Deadline to sign up for gardening class is May 15

The Arlee Community Development Corporation is offering classes in gardening and leadership in conjunction with the community garden being planted on Powwow Road.

The series of classes taught by Fred Billings start May 19 and continue from 9-11 a.m. Fridays on a three-weeks-on, one-week-off schedule through Sept. 15. The program is open to people of all ages who want to learn to plant, care for and harvest a garden, and develop their leadership skills. The deadline to sign up is May 15.

“The garden is really starting to come together,” said Shelly Fyant, Food Sovereignty Chair at the Arlee CDC. “We had a lot of volunteers helping us clear the ground on Earth Day, and topsoil has been delivered. Soon we’ll have fencing up and start planting.”

The CDC plans to plant 55 rows of fruits and vegetables and organizers hope to enlist families or individuals to plant and care for each row. Volunteers, community members and the Arlee CDC’s food pantry “will all benefit from the garden’s harvest,” Fyant said.

The Arlee CDC is having a contest to choose a name for the garden. “We’d like to call it something that reflects its beauty, abundance, and its role in helping the community achieve food sovereignty,” said Fyant.

Email foodsovereignty@arleecdc.org or call 406-546-5633 with suggestions. Funding for the garden is provided by No Kid Hungry Share Our Strength, the Gianforte Family Foundation, and the O.P. & W.E. Edwards Foundation.