New Horizons Community Garden Blooms

New Horizons Community Garden Blooms
Becky Maxedon / 27 Feb 2025 / No Comments » Comments

By Becky Maxedon

Content Sponsored By New Horizons

Les Galst was a Lake Havasu City Pioneer who saw a need and figured out a way to fill it.

Galst founded New Horizons Center in 1973, to serve individuals with disabilities. The nonprofit has since provided transportation, daytime activities, licensed residential settings and rehabilitation and more.

He passed away in 2015, and in 2016, New Horizons Center had unused plots of land and decided to grow a public community garden. The garden was named in his remembrance. The garden is Lake Havasu City’s first public community garden.

For six weeks after its inception, New Horizons Center employees, the Mohave County Master Gardeners and community members assembled above-ground planters. Garrett Hanson, of Lake Havasu City, planned the garden layout, placing the beds in a circular pattern imitating a sundial.

Once the beds were assembled, they were filled by donated recycled soil. Each planter box takes around 200 bags of nutrient dense potting soil. Each bed contains its own watering system of soaker hoses.

New Horizons Community Garden

New Horizons clients and volunteers prepare the pavers for installation in the Community Garden. Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

The garden provides an opportunity to create a sense of community by making new friends, educating others, providing a resource for fresh food and a peaceful place to gather together.

Toward that end last year, local Siddartha’s Gardens restauranters Chris and Karla Bennett and Cory Janacek, found a way to give back to the community.

“They approached New Horizons with a conceptual idea, and we went from there,” New Horizons CEO Brooke Russell said.

“This project embodies Siddhartha’s Garden’s core values – nourishing both the body and the spirit, fostering connections, and promoting mindfulness and sustainability,” Chris Bennett said.

He continued, “The community garden will focus on growing a variety of fresh, organic produce, including vegetables, fruits, and herbs. This ties into Siddhartha’s Garden’s focus on using fresh, sustainable ingredients.”

Siddhartha’s Garden’s involvement with the New Horizons Community Garden will be ongoing, leading and managing the restoration process.

Locals gather at the New Horizons Community Garden. Photo courtesy New Horizons

“We’re committed to ensuring the garden remains a sustainable and thriving space where the community can learn, grow, and connect.”

“We want this to be a place where people can come to classes and have educational opportunities. The garden is open to the community, and we want to utilize the space to promote a healthy lifestyle and improved mental health,” Russell said.

“I’d like to say they pay with sweat equity. We want to be good stewards to the community.”

“Our hope is that the garden will inspire greater community engagement and sustainable practices. By working together, we aim to create a space that benefits New Horizons’ clients and the broader Lake Havasu community,” Chris Bennett said.

On Dec. 12, 2024, Siddhartha’s Garden hosted a sensory dinner fundraiser, which raised significant funds to support New Horizons’ mission in general. This was not directly tied to the community garden restoration but rather aimed to help fund the wide range of impactful programs and services New Horizons provides to their clients, according to Chris Bennett.

Siddhartha’s Gardent hosted a fundraiser for the New Horizons Community Garden and is support of New Horizons overall mission in December 2024. Photo courtesy of New Horizons

“We would like to thank the following donors for their generous contributions to the event: Dustin Runyon, MDCAB LLC, Kody Weitzel, Rahnema Law, Cathy Janecek, Jill Dagon and Brett Qualls,” Chris Bennett said.

“Their incredible support is a testament to the generosity and community spirit in Lake Havasu.”

For more information on New Horizons, visit newhorizonslhcaz.org. Visit siddharthasgarden.com to learn more about the restaurant.

Siddhartha’s Garden ready to host New Horizons fundraising dinner. Photo Courtesy of New Norizons

Volunteers work in the New Horizons Community Gardent recently. Photo Courtesy of New Horizons

Volunteers plant the seeds to begin a raised bed at New Horizons Community Garden. Photos courtesy of New Horizons.

New Horizons Community Garden Lake Havasu

New Horizons clients and volunteers prepare the pavers for installation in the Community Garden. Jillian Danielson/RiverScene

 

 

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