Image: Glen Alan / People take in the sunny skies at a container gardening event earlier this year at Fantasy Farms in Chilliwack. Another free gardening event meant to get kids into food planting will be held next month in Chilliwack.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Free gardening event

Chilliwack families invited to attend free container gardening event to learn to grow food

Oct 30, 2025 | 1:07 PM

CHILLIWACK — Chilliwack resident Debbie Walker hasn’t given up on her goal of getting more families interested in container gardening as a way of keeping food insecurity at bay.

In fact, she and Gary Moran of Fantasy Farms plan to ramp up their efforts to see families supplement their food sources through container gardening.

After hosting their first successful event in March, which saw 60 people register in less than 48 hours, they plan to hold another event on container gardening on Saturday, November 8 from 10 a.m. to noon at 9423 Gibsons Road (Fantasy Farms) in Chilliwack.

The container gardening event is designed to educate and jump start food security programs geared towards students ages 5-12 years of age.

Image: Glen Alan / Attendees at the March 2025 event at Fantasy Farms.

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“We have so many hamper, pantry, and backpack programs available begging for donations that they simply cannot keep up with the demand,” Walker told Fraser Valley Today.

She said she decided it was time to stop the madness and find solutions to eliminate the need for food supports.

“In this day and age, and while we are located in one of the most fertile sections of the Province, it is unacceptable to continue to function in this manner, and let’s get children excited about the ability to supplement food sources by growing container gardens,” she said.

While both Fantasy Farms and Translucent Publicity have limited resources, they were thrilled to learn that one of the local Rotary Chapters stepped up to provide partial funding so that they could have a portable hand-washing station. The unit is small in stature to accommodate accessibility and children’s heights.

Rotarian Corbin Bailey said, “The Rotary Club of Chilliwack is proud to present a $1,000 grant to the Oasis Gardening Initiative to help purchase their portable hand washing station. Debbie and her team have a passion for helping families experiencing food insecurities and passing on their knowledge of practical gardening to children and adults in the community, which are things we always hope to support. We hope this hand washing station will help bring a great experience to all of the future garden students.”

Plans for next year include a monthly event from March to October that will teach kids how to start, harvest and seed for seasons to come.

The Nov. 8 event is free to the public. There’s limited seating, and registration is required. Children do need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. To register for this free event, please email your name and all participants along with choice of times to GardeningInitiative@gmail.com. Should anyone wish to participate by volunteering, providing product, or support financially, please contact Debbie Walker at debbiewalker3456@gmail.com. Visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063670865572 for more information.