New edible landscape in downtown Durand grows fruit and vegetables for all to eat - MLive.com

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DURAND, MI — An edible landscape is much more complex than a community garden.

Imagine you’re preparing to make one of your favorite salads with a recipe that calls for strawberries, but you don’t have any on hand.

A stroll through the edible landscape could provide you with strawberries, lettuce and more.

Volunteers with the Edible Landscape program, a division of the Durand Beautification Project, planted more than 80 fruits and vegetables this month in downtown Durand and on the south side of town.

Durand sits approximately 15 miles southeast of Flint, in Shiawassee County.

Candyce Wolsfeld, executive director for the Durand Chamber of Commerce, said the project has been in the works for several months.

“Our plan is to not only provide produce for the people in our community, but also the farm to table aspect and we’ve been working on that with the health department,” Wolsfeld said.

The above ground planters have been planted with tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries, okra, beans, swiss chard and peppers.

The planted fruit and vegetables are available to anyone in the community and even restaurant owners who might need some fresh ingredients to complete a dish.

Some of the plants are located in front of the Stomping Grounds Coffee Shop on North Saginaw Street.

“Our goal is to get people to take this produce and use it and experiment with it if they haven’t tasted it before,” Wolsfeld said.

Mike Nazarian, the co-chairperson, along with Councilman Jeff Brands, of the sustainability portion of the Beautification Project, have both been passionate about this sort of work for quite some time.

“It was one of those opportunities to try to bring something back to the community,” Nazarian said.

He moved back to Durand a few years ago and noticed that the growth of the town had been stagnant and began having discussions on “how to fix downtown.”

“It’s an opportunity to put kindness on display when the world seems a little on edge, at most times,” Nazarian said. “If you want a healthy citizen in your city, you start with food and water and this allows any kid riding his bike down the road to grab a pepper instead of going home, getting a dollar and buying a bag of chips or tasting what a tomato actually tastes like.”

One of his goals is to get more people walking around the community and making it more sustainable for people.

Since its launch, volunteers in the community have come together to help plant and maintain the plants.

Funding for the project came from leaders involved with the effort and even Nazarian’s wife, Jamison, who used her Circuit machine to make signs with QR codes that show community members the project’s progress and different recipes.

However, the city of Durand and the project leaders are working toward a goal to secure funding for the future of the project, Nazarian added.

Nazarian, author of “A Beginner’s Guide to Greening Your Life,” wants to see the edible landscape grow even farther with apple trees, raspberry bushes and more.

On June 5, more volunteers are scheduled to plant more produce around downtown Durand.

Read more on MLive:

Local Eats: Eat like a wizard with Harry Potter-inspired butterbeer ice cream at Mayberry in Davison

Flint’s new rooftop bar opening this week shows off city skyline

Music producer Bernard Terry remembered as ‘glue of Flint music’

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New edible landscape in downtown Durand grows fruit and vegetables for all to eat - MLive.com
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