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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind's Square Foot Garden project celebrated the end of a successful season with a feast at the Coast Fraser Hotel on Sept. 19.

Randy McBride, Norma Jarvis, Rosanna Strong and Margaret Fillion, from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind's Square Foot Garden project, sit in the garden on Sept. 19. The project celebrated the end of the gardening season at the Coast Fraser Hotel on Thursday with a luncheon made with fresh fruits and vegetables from the garden. - Cody Punter/NNSL photo

More than 20 clients and volunteers gathered for the meal, which consisted of hearty soups and cake made with ingredients fresh from the garden across the street.

"The rumour is the soup is amazing and that's why there's such a good turnout this year," joked Norma Jarvis, regional manager for the CNIB in NWT.

The garden caters to people who have disabilities which impair either their movement or their sight.

"I know a lot of seniors love gardening and if they lose their sight or their mobility it's devastating," said Jarvis.

The garden consists of 12 planter boxes, which are configured in a circle, each box representing an hour on a clock. The arrangement helps people who are visually impaired to find their way around the garden.

Jarvis said the project has gradually been adding elements to make the garden more user friendly. This year saw the addition of ergonomic benches and a new garden shed. The space between the gardens, which used to be filled with gravel, was also paved to make it wheelchair accessible.

Jarvis said donations from city businesses and hundreds of volunteer hours over the last few years made the garden possible.

"It really is a community project," said Jarvis.

This year, the garden had four clients gardening their own plots with the help of 12 volunteers.

One of the clients, Randy McBride, lost mobility after he suffered a stroke as a result of being cross-checked in the neck during a hockey game in 2007.

Before he was injured, McBride was an avid gardener. However, the stroke caused him to lose use of his left arm and he also has difficulty with his mobility.

When he was invited to CNIB's end-of-season luncheon last fall, he jumped at the opportunity to start gardening again the following year.

"I haven't looked back," said McBride. "It's been outstanding ever since."

McBride said the volunteers and the simple layout of the garden make a huge difference for someone with a disability.

He said he has even had children come off the street to help him garden from time to time.

"They get to learn a little about gardening as well," said McBride.

Margaret Fillion, who is visually impaired and also suffers from spinal arthritis, depends on a walker to get around. In order to make it easier for her to garden, Fillion was given a plot that was raised to the height of her waist so she did not have to bend.

She also had a volunteer come to her house to pick her up when she wanted to go to the garden.

"That's really going out of your way to help people," said Fillion. "I think above and beyond is how you would say it."

Rosanna Strong, co-ordinator and a volunteer, said the garden project will have several other improvements next summer. One of the changes will be the addition of three more raised gardens to increase the number of wheelchair-accessible plots.

Strong is hoping the improvements will encourage more people who struggle with disabilities to sign up for a plot for next year.

McBride said that being able to garden once a week gives him something to look forward to and he has already booked his plot for next summer.

"Things like this make it all worthwhile," he said.

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