Family Services using donation to revamp Children’s Garden

With a generous donation from Conexus, the Moose Jaw Family Services team can finally look into installing a working pathway to the gazebo in the Children’s Garden. 

The garden is a green space that Young Parent Program coordinator Vanessa Schaefer would love to see spruced up for a number of reasons. 

“One of those services [we offer here] is that we have families that come and visit, where the kids are in foster care,” said Schaefer. “We want to be able to get this into a more green space so that they can come and visit with their families in a nice open area, instead of being stuck in a stuffy room.”

Representatives from Conexus — Matthew Sapp, Agriculture Business Solutions area manager, and Dina Holoien, branch manager at the High Street location — stopped by the garden to present Chaefer with the $2,500 cheque on June 17. 

Schaefer admits the garden isn’t at its usual state of green yet, as the painfully dry weather has offset their spring planting rituals. But with this donation, Shaefer is hoping to get started on the pathway project as soon as possible.  

“We're totally excited to be able to re-do the path for the little guys to be able to get in here, to sit down and have picnics and visits and all sorts of things,” said Schaefer. 

The perimeter of the garden has been set aside for planting, which has evolved from simply providing healthy veggies to families into a social gathering of sorts. Parents and kids come in and plant with volunteer Owen Tillie, a student from the University of Saskatchewan College of Horticulture, and MJFS assistant gardener James Szwagierczak.

“For myself, it's super cool to be able to teach the young parents that normally wouldn't get a chance to do this sort of thing, how to do this sort of thing,” said Tillie.

“It's always great, being able to teach them, because it's all about sustainability,” said Szwagierczak.

“With Owen coming, not only have I learned, but I'm watching as the little guys just get right in there; they copy him and follow him, and it's so great to watch,” added Schaefer.

The garden was built seven years ago, and discussion of upgrading the path into the gazebo has been on the table for about four years.