EMS establishes feeling of normalcy with garden
* Conclusion of a 4-part series
West Fort Hill – Our gardens are often a place of mediation, therapy or healing.
Whether the end results be amazing or disappointing, there are no mistakes, only experiments.
One look at the small garden at Graham County Emergency Services and you get a feeling of hope.
The garden became more than a topic of conversation this spring, when William Allen Rogers took it upon himself to bring his tractor over and clear out a spot for the garden that the crew had been talking about for a couple of years.
“Will cleared the spot and the garden just kind of took off,” said Travis Chastain.
The idea of a garden was to provide a distraction for the EMS employees. A day in the life of an EMT can be stressful, traumatic or long and uneventful. While long and uneventful is the best-case scenario, everyone wants to stay busy and feel that they are contributing to their workplace.
Chastain explained that the medics are never home long enough to have a garden of their own and tend to it as they should, so this garden has provided them with something to do in their off time, a getaway to get their minds off a bad call, as well as a service to the community.
Many hours of planning and research went into the plot on Fort Hill. Chastain’s grandfather always used a scoop of mushroom compost to mix with the soil and fertilizer, so they decided to follow his example and as a result, they have a small garden with plenty of bounty.
Currently, there are cucumbers and tomatoes, with corn and bush beans coming in any day. The crew has squash, eggplant and potatoes to look forward to as well. The garden was planned so that anyone could benefit from working or enjoying the produce. Workers are welcomed to enjoy a snack from the garden or grab a tomato and make a sandwich for lunch. They also plan to donate the surplus to a food bank or The Community Paramedicine Program, which checks on needs in the community and then meets them when possible.
Several groups and individuals provided for this year’s garden from the clearing, the fencing around the garden, the loads of compost and fertilizer to the seeds and plants. When Satterfield’s Briarpatch found out about the garden, they offered help as well. Satterfield’s has already volunteered to help with next year’s garden.
“Ain’t nothing like it; just more of it,” Chastain previewed for next year’s plans.
The EMS base would like to plant less or make the space larger. The garden sits in a spot that receives full sunlight and with the bounty it has produced this year, next year’s plot should be expanded.
There is peace in a garden and a garden can bring a smile to faces young and old. It has been said that gardening adds years to your life and life to your years.
“When the world wearies and society fails to satisfy, there is always the garden” – Minnie Aumonier.