LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
If you walk through Schwartz Park in Paris, you will find a community garden curated by Horizon Health and the BeeWell team. The garden serves as an educational tool for individuals curious about gardening or who simply enjoy it. Unfortunately, unknown members of society have taken it upon themselves to vandalize and destroy the garden.
The vegetable heists were a featured discussion during the monthly BeeWell meeting Thursday, Sept. 5.
“I received an email from one of our gardeners that said all of her plots were ransacked and all of her produce was stolen,” said Mary Liz Wright. “We expected some four-legged thievery, but the two-legged thieves are the problem.”
According to Wright and other members of the BeeWell Community team if someone wants or needs produce from within the garden, they need to “just sign up for a plot.”
New vinyl fencing was recently put in place around areas of the garden, thanks to generous donations and the hard work of garden manager Larry Woods, but members of BeeWell are already looking at other security alternatives.
Warren Sperry recommended the group should reach out to Best Buy or a local tech shop to inquire about possibly installing cameras around the area.
“I prefer electrical grounded cameras,” said Sperry.
Wright mentioned that she would reach out to gardeners who have plots in the park to keep up communication about the thievery as well as possible solutions.
Although vegetables are being heisted out of Schwartz Park, BeeWell hopes to bring new plants to Edgar County schools.
Julee Dennis, Wellness Coordinator and Cardiac Rehab nurse at Horizon Health, attended a wellness conference recently. During her time there, she thought of a new idea to enhance school property with an interactive healthy resource. The idea: apple trees.
“I thought, maybe, we just start small. We could put two little apple trees at the schools and get people who could be in charge of them,” said Dennis.
Several members of BeeWell thoroughly enjoyed the prospective project. Wright mentioned how the school could use the fruit grown from the trees in the cafeteria; thanks to, recently made, lenient food source regulations in schools.
Wright and other members recognized the educational value the trees could bring as well. Students could take note of the trees’ changes throughout their time in each school and help harvest the apples once they are ready.
Although the idea is just an idea right now, if BeeWell moves forward with the apple tree initiative, local schools including Chrisman, Carolyn-Wenz, Crestwood, Shiloh and Kansas will be able to enjoy the new amenities.