Comox Valley residents are being asked to roll up their sleeves and get dirty for this year鈥檚 Earth Day.

The Mid Island Farmers Institute and LUSH Valley are helping to co-ordinate the cleanup of the former compost demonstration garden on Saturday, April 22 from 10 a.m. to noon at 4795 Headquarters Rd. All residents, young and old are invited to participate.

For many years, the garden served as a teaching site to educate community members about composting, worm bins, and how to reduce biodegradable waste previously going to the landfill. When the CVRD voted to stop funding the garden, the site was left vacant for a number of years. In 2016, the CVRD renewed a lease for the garden to the Comox Valley School District. The Mid Island Farmers Institute approached the district to help turn the garden into an outdoor classroom for Vanier students.

鈥淪upporting students, especially around horticultural education, is one of the mandates of the Mid Island Farmers Institute鈥�, said Arzeena Hamir, Institute president. 鈥淲e were successful in receiving a grant from Island Health to kick-start the rejuvenation process and we鈥檙e excited to participate with the students and the community to help make the site thrive again.鈥�

Although the site is fully fenced and has access to water, many of the plants have been left unpruned and Scotch broom has invaded the centre of the garden. Volunteers are asked to bring gloves, pruners and shovels to help remove the invasives and build new garden beds. LUSH Valley will be providing refreshments for volunteers.

For more information, please contact Arzeena Hamir at 250-702-5657 or email midislandfarmersinstitute@gmail.com