RIVER BOURGEOIS - The seeds for a community garden development in eastern Richmond County may have been planted in 2019, but it is only now - following a rocky ride through the COVID-19 pandemic - that the Richmond River Roots Market Garden Society is seeing its efforts fully bloom. 

Telile LJI journalist Adam Cooke paid a visit to the society's hub at the former Catholic glebe house next to St. John The Baptist Church in River Bourgeois. The operation includes a full-time greenhouse, a basement growing area, three temporary growing sites that will start taking in crops this spring, and a full plot of farmland across the street from the church. 

As a result, according to Richmond River Roots project coordinator Norma Jean MacPhee, the society has now expanded its growing season to 10 months of the year and is hoping to expand to year-round growing in 2024, even though this year will only be the second full growing season for the five-year-old operation. 

As the society continues its series of workshops and weekly free lunches for community members, MacPhee thanked all three levels of government for financial and administrative support of the Richmond River Roots venture. She added that this support has helped the organization address issues of food insecurity around the Strait Area while encouraging local residents to take matters into their own hands and build up their gardening and cooking skills. 

Also this week on Roundtable:

2:29 - Richmond County Warden Amanda Mombourquette provided an update on the recent provincial scrapping of Nova Scotia's Coastal Protections Act, during the latest Committee of the Whole meeting for Richmond Municipal Council. The warden joined municipal leaders from across the province, as well as Nova Scotia's Environment and Climate Change Minister Tim Halman, at a teleconference held by the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities in late February. 

7:27 - In responding to the 2024-25 provincial budget delivered by Finance Minister and Inverness MLA Allan MacMaster earlier this month, Richmond Warden Amanda Mombourquette noted that the financial document had several items of interest for the county. Chief among these is an investment in expanding cellular and internet service in rural areas, which has been a priority of Richmond County officials for several years. 

38:08 - In her latest presentation to Richmond Municipal Council on behalf of the Seniors Take Action Coalition, the head of the organization, Celeste Gotell, challenged the municipality to take further steps to make the county an age-friendly community for its many seniors.