The Kennebunk Community Garden on West Kennebunk Animal Welfare Society land is funded by the town, volunteer service, donations and grants. This is our second growing season offering garden plots at a reasonable fee to all who wish to grow vegetables and herbs and to provide fresh, organic produce to local food banks and to those individuals and families going through hard times.

The community garden committee is grateful for the support from town and private individuals and businesses. We are also appreciative for the new garden tool shed that talented Kennebunk High School students designed, built and finished in time for our second season.

Imagine our shock and disappointment to discover that it was vandalized less than a week after being delivered. From the beginning it was the intention of the committee to create this community program for everyone in our town to enjoy whether they had a garden plot or to visit and talk to their neighbors. We are still committed to that goal. Vandalism is a selfish affront to the labor and funds that an individual or in this case a town puts into a creative project.

Vandalism is on the rise in Kennebunk and each of us must be willing to do our part to suppress it. Parents should know where children are and what they are doing. They should teach them to value themselves and others. Teens should keep pressure on peers and encourage them to do constructive work rather than destroy someone’s efforts. For the rest of us, we must take a bit of time from our busy schedules and approach a teen or group and engage them in conversation. I think too often teens think they are apart from our community rather than a part of it. It is up to us to turn that around or we will forever be picking up broken shards of glass and cleaning up graffiti.

RJ Mere

Kennebunk Community Garden Committee