Pentwater Community Gardens applications being accepted.

Pentwater Service Club members build one of the garden boxes.

Pentwater Community Gardens applications being accepted.

PENTWATER — The Pentwater Service Club announced Friday, Oct. 16, that it is accepting applications for 24 4-foot by 8-foot garden beds at the Pentwater Community Gardens.

Applications must be postmarked by Nov. 1 and will be awarded on a first come, first served basis.

The Pentwater Community Gardens is the PSC’s flagship project for 2020 and was chosen to celebrate the club’s 50th anniversary. PSC members recently completed the community gardens after months of planning and construction.

“Building the Pentwater Community Gardens has been a labor of love,” said Peter Bush, one of several PSC members who managed the project for the club. According to Bush, more than two dozen club volunteers took part in building the gardens over a two-day period. “It was amazing how fast 20 people were able to assemble and fill 24 garden beds,” Bush added.

The Pentwater Community Gardens are located on the old ice-skating rink, next to the Pentwater Township Library. Patrons can choose from one of 14 ground-level beds, or 10 raised-garden beds. Raised beds are reserved for persons having physical limitations that prevent them from being able to attend to a ground-level garden bed.

“In the event we receive more registrations for either type of garden bed (raised or ground-level), we will hold a lottery to determine eventual winners,” said Mark Trierweiler, president of the PSC. “The Pentwater Community Gardens is a gift to the people of greater Pentwater from the members of the PSC,” Trierweiler said. “It is our hope that the Pentwater Community Gardens will become the place where families and friends gather to enjoy each other and the oldest of all self-sustaining arts, that of feeding oneself.”

When completed, the Pentwater Community Gardens will include easy access to materials, water, worktables, and nearby picnic tables for a family meal. A 6-foot fence will surround the property to protect gardens from animals and unauthorized persons. Great Lakes Fencing donated the fence and Beckman Brothers donated the soil.

All monies collected from rental of garden beds will remain with the member-run Pentwater Community Gardens Association, which will oversee the day-to-day operations of the space.

To apply for one of the garden beds, applicants should log on to the Pentwater Service Club’s website at www.serviceclub.org and select the Pentwater Community Gardens. Fill out the one-page application and return it with a $40 check to: Pentwater Service Club, P.O. Box 273, Pentwater, MI 49449-0273. Registrants will be notified by mail once their application has been accepted. In the event there are more applications than there are garden beds, checks will be returned to applicants not selected in the lottery by Nov. 8, 2020.