It started quietly, the way most important things do.

When COVID arrived in 2020 and the world locked its doors, neighbours disappeared inside. The quiet kind of lonely that doesn’t make the news, the kind that lives just one door away from any of us.

Community Roots began construction of a project that we hoped would be a point of bringing people together.

The neighbours watched from their windows. We noticed.

When that first harvest came in herbs, tomatoes, zucchini, cucamelons, basil, lavender, rosemary, dill, and bouquets of flowers Rebecca and Patrick filled small baskets then Patrick quietly delivered them to their neighbours. They came back to find them empty. Then came back again to find something unexpected in return: butter tarts. Left anonymously. The best butter tarts anyone had ever tasted!

That silent exchange, a basket of vegetables, a plate of butter tarts, was the beginning of the Community Roots Society.

 Because community doesn’t always announce itself. Sometimes it just shows up on a doorstep.

Established as a federally registered nonprofit in 2022, Community Roots Society exists to give people a place to grow: food, friendships, and a sense of belonging. Located in the heart of Mahone Bay, nestled between Main Street and Kinburn Street, our garden offers affordable seasonal bed rentals, a volunteer program, communal harvests, and a standing invitation to anyone who wants to get their hands dirty alongside good people.

We are tended to by a family Patrick, Rebecca and their six children: Lili, Nicola, Philip, Katrina, Isabelle, and Oliver. Who believe that the best things in life are grown slowly, shared freely, and savoured together.

Come grow with us.