Greetings, fellow Oak Lawnians, and happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have an enjoyable day with your families.
The Oak Lawn Park District is contemplating the idea of creating a community garden and would like to get your feedback.
Dolly Foster has been the park district’s landscape horticulturist for nine years. Wanting to further explore the garden possibility, Foster thought the first order of business would be to share the idea with the community. She wanted to find out if residents are supportive, so she created a survey to capture their feedback. The result is a community garden survey that includes 10 questions.
“I wasn’t sure there would even be an interest in the garden. We’ve already received 56 responses, and I’m delighted that we’ve received overwhelming support for the garden,” Foster said.
Although the garden still is in the discussion stages, Foster already is thinking about how it could benefit the community. Produce harvested there can be donated to a local food pantry, for instance.
She envisions a multiuse garden where, besides growing produce to donate, residents from Oak Lawn and surrounding communities can rent a 4-foot-by-10-foot garden bed to grow other plants, flowers or produce. She expects the garden to be open from spring until well into the fall, possibly even November.
There has been no decision yet about a possible location, however.
Foster is very excited about future possibilities.
“The garden will require a half-acre, and if all goes as planned, the garden could open as early as 2016,” she said. “The garden will have four sections: one section that is ADA-accessible (for those with disabilities), one section for the food pantry, a third for rental beds, and the fourth will be a garden in the center of the whole lot, possibly a pollinator garden, and maybe some rain barrels and, eventually, we’d like to have some type of shelter.”
Foster isn’t stopping there. If the garden proceeds as she hopes, she is interested in eventually offering a variety of educational programs at the site. Topics might include healthy eating and cooking, gardening and others.
The garden will be a bit of an undertaking initially, and Foster is well aware that the success of this project, as with other park district programs, will require a group of dedicated volunteers.
“We want it to be a pretty garden,” she said, “and hopefully by the third year most of our stuff will be in place — at least I’m hoping. We have a lot of really good volunteers at the park district.”
Foster said she’s working closely with Oak Lawn village forester Matt Basile, with whom she has worked on other projects. For now, they are throwing ideas around for the garden. She also has been working with the University of Illinois Extension, which provides a wealth of educational programs to Illinois communities and residents.
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If you are interested in participating in the community garden survey, visit the Oak Lawn Park District’s website at www.olparks.com and look for it under the “What’s New” tab, or visit the “Oak Lawn Parks Gotta Get Gardening” page on Facebook.
‘Celebrity’ announcements
Here are this week’s “celebrity” announcements: Happy eighth birthday to Sofia McQuaid, from her parents, Lynette and Todd, Sydney, Jimmy and grandparents, Joan and Mike Fahey. Happy birthday to Ryan Charles Soch, who is turning 9, from his parents, Ralph and Michelle, Morgan, and grandparents, Mary and Rog Sutton and Maryann and Richard Soch. Happy 13th birthday to Kelley Lakawitch, from her parents, who send her their love as she becomes a teenager.
Caitlin Gallagher’s parents, Mary and Dan, and Kevin wish her a happy 15th birthday. Carol and Lou Opitz send their grandson, Bryan Metelski, happy 15th birthday wishes. Happy sweet 16th birthday to Gianna Thorell, from her parents, Nina and Bob. Happy 18th birthday to Blake Zwartz, from his parents, Dylan and Brooke. Glen and Alicia Rylko send birthday wishes to their son, Patrick, on his 25th.
Happy birthday to Jacob Andruk-Dantone, who is turning 25, from his parents, and Zachary and Nathaniel. Brian Brejcha’s parents, Cindy and Bill, and Kevin, wish him a happy 29th birthday. Happy birthday to Ryan Gornik, from his family. Birthday wishes go out to Lisa Keysboe, from her parents, Theresa and Wally Antonowicz. Happy birthday to Dorothy Mungia, from her husband, Sal, and their children.
Loving birthday wishes go out to Lisa Lopez, from Jose, Jennifer, Monica and Bo. Eleanore Erickson’s husband, Carl, and their family wish her a happy birthday. Happy birthday to Tom Salsala, who is turning 68, from his wife, Chris, and their children, John and Michelle. Happy 72nd birthday to William Petzel, from Margaret, his sons, Erica and Charlotte.
Wedding anniversary wishes go out to the following couples: Sal and Dorothy Mungia on their 43rd anniversary, and my parents, John and Rose Marie Leon, on their 47th anniversary.
Keep your fellow Oak Lawnians informed about birthdays, special events or special “stuff” going on with your family or within the community. Contact me at (708) 899-9544 or email me at [email protected].
Until next time …
Cheryl Petzel is a freelance writer who covers the Oak Lawn community.