The Town of Bennett celebrated the opening of their new community garden and the unveiling of a community mural wall art project on Wednesday, June 17, 2020.
The community garden and the mural wall are both located in the Town’s Civic Center Park.
The Town of Bennett was awarded two grants in 2019 to create the community garden. Those grants were awarded from Adams County Open Space and LiveWell HEAL Cities and Towns.
In that same year, the Town worked together with the Bennett School District FFA to create the design of the garden. Their research and suggestions ultimately helped shape the current layout of six raised garden beds, two of which are ADA compliant, with generous walkways in between.
Taeler Houlberg, Assistant to the Town Administrator, said “The Bennett Community Garden has been a goal of the community for quite a while. We [the Town] were so happy to work with residents to make that dream a reality and to see the garden be loved by so many. “
Currently there are seven gardeners/families responsible for planting and caring for the garden. The Town hopes in future years they will be able to expand the number of garden beds to include more residents.
The community mural wall art project was designed and curated by local artist, Christopher Deaver. The mural of the tree is made up of pieces of wood that were decorated by community members at events like Bennett Days and Trunk-or-Treat in 2019.
The community mural wall was also funded by an Adams County Open Space grant.
“This project was about the community, so the mural needed to be a piece that represented these hard working people,” Deaver said. “Living on the corridor for a couple of years, I learned first-hand just how resilient and connected everyone is out here. A tree; with its natural beauty, strength and solid link to life became the subject of choice to portray the town of Bennett. I organically painted the branches of the trees as a way to allow for freedom and growth like that of the town itself, the detailed lines of infinite black ink depict the lineage and history of the community and the leaves, growing through the seasons, which the town's people actually came together to put their mark on, represents the future of the young generations whom one day will plant their own trees, helping the corridor to grow. This was a special project for me. It meant more than I could truly express until now and I am forever grateful. “
