Some Berry Good News...

7/21/2020

Two years ago this July, a large team of volunteers began working to SAVE THE FARM! The historic Hylebos Blueberry Farm Park had been overgrown with blackberry bushes. Teams spent hundreds of hours removing blackberries, weeding, removing rocks & old irrigation pipes. At last years Park Appreciation Day, 100 volunteers planted new blueberry bushes & continued weeding. Last February, master gardeners Jim & Donna Cox

(Founders of Light of Christ Community Garden) hosted a pruning seminar. Participants got lots of hands on experience pruning the bushes under their expert guidance. Mason bees joined the farm. Compost was spread, dead bushes removed, fertile added & lots more weeding happened! New irrigation was installed. Once work began, we started to hear story after story of people in our community that had worked or picked berries there throughout the years. There has been a lot of enthusiasm & community interest in restoring this beautiful city park. While there is still more to be done, we are happy to share some good news. The hard work is paying off & there are lots of beautiful blueberries to prove it! It's not a large farm but there are hopes & plans to expand more in the future. During this time of restoration, the Brooklake Connector Trail was completed & opened. It's located right behind the farm. We hope folks can drop by, enjoy some berries & check out the trail. We Love Our City (several local churches)has loved partnering with the FW Parks Dept & so many volunteers (including Boy Scouts, Todd Beamer DECA, AmeriCorps, Starbucks & community friends & neighbors). A special thanks to Taylor Benson (NW Church) who got this project started!