BRUNSWICK — William Cullina, director of the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, will speak about native plants at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 17, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 27 Pleasant St.
Admission is $10 and proceeds will benefit the Tom Settlemire Community Garden, opened by the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust (BTLT) in May 2012. The community garden provides demonstration gardens, gardening space for individuals and a local food bank, and therapeutic gardening opportunities for eldercare facilities and nonprofits.
Seating is limited and tickets can be purchased in advance from the BTLT office (108 Maine St., Brunswick) or by calling 729-7694. For more information, contact Linton Studdiford at lintonstuddiford@gmail.com or 798-5899 or Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust at info@btlt.org or 729- 7694.
Cullina has been widely recognized outside of his position for his expertise in horticulture, particularly on native plants that he will discuss in his BTLT talk. “Native Plants in Context: Ecology, Diversity and Interconnection,” will focus on the importance of relationships in the natural world and offer sustainable approaches to gardening and living.
The Tom Settlemire Community Garden is located at Crystal Spring Farm in Brunswick. It was built with the help of more than 100 volunteers and all plots were committed in its first season. Next year, BTLT will increase the number of individual plots from 72 to 80 and expand the Common Good bed where Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program volunteers raise produce for families at risk of hunger. Last fall, more than half a ton of organic produce was harvested from the Common Good bed alone.
“We have just scratched the surface of the garden’s potential to offer hands-on, experiential education,” said BTLT Executive Director Angela Twitchell. “Looking forward, we hope to develop educational programming for students and adults and continue to facilitate therapeutic gardening opportunities.”
In addition to expanding size and space, BTLT plans to install a drip irrigation system in the Common Good bed to facilitate watering and increase yield. In a continued effort to support community members, BTLT is also working on a pilot program to offer subsidized plots to lowincome families.
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