As the Garden Grows, So Does the Gardener
Back in early June, the Megan House Foundation was fortunate to receive a $10,000 grant from NETSCOUT’s “Heart of Giving” campaign. The money, awarded by the Greater Lowell Community Foundation Center for Business Philanthropy, was intended to create a backyard garden that employees of NETSCOUT and residents of Megan’s House would help create behind the Berry Road home.
Two months later, that garden is beginning to take shape.
What was once a heavily wooded area has been cleared and a retaining wall constructed thanks to the generosity of Saba Landscaping. Beginning August 2nd and continuing each Tuesday through the 16th, the Megan’s House residents are working side by side with volunteers from the Westford, MA company to fill the area with loam, lay the stone dust which marks the patio and walkways, and build the boxes and raised beds to grow the produce.
When the landscaping is complete, Mill City Grows, a local non-profit fostering food justice through increased access to land, locally grown food and education, will join the effort to help residents grow crops of their choice in their beautiful, new garden.
The young women have already exhibited their “green thumbs” this summer, growing cucumbers, peppers and other vegetables in a small area just outside the back door of the house. This new effort provides a much greater plot of land on which to plant and grow food, while also helping to beautify the property.
The project ties perfectly into the Megan House holistic approach to recovery. As the young women acquire life skills, such as gardening, they too grow on their journey to lead fulfilling, independent lives. In the process, they’ve also come to appreciate the tremendous collaborative efforts of numerous Megan House Foundation partners in helping the garden project become reality.
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