Bedford man builds community garden for new Canadians

A man in Bedford, N.S. has turned an acre of land behind his home into a community garden for new Canadians. 

Fifteen new Canadian families are growing everything from pumpkins, kale, peas, beans, mustard and a few other things in Mel Slade's back yard. 

"We've developed about 20 gardening plots here. Last year it was all forested so we clear cut the land ... This year we brought in soil and the immigrants have started to plant and it's starting to grow right now," said Slade.

History of helping

Slade has a long history of helping immigrant families from Turkey and Iran. Currently he's helping families from Congo, Nepal, and Bhutan. He and his late wife sponsored immigrant families and helped them become full Canadian citizens. The Bedford man, originally from Newfoundland, developed the garden as a tribute to his wife.

"Over the last 35 years, all of our married life, my wife and I worked with welcoming new Canadians to Canada so this was just a natural progression to do something valuable for them," said Slade.

Slade named the farm Beaton Ridge, after his wife's maiden name.

$10K contest

"She would be absolutely thrilled … to continue working with new Canadians and giving back," said Slade.

Slade's daughter, Mari-Beth Slade, nominated her father for a contest by cereal makers Post Foods. The contest is called Search for Goodness and she thought her father would be the perfect candidate. The grand prize is $10,000.

"My husband and I were eating Shreddies one morning and we looked at the Post Shreddies box and we both thought 'wow, dad is a prime candidate for this.' I think my dad is really going above and beyond," said Mari-Beth.

Grief 'a catalyst to do something great'

Her father said if he won, he would use the money to build a fence to keep deer away. He said he would also install some water pumps and bring in more soil to develop the farm further.

"Even though we lost my mom a year and a half ago, he has really used his grief as a catalyst to do something great in the world," said Mari-Beth.

Ali Kudash, who became friends with Mel Slade and his wife seven years ago after they helped his family, said the garden is a great cause.

"There isn't a day I don't see Mel down here, no matter what the weather," said Kudash. "Seven years ago when we moved here, him and his wife took us in as almost their own children. I just moved in with him after his wife died about a year and a half ago. It's been really good and I'm really thankful."

In the near future, Mel Slade is looking to grow the number of garden plots from 20 to 50.