'She took care of people': Sask. garden growing community around grief

A couple in Prince Albert is marking 10 years since starting their garden — one that's a place of healing for Bonny Sanderson, and a place to remember her daughter. 

"Jessy was a very beautiful woman. She was high-spirited and she was very giving," Sanderson said. "She loved everything; animals, children. She seemed to just enjoy life."

Sanderson's daughter Jessy died by suicide when she was 21 years old. The year after, Bonny Sanderson started Jessy's Garden — a memorial community garden that now produces food donated to community members in need, schools, churches and a local food bank.

It was her own experience with a food bank that prompted Sanderson to start the garden, located about 20 kilometres east of Prince Albert on Highway 302. 

When Jessy was small, Sanderson said they sometimes used a food bank when they didn't have money for food.

"I remember how devastating it was to walk through those doors and have to ask for food. So I believe that with the giving that Jessy did … what we do here just honours more of what she did when she was alive," Sanderson said. 

Jessy was a caring person who would make sure others were looked after, Sanderson said — from small gestures like getting coffee for co-workers to buying muffins for people who couldn't afford them to make sure they had breakfast.

"She took care of people," she said. "She took care of anyone and everyone that she could."

In the beginning, the garden was a little area that fed around 30 people. Over 10 years, it's grown to the point where it feeds hundreds. 

"We just have to keep enlarging every year," Sanderson said, with a garden that's now reached about four acres. Her husband, Mel, has taken down a number of trees for ground space and they have a number of raised beds.

It's all run through the help of volunteers, Sanderson said. A variety of people are drawn to the garden, she said, including schools that do tours and social workers who bring people out.

"We have families that are healing from grief, from death, and we have children, we have seniors," she said. "We have every walk of life come out here."

When people come out, they experience the community that works there, Sanderson said. 

"They get healing, they get a serenity, love," she said.

"I can't give any more to Jessy," she said. "But this is what I can give to our community. And there's so many children and families that benefit from this."

Sanderson said she didn't foresee the garden becoming as big as it has — but she always dreamed it would. 

"The amount of vehicles and families that come out, it's just amazing," she said.

"I don't want them to come out here having to hold their head down, knowing that they're asking for something that they can't afford. If you can't afford it, it's yours."

If you're experiencing suicidal thoughts or having a mental health crisis, help is available. For an emergency or crisis situation, call 911. You can also contact the Saskatchewan suicide prevention line toll-free, 24/7 at 1-833-456-4566, the Regina mobile crisis services suicide line at 306-525-5333 or Saskatoon mobile crisis line at 306-933-6200.