The Earthwise Society in Tsawwassen is getting $20,000 in federal funding for seniors, Delta MP Carla Qualtrough announced on Tuesday, Aug. 15.
The funding, which comes through Canada’s New Horizons Seniors program, will go to support Earthwise’s Garden Buddies program, which pairs a volunteer with a senior to help them garden at home
“We think that it’s really important to make sure that everybody as you age has a place to go to be active and contribute to the community, and that’s exactly what these kind of activities do,” Qualtrough said.
According to Earthwise’s executive director Patricia Fleming, the program is senior-led, allowing younger and more able seniors to give back to their more isolated counterparts.
“We just think its fantastic to get people who are always in their own space interacting with the community,” Fleming said. “So this is a really inclusive opportunity for people like that.”
Although the program is largely based in South Delta, Fleming said Earthwise does have North Delta volunteers who come down to participate.
Garden Buddies has two streams: “at Home” and “on the Go.” The $20,000 will go to support Garden Buddies on the Go, which buses seniors down to the Earthwise Garden in Tsawwassen, by creating more areas in the garden for people to sit, rest and socialize.
“Part of what this [funding] is going to be doing is just facilitating these kinds of programs,” Fleming said. “So the funding to create the rest stations is so when they do come here and visit, there’s lots of places to sit and have conversations and interact with each other, because part of visiting the garden is about socializing too.”