Margaret, one of our Westminster Manor residents, shows off her plot in the community garden.
In addition to producing affordable housing, Chelsea Investment Corporation is dedicated to improving the quality of life of the people who live in the housing we provide. The Westminster Manor senior living apartments are just one such example.
Our latest endeavor at Westminster Manor is the community garden, wherein residents are able to cultivate, plant, tend and harvest a variety of crops, from food to cutting flowers. Community gardening is defined by its shared nature; gardeners work collectively to manage a garden for shared benefit. Participation in the gardening activities can improve wellbeing through increased social contact. In addition, the benefits of community gardening are believed to extend beyond the participants themselves by creating more cohesive communities through improved physical environments and the sharing of products and labor.
A community garden is defined and described by the American Community Garden Association (the ACGA) as a place that is urban, suburban, or rural. It can grow flowers, vegetables or community. It can be one community plot, or can be many individual plots, as is the garden at Westminster Manor.
A community garden is a wonderful venue for people to gather and enjoy the social aspect of actually growing food: sharing stories, sharing harvests, sharing meals. Communities can really come together across any perceived demographic lines. It brings people together who may otherwise not have become acquainted- cultivating a community, one garden plot at a time.
Margaret gives us a closeup of her home grown sugar snap peas.
Wishing our residents a bountiful harvest!