Center Line

Community garden growing in Center Line

By Brian Louwers
C & G Staff Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Brian C. Louwers Bernadette Helkowski, of Center Line, 67, is a liaison between the Center Line Beautification Commission and the community garden group. Photo by Brian C. Louwers Bernadette Helkowski, of Center Line, 67, is a liaison between the Center Line Beautification Commission and the community garden group.

CENTER LINE — Seeds of community gardening sown two years ago on a vacant city-owned parcel in Center Line are beginning to bear fruit this summer.

“This is our second year. This is a joint effort between the city of Center Line and the Metropolitan Church of the Nazarene,” said Bernadette Helkowski, a member of the city’s Beautification Commission and a master gardener who serves as a liaison between the commission and the Center Line Community Garden group. There are currently 22 plots at the 70-by-70-foot site near the corner of Van Dyke and Dale.

Helkowski and her husband maintain one. So does Center Line Mayor David Hanselman, who has praised the work of the city’s Beautification Commission, called back into active service with the support of volunteers after he was elected mayor.

Center Line City Manager John Michrina said previously that members of the church — which is actually located on Frazho in Roseville — originally approached the city about putting together a garden on city property. Several sites were considered, but the land on Dale was ultimately chosen in 2010, in part because it was fenced in.

Helkowski said the city has been very supportive. Crews maintain the grass, and the city installed water service, which is paid for by the church.

She said volunteers who use the garden meet monthly for a potluck meals as weather permits.

“We enjoy it. Everybody seems to be happy and pleased, and says it’s worth it,” Helkowski said. “Just to have the plot here is great. The camaraderie that has developed between everyone is nice.”

Some of the vegetables grown at the site — including some grown by Hanselman — are given to those in need.

The church supports various groups through its outreach, including Forgotten Harvest and the HOPE Center in Fraser.

To inquire about gardening at the Center Line Community Garden, call City Hall at (586) 757-6800 or the Metropolitan Church of the Nazarene at (586) 778-5010.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Brian Louwers at brianlouwers@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1089.