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Garden plots available

Iola community garden taking applications

By Holly Neumann


The Iola River Road Community Garden is accepting applications for available plots.

Gardeners Ed Staal, Sandy Bostwick and Betty Kuhr are excited to start the new season.

Staal is starting his third season at the garden.

“It is so peaceful and therapeutic coming out here,” he said. “And you know everything that is put into the ground. There are no chemicals used here.”

Bostwick and Kuhr are new to the garden and sharing a plot this season.

“I can’t grow tomatoes in my backyard, so I thought I would give this a try,” said Bostwick.

“I have huge perennial gardens,” Kuhr said. “I don’t have room for vegetables, and working with someone else should be a lot of fun.”

Site Coordinator Sandi Schuettpelz believes the community garden is the best kept secret in town.

“This is a true community project,” she said. “Everyone is willing to help each other. That is what a community garden is all about.”

Forms are available at the Iola village clerk’s office, 180 S. Main St.

The Children’s Garden, for gardeners ages 4-12, is also taking place again this summer.

“A lot of kids don’t know where their food comes from,” said Schuettpelz. “There is an opportunity here for them to see how things grow.”

She recalled seeing the excitement on some of the children’s faces last summer.

“All the children proudly show you what they have grown,” she said. “Last year, this little person had one bean and could not wait for everyone to see it. The kids love it, and it’s a real hands-on experience for them.”

To register or for more information, contact Dorothy Shaver at 715-445-4623 or Schuettpelz at [email protected] or by visiting iolacommunitygarden.com/.

There is a fee of $20 per gardener. It is $50 for three children or more.

Two scholarships are available for children whose families are unable to afford the registration fees.

Children need to be registered by May 15.
IRRCG will also celebrate Earth Day throughout the month of April.

It is collecting all brands of used markers and plastic tabs found on bread and bun bags. These items may be dropped off at the Iola Village Library, 180 S. Main St.

Iola-Scandinavia students are decorating paper bags that will be handed out to customers at Sentry Foods.

“Earth Day was started in Wisconsin by Sen. Gaylord Nelson in 1970, so this is a huge day,” said Schuettpelz. “Mother Nature needs to be taken care of. This is our future.”

Earth Day is observed on April 22.

The community garden is located at 550 River Road, Iola.

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