RUMFORD – When Project NOW approached the newly formed Interact Youth Rotary Group to get involved in a community garden, they jumped at the idea.

“We felt it was a good starting project, thought it would be fun and a good community project,” said the group’s president, Marc Gagne, soon to be a senior at Dirigo High School.

Amanda Pidacks, Interact’s secretary, also a member of Dirigo’s senior class, had been involved with gardens with her grandfather. “I thought I could learn from this,” she said.

Now, eight weeks later, the 12- by 25-foot vegetable and flower garden at Swainbrook Apartments is producing all kinds of veggies. The carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers are growing near a backdrop of brightly colored sunflowers and calendulas. A row of peppers is doing well, along with basil, chives and other herbs. The harvest is coming in.

To get to this late summer abundance took a lot of work by many people. Interact members worked with Sarah Coolidge, coordinator of Project NOW, a program aimed at improving the health of River Valley residents through promotion of exercise, nutritious foods and stopping smoking. The seeds were donated by Johnny’s Selected Seeds of Albion.

“It was a perfect project,” she said.

The Interact group worked out a schedule for weeding, watering and, in general, taking care of the garden.

Local backyard gardeners from the area, such as Lynn Ramsey, Louise Stickney and Lynn Richards, have also helped out. So, too have two residents of Swainbrook, Rita and John Wyman. Lifelong Rumford residents, they’d always planted gardens before they moved into the senior citizen apartment complex.

“We’ve done a little weeding and attended all the meetings,” said Rita. “It’s a nice thing for the young people to get involved in.”

Residents at the complex are invited to pick the produce now coming out of the garden. Whatever is leftover will be sold at a mini-farmstand that the Interact group will set up in front of the Merry-Go-Round store in Mexico on Saturday. All money received will go toward the group’s next community service project and an international project.

As for the garden, though, Gagne is pleased with his group’s first try.

“We hope to have a garden every year,” he said.

eadams@sunjournal.com

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