I have been working in Shoreline since 1995, and a resident since 2000, and my idea for some of that property at Fircrest would be to have Shoreline’s first community garden. Community gardens demonstrate the effectiveness of organic gardening methods, and provide an opportunity for exercise, with health benefits of being out in the sunlight (vitamin D). With an increase of people being cooped up inside their offices or their homes being stuck in front of a computer screen, a community garden would give a wonderful opportunity to our residents to enjoy nature with an added sense of purpose and self-reliance when they come outside to one unified place to garden.
With so many condos and apartment dwellings being built in Shoreline, there are going to be plenty more people in Shoreline with no yards who would love to have access to some ground to nourish their bodies and souls. Excess food could be donated to local food banks/soup kitchens. This would greatly improve the morale and beautify Shoreline. There is an excess of 33 acres at the Fircrest property — surely you could spare just one city lot for a community garden.
Another benefit of community gardens is that they eliminate the cost of transportation of non-local food. This is a very ecological and environmental benefit. Areas of increased photosynthesis from plants growing would be a greater improvement over paved-over areas. People who live nearby could walk or bike to their local community garden, or a small portion of the community garden can be designated for organized community groups to maintain, to help foster life skills of working in a garden. It would be a dream of mine come true when Shoreline finally has a community garden it could be proud of, where fellow gardening residents can come to socialize and give and receive advice on their garden plots. A Shoreline Community Garden Association should form. This is a win-win-win situation for everyone in the Shoreline community. If there are any other Shoreliners who feel as passionately about this issue as I do, let’s make this vision a reality.
Just as the bumper sticker suggests: Think globally, act locally.
Ms Emenke
Shoreline
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