Look What’s Growing Out Back Where They Sell Outbacks
August 26th, 2009 by Rachel PritchettBy Rachel Pritchett
rpritchett@kitsapsun.com
GORST
It’s not a sight you see every day.
But there it is, a well-tended garden brimming with corn, beets,
yellow squash and cukes right out back behind Peninsula Subaru and
Suzuki in Gorst.
No, all these leafty vegetables aren’t here to help out the ailing
auto industry. These carrots, peas and zucchini are headed to South
Kitsap Helpline, to help feed the really poor.
Not surprising, it’s the only known community garden growing at a
local auto dealership.
“We’re doing the right thing,” said Peninsula president and owner
John Dionas. He got the idea recently when he was in attending a
Subaru of America corporate meeting in New Jersey, spotted the
corporate garden, and thought why not here.
The fenced, good-sized garden sits on a grassy area on the shore of
Sinclair Inlet that’s hard to see from the highway.
Called “Peninsula’s Love Garden,” it’s a delight to customers and
staffers who wander out from the showroom to find themselves in an
oasis amid the constant stream of cars, fumes, and businesses that
is Gorst.
It’s tended by two or three Peninsula employees headed by Carol
Clinefelter.
“It creates good morale with the company,” Dionas said.
Employees have been harvesting for a couple of weeks now, and
believe there’s still time for some more.
It’s going to be permanent, said Dionas, who’s also active in
charity in the Gig Harbor area, where he lives.
“We’ll do it every year.”
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
August 26th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Awesome corporate responsibility!
August 26th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
What’s a “gorst?”
“Hi, nice to meet you. Where ya from?”
“Gorst.” (softly muffled)
(raucous laughter)