Freshly placed property markers delineate the angles and edges of what was once a vibrant, productive, large community garden serving the population of Lund, starting sometime around 1920 until approximately World War II.
On one, sometimes two, sides of the triangular white survey stakes is the word “lease.” Landowner Steve Lawn recalled a conversation he and his wife Diane had with Karl Larson, then in his 80s, back in the early 1990s. “He said, ‘It would make an old man very happy’ if we [would] let it be Lund’s community garden again,” said Steve. “Di hugged him and looked over his shoulder at me and said, ‘We promise.’”
Steve brought up the idea at a 2014 public meeting for the Powell River Regional District (PRRD) Electoral Area A official community plan (OCP).
The idea for the garden was presented at a Lund Community Society meeting and a committee was struck including Sandy Dunlop, editor of The Barnacle, Lund’s quarterly publication.
The Historic Lund Hotel was built in 1905 by the Thulin brothers. As the population in Lund grew, the hotel flourished. By the mid-1920s a gardener was on staff and he farmed the area where Lund Automotive and Outboard now stands. Produce from that garden was used by the hotel, while produce from the neighbouring community garden, now bordered by Emil and Finn Bay roads, supported the over 250-strong local population.
Decades ago, drainage channels were dug by hand and Thulin Creek, which went across the land, was rerouted along the perimeter. Back then, “It was a different era,” said Steve. The garden is now covered in hardhack (Spiraea douglasii), a shrub with shallow roots that form a thick mat at the surface.
The updated Area A OCP was adopted in December 2015. In it, the entire garden has been designated as riparian area, governed by the Riparian Area Regulations and Fish Protection Act, and is a Development Permit Area I under the Local Government Act.
Dunlop said her group totally supports the riparian regulations, but wishes legislation did not stand in the way of the garden. Steve remembered the PRRD being very excited about the idea in 2009, before the regulations were put in place.
“[We] are just recreating something that for parts of four decades was Lund’s community garden,” said Steve.
PRRD manager of planning Laura Roddan said the community garden idea has come up at various Area A OCP public meetings.
“This concept of a community garden came up over and over again and everybody likes the idea,” said Roddan.
To comply with the riparian regulations and development permit application, there will need to be a 30-metre setback from any water courses (wetlands, streams, lakes, creeks) on the property, said Roddan.
This will limit the size of the garden, but it will allow the users to access the historical, rich, food-growing soil. The 30-metre buffer could be relaxed if a qualified environmental professional decides as such in a riparian area assessment, according to Roddan.
Area A director and PRRD board chair Patrick Brabazon is enthused about the garden.
“I thoroughly support the idea of a community garden,” said Brabazon. “I will help any way I can.”
For now, Steve and the Lund Community Society are going ahead with a lease agreement and then they will apply for the development permit.
The permit paperwork is a hiccup in timing, as avid gardeners were wanting to start digging this spring, but the community garden should start to re-materialize in the heart of Lund in the near future.
