in the northwest part of the Upper Oakville Shopping Centre is being transformed into a community garden. Blueberry Fields Community Garden, near Upper Middle Road and Eighth Line, will be a fresh new take on urban gardening design to benefit families supported by Home Suite Hope (HSH), a local charity that provides housing and social services for single-parent families in Halton who are facing homelessness. With plans to officially open May 14, the garden already boasts four dozen blueberry plants. When complete, it will have pathways and 16 raised beds, about 150 sq. ft. in size, to make it easy to plant, water, weed and harvest. Stockstill's idea Ken Stockstill, Upper Oakville Shopping Centre's long-time superintendent, who came up with the idea for the community garden, says urban gardening is a "huge passion" for him and as such, seemed like the best way for him to help make a difference in the community. Upon coming across HSH and learning about the work it does, he said it seemed like a worthy cause to partner with. "I was sold on Home Suite Hope as soon as I heard about the work it is doing," stated Stockstill, an urban farmer with years of agricultural gardening experience, in a media release. Completely organic garden "Blueberry Fields will be a completely organic garden with all items grown being donated to the charity," he added. The garden, which will grow everything from lettuce to corn, will use compost manure as fertilizer and will use natural methods for pest and weed control. One raised bed has already been dedicated to local school children as their own space to grow whatever they wish. Upper Oakville Shopping Centre is encouraging everyone to get involved in the volunteer-based garden program by digging in and getting their hands dirty. HSH CEO Michelle Pommells said she's delighted Upper Oakville Shopping Centre has chosen to partner with HSH on a "truly original concept." "The Blueberry Fields Garden will likely double our families access to fresh produce during the growing season," she stated in the media release. "With the dramatic rise in food prices, having access to the garden's healthy produce is going to make a real difference to our families' wallets, not to mention their nutrition and health." Blueberry Fields Community Garden at Upper Oakville Shopping Centre, at Upper Middle Road and Eighth Line, is a fresh new take on urban gardening design to benefit families supported by Home Suite Hope (HSH), single-parent families in Halton who are facing the prospect of homelessness. | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) CUT-A-THON Sunday, April 24, from 11am ­ 4pm 3rd annual 100% Minimum $15 donation 146 Lakeshore Rd.W. · 905.338.6333 Monday to Sunday : From 7:00 am to 3:00 pm of proceeds benefiting Halton Women's Place Uptown Hair Spa River Glen Mews Plaza, 2530 Sixth Line, Oakville, ON · 905-257-8998