If you’ve happened to walk by our community association in the past few months, you may have seen our new and improved community garden. Expanding our community garden has been a huge undertaking involving many volunteers, donors, and grants. I’d like to recognize the Federal Canada Community Revitalization Fund for their significant grant contribution, as well as Parks Foundation Calgary for providing project support. And, of course, our many donors and partners, including Fresh & Local Market & Kitchens, Ultimate Renovations, Royal Pizza, and Longhorn Landscaping. Most importantly, the garden expansion wouldn’t be possible without the hundreds of hours of service donated by volunteers – so to all of those who have contributed their time, effort, and money – thank you!
With our community garden now expanded, we are looking at other opportunities to invest in our community. Our newest project is a sorely needed upgrade to the small, heavily used playground on 99th avenue, next to the Boardwalk community. We’ve partnered with the City of Calgary, Parks Foundation Calgary, and BDI Playgrounds to upgrade the playground in the summer/fall of 2023. Through the generous support of the City of Calgary and Parks Foundation Calgary, we’ve already raised 60% of the estimated $100,000 it will take to upgrade the playground (yes, playgrounds are very expensive!). We’ll be sending out more information on the new playground design and fundraising campaign in the next month, so please stay tuned, and head over to our website, www.mywillowridge.ca, for the latest news and updates.
Our garden project and playground project are envisioned and made possible by volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering with our community association in any capacity, please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]!
Jason Carling
President, Willow Ridge Community Association
