The Badlands Community Gardens Society has big plans for a very visible park in the downtown core.
PetroCanada Park sits at the corner of 2nd Street West and 3rd Avenue West in downtown Drumheller. Communities in Bloom has taken care of the site and has installed “Munchy” the topiary dinosaur, and often during Christmas, the park is adorned with lights.
The Badlands Community Garden Society has been working hard to make the Heritage Garden a reality and this spring is ready to break ground.
The garden will serve as place to showcase native prairie plants in landscaping.
“Those beautiful plants out there are not all weeds, many are very pretty and they do quite well here because they are adapted to the conditions,” said Chris Marion, president of the Badlands Community Gardens Society.
It will also demonstrate xeriscaping, a technique of gardening and landscaping that reduces or eliminates the need for supplemental irrigation.
“We’re hoping some people will pick up some of the ideas and use them in their own yards,” she said.
The society wants to make the park usable to residents and visitors.
“The park is not overly exciting right now, and it is hot because there is no shade, and there are very few people that use it,” she said.
The new design will incorporate shade. Because it is so close to a main thoroughfare, there is traffic noise and dust. The design will help mitigate this, making it a more pleasurable park to use.
Other amenities will include wheelchair accessible pathways, a rock garden, a pergola and bench, and a shaded picnic area.
“We want to make it more interesting for people to go there,” said Marion.
The project is spearheaded by the society, with Communities in Bloom, Greentree School, Adult Literacy, Olds College and the Town of Drumheller.
The society secured an $18,000 grant to make it a reality, and three student landscape designers from Olds College helped in the design to the garden.
The society presented the plan to town council and they are supportive. Mayor Terry Yemen explains currently the town has a lease to use the site with PetroCanada, and it can be terminated within 30 days. The town is planning to meet with PetroCanada in hopes of changing the provision to allow the site more long term security.
Groundbreaking on the site is scheduled for April 21, and the society will be hosting work bees for volunteers throughout the summer to come and help. It is a great way for older members of the community to share their knowledge of plants and gardening.
Before this, the society is planning a public open house on Thursday, March 10 at 7 p.m. On March 26 at 2 p.m. the Drumheller Public Library with the Badlands Community Gardens Society, Communities in Bloom, and the Drumheller Garden Club have invited gardening guru and author Donna Balzer for a book signing. They are also hosting a xeriscaping workshop on April 19.
They will also be at the Drumheller Sports, Recreation and Arts Expo on March 10.
More information can be found at www.badlandsgardens.ca.