Dawson Trail Dispatch
Celebrating Over 25 Years of Service to Our Communities!
Community Garden Planned for Richer
The community garden will be located behind the Richer Young at Hearts Hall and will feature garden plots, raised beds, vertical gardens, and possibly even a greenhouse. Submitted photos
A group of local service organizations has joined forces to launch a community garden in Richer, with plans for it to be ready this spring. Dan Guetre, President of the Richer Community Club, has been developing the idea over the past seven months, dedicating time to fundraising, planning, and refining the vision. “Every community has families facing food insecurity,” said Guetre. “It was like the stars aligned for this project—the pieces just started coming together.” When Guetre first shared his vision— which includes a traditional community garden, a “take a garden home” initiative, and skill-building workshops—the
Richer Young at Hearts Club and the Accueil Kateri Centre, the local food bank, quickly offered their support. Since then, the project has grown to include the Richer Métis Local, the Richer Recreation Committee, and even the Reeve and some councillors from the RM of Ste. Anne. “We’ve all worked together to secure funding for the project,” added Guetre, who noted that the Richer Community Club will coordinate and manage the pooled resources. “We’ve successfully facilitated many projects like this before. With so many talented and creative people involved, this one is sure to succeed—many hands make light work.”
The community garden will be located behind the Richer Young at Hearts Hall and will feature garden plots, raised beds, vertical gardens, and possibly even a greenhouse. “Troy Barkman, Vice President of the Richer Community Club, has offered to design the garden layout,” said Guetre. Barkman, who also owns the award-winning Paradise Landscaping, is excited to help bring the concept to life. “With his boots on the ground, Troy is going to be a huge asset to this project.” A unique component of the initiative involves additional raised garden beds that families can sign out for the season and use at home. Continued on Page 2...
May 2025
Southeast Municipalities Learn of Projects Funding During Earth Day The Manitoba government is supporting locally led initiatives with over $2 million in funding to support projects that help fight climate change and a half dozen southeast municipalities are benefiting as they were awarded a total of $345,900 for various projects. “Protecting our environment is a priority for our government,” said Environment and Climate Change Minister. “We know that by working together we can make real change. Our government is committed to investing in locally led initiatives that will help to tackle climate change and create a better future for future generations. The Village of St. Pierre-Jolys was awarded $145,000 to create and implement a community home energy use map, and planning for expansion. In addition, they also received $15,000 to help them with a community-based climate plan project. The Town of Niverville, the City of Steinbach and the RM of Taché were also awarded $15,000 each for their community-based climate plan projects. The RM of Ritchot will receive $141,000 to expand its network of EV charging stations with an estimated additional 23 installations. The RM of Hanover was successful in securing $8,900 towards two Level II EV Charging stations. “Our government is committed to taking real action to fight climate change and the transition to electric vehicles will help drive down emissions,” said Moyes. “As more Manitobans look to make the switch to electric vehicles, there is a growing need to ensure reliable charging infrastructure in strategic locations.”