It was a day for planting and gardening at the Mont St. Joseph Home on Tuesday.
The Mont St. Joseph home was bustling with activity as volunteers and students from around Prince Albert prepared the decks and outdoor areas for the summer season. Jessica Gale Director of Foundation Development for the Mont St. Joseph Foundation said it is part of their Garden of Life event, a mail out fundraiser they host every spring.
“We send mass letters out in the mail, out into the community,” Gale explained. “Folks make wonderful donations. and it all goes towards the greenscape and all the flowers on the 14 decks and living areas, outdoor living areas for our residents.”
Tuesday was the big day as they prepared the decks out outdoor spaces with their planting bee.
The Wellness 10 class from Carlton was the first group to help. They moved pots filled with dirt and plants to each deck at Mont St. Joseph. Gale said that there are over 150 pots to be delivered to the 14 decks.
“We’ve got support from Carlton Comprehensive High School, who came over to help us get things set up this morning. Arthur Pechey School is coming to help do some planting this morning and then our families are coming this afternoon to work with our residents,” Gale said.
Gale said that the plants help make the outdoor spaces a better experience for families.
“We call them our outdoor oasis,” she said. “It’s amazing when you sit outside and you’ve got all the colour and the smells of the flowers and everything else. Our families spend the majority of the summertime with our residents out on the decks.”
Gale said donations come in from around the community. On May 27, it was the Elks Royal Purple, who donated $750.
Pots sit on the deck behind the Wellness 10 Class from Carlton Comprehensive High School as they helped to set up plants as part of the planting bee for Garden of Life at the Mont St. Joseph Home on Tuesday.
“We’ve got such a great relationship with the community and especially the Elks Royal Purple,” gale said. “They came and made a donation last week and we put it towards helping out with the purchase of all the flowers that are going around the home.”
Gale said that the Foundation has made the fundraiser a special event each year.
“Our foundation really took hold of this about three years ago, four years ago and has really made it into a big event for the home and for the residents as well,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of really good support in the community.”
The plants come from Prince Albert nursery Brayden’s Greenhouse.
“Betty and her crew deliver them right to the home for us and she does such an amazing job in making this place look pretty good for us,” Gale explained.
