2022 is The Year of the Garden. This website is worth a look:
Attendance and minutes of last meeting: Present via Zoom were Susan, Gail, Sarah, Magda, Naomi, Barbara.
Gail sent a copy of the minutes to board members prior to the meeting. No changes requested, so minutes adopted as read.
Treasurer’s Report: Bank balance is 7,979.37, with some bottle money outstanding. Much of this money is set aside for special projects, ie. the shed and the Indigenous Garden, as it came from grants that were given for those purposes.
On-line banking is in place and members can pay via Interac transfer to Colwoodgardensociety@gmail.com. No password required, but please put your name and box number in the space for comments.
Magda has downloaded past bank statements to October 2021 on Excel. She will send a statement to board members on the first business day of each month. She will do a draft budget to include provision for lumber soil and the shed. We plan to start fundraising for a lawn mower. There will be a Zoom budget meeting for board members on February 12 at 10:00 a.m.
Membership Report:
Naomi will send a notice that renewals must be done by February 28. This is a two week extension due to Covid. There are 36 people on the waiting list. Magda has received 7 membership fees. If anyone does not have access to Interac, they can arrange with Naomi to pay by cash or cheque. We have about 60 active gardeners.
New business:
Grant received from Gary Pooni – $1,000 to be used for garden society needs. Gail will send a thank you note.
Victoria Horticultural Society micro-grant (applications by Feb 11) Barbara Sibbald will send in application for the Indegenous Garden project.
Signs for indigenous garden – Still in the planning stages
Ramp for disabled access. Barb will contact City Hall about the ramp.
Healing City Soils – Barb was contacted by a teacher in the environmental studies program at Royal Roads. They will test the soil in 10 plots in March and send an analysis in November.
Old business:
Shed progress – Susan will order it from Blue Skies, and tentative date for deliver is March 1.
School beds – There are 4 beds for school use. Naomi will meet with teachers from Dunsmuir in Thursday January 27 to discuss plans, including use and care of the beds over the summer, which has been a problem. Gail will contact Wishart to see if there is interest for this year.
Compost: Once the boxes that are full now are ready to add to gardens, we will dismantle the boxes. Members must take garden waste away with them for disposal.
Locks: There have been numerous problems, and expense. Naomi will remove them and collect the locks and keys to store.
Members need to contribute their time and expertise to make the community garden a success. Kudos to John and Bob who keep the lawn mowed and Sophie who collects bottles for deposit returns. We need someone to trim the trees, as well as more help for the food bank gardens and the indigenous plants garden
Future Meetings: via Zoom at present, in garden asap, Covid permitting.
Second Saturday of each month now through October at 10:00 a.m. All welcome. See you on March 13. Watch for details of Zoom access.
Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.