Community Leader Profile: Trish

Trish is a gardener and Committee Member at the Seeds of Harmony Garden in New Columbia, a Community Health Worker,  an Office Volunteer, and a Community Leader. Trish is a passionate leader and has been an essential team member to Village Gardens. Here is a little bit about Trish, in her own words:

My name is Trish Couture and I’ve been working with Village Gardens for the last five years. For the last three years, I have been a Community Health Worker. I am 60 years old, and since I’ve started working with Village Gardens, much has changed in my life. I’ve been disabled and in a mobility chair for the past 24 years, but for almost a year now, I’ve been able to use a walker part time. Over the course of the time I’ve been involved with Village Gardens, I’ve lost 85 pounds. I quit smoking four years ago. Village Gardens to me means I am healthier now and in more control of my diabetes. 

Village Gardens has utilized gardening and community health care in order to create healthier residents. We encourage and support growing healthy vegetables. In addition, Village Gardens supports Community Health Workers who are teaching approximately 18 ethnicities how to prepare food. The gardens help teach people which vegetables are the best to grow and which are the most nutritious to eat.

The Community Health Workers work with other organizations to set up health fairs, flu shot clinics, and other health workshops to let people learn how to make life changes to become healthier than they were before. 

My favorite thing to do in the garden is to spend quality time in the Peace Garden at Seed of Harmony because of its quietness and calming effect. I have also raised two chickens and donated the female to Village Gardens’ Livestock Project. Something that’s great people might not know about me is that I collect salt and pepper shaker sets and have approximately 1000 sets!

At Village Gardens, I have learned that no matter who you are, what language you speak or where you come from, anybody can find ways to communicate with each other.

My plans for the future are to continue with my volunteer work and hopefully start teaching people how to preserve their vegetables.