A group of Newmarket entrepreneurs were willing to get their hands dirty to volunteer at the community garden at Main Street and London Road.
Entrepreneurs In Motion (EIM) is a Newmarket Chamber of Commerce group made up of about 20 local business people.
“As a group, we are there to network, get to know each other, get to know each other’s business and provide opportunities for referrals,” said Richard Mewhinney, chairman of the EIM and local mortgage broker.
Members of the chamber who are looking for networking opportunities are welcome to join the group, which meets weekly.
The "very engaged" group meets every Friday at 8 a.m., Mewhinney said, adding they have been meeting virtually during the pandemic.
“We prefer to meet face to face, we’re looking forward to getting back to meeting face to face,” he said.
On Friday, Sept. 3, they were able to do just that at the London and Main Community Garden.
A number of their members were there bright and early to pull weeds, lay down mulch, and more.
“The general nature of the group is to be very involved in the community in various aspects,” Mewhinney said.
The idea to visit the garden came from Nina Doiron, who is a member of EIM and sits on the board of directors at the York Region Food Network, which runs the community garden.
“Rather than just meet every week, sometimes we do field trips so that we can get out to the community, see what the community is doing,” she said of the EIM.
Doiron said she had told her colleagues in the group about the food network before, but thought this would be a chance for them to get their hands dirty.
“I thought this would be a really good opportunity to come because some of the members have been to the fundraising events but never really knew what York Region Food was about and I really wanted them to learn that because we do such great work around the community,” she said.
The EIM was the first organized group to volunteer at the community garden in Newmarket since the pandemic began.
“It’s exciting to see people out and a lot of people, even if they’re from the Newmarket community have said ‘oh, we drive by this regularly but have never really stopped, so it’s a great opportunity to get people exposed to what’s happening in the community,” said Kate Greavette, executive director of the York Region Food Network.
She said the garden, which has been operating for six years, is the network’s longest running project.
Volunteers and members in Newmarket typically go every week to help maintain it.
“Everyone works together on the garden and then the harvest is shared, so anyone who participates in the garden gets access to the harvest,” Greavette said. “This one’s really about bringing people together, building social connections, giving people an opportunity to become members and then also building food skills.”
Ward 5 Councillor Bob Kwapis was also lending a hand alongside EIM.
“Isn’t it great to see the community coming together like this,” he said.