I'm elated to see the excitement build around the senior center garden in Clearlake. The fact that so many people are rallying around this grassroots effort for a vital community project leads me to think that the garden will be a resounding success.

While the county and city have been working on the community garden's infrastructure, as was reported in a recent article in the Clearlake Observer (June 9, 2010), Linda Burton, Highlands Senior Service Center (HSSC) Director, and David Goolsbee, board member of the Lake County Community Co-op (Co-Op) and CREATE (the public benefit nonprofit arm of the Co-op), have been laying out the detailed plans of the actual garden including the physical design of the space, operating guidelines, and gardener agreements for the individual plots.

Additionally, both have been working physically on the site on things such as facilitating the removal of firewood and installing irrigation.

Donations for the project in the form of plants and tools are beginning to show up at the Center. Barber's Country Farms, Lovie's Garden Emporium and Easter Seals of Northern California are some of the benefactors.

Partnerships are forming, too, including one with the Master Gardeners, who hope to give education classes in the demonstration garden portion of the project. The co-op's Web site (www.lakeco-op.org) details garden ideas and includes a list of items currently needed, contact information for those interested in getting involved, and a list of those that have donated to the effort.

The fact that so many people had germinated the idea at around the same time tells me that the project is a good one. I'm referring to the knowledge that Ms. Burton and Walter Robinson, previous director of HSSC, had been dreaming of a garden for the senior's use for many years.

When Barbarajo Bloomquist stood up and mentioned the co-op's intention of supporting community garden efforts, which spurred the conversation between Jeff Smith and others in attendance at a Judge's Breakfast over two years ago, I was delighted to see the enthusiasm around the project. That type of spontaneous creation effort is at the core of the co-op's principles of co-creation and sustainable projects.

"What does community want?" and "What is community willing to sustain?" are the founding inquiries of the Co-op and its projects. We applaud the county, city and community members for their efforts to create the community garden thus far.

Once the longterm agreement between the city and HSSC is in place, we will be actively enlisting the larger community for ongoing support and participation.

The idea that HSSC will be able to help bridge a food security gap with fresh produce, and community members will be able to grow their own produce when otherwise they wouldn't, is at the heart of one of the co-op's goals – and for that I'm grateful.

JoAnn Saccato, a native of Lake County, holds a master's degree in co-creating sustainable futures and is chair of the Lake County Community Co-op and CREATE. You may reach her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..