I love this place. I go there frequently to enjoy the outdoor green space and enjoy meeting people there. It’s a great place to meet people from all walks of life. Coming together to sit and enjoy conversation or meals together has been the highlight of my summer. I have also enjoyed a few fresh organic vegetables throughout the summer. I was devastated to find out it was only temporary. Please allow it to continue until the city really needs to use that land for development. This space is priceless. There are no other places that fill this need in Surrey. The healing circle has also been comforting to me and enriched my life. It’s a very important contribution to the city. This is exactly what the city has been trying to achieve, a unifying place where all people of all backgrounds and beliefs and skills can come together and share. -M.S.

I used to work two blocks away from this place. Waiting for my bus, I saw drug addicts and sellers mingled with those waiting to go home. Newton is a broken space in deep need of healing, abandoned by authorities and neglected by all those who don’t live there. Since the plot started, there have been gatherings and potlucks. The opportunity to learn about growing food, meet your neighbours and share. It has also been an opportunity to show that Newton can be beautiful, it can heal and come together for what’s important. As a permaculture consultant, food sovereignty facilitator and activist myself, I not only vote to keep The Plot, but ask the City and its citizens to create and keep more spaces like this everywhere in Surrey. -S.D.B.

The Plot is an awesome initiative and well appreciated in the Newton community. What a concept – a garden that members of the community who actually need the food can access – so different from the community garden plots that serve individual families who often don’t actually need the produce. Keep the plot alive! -K.M.

I used to reside in Surrey. I was embarrassed to say. I now drive all the way from Abbotsford to take part in this amazing space. When I started working with the PLOT my Auntie’s said “you be careful in that area of town, it’s bad.” I’ve been a witness to a change in a community. This is a safe, warm, welcoming place. Life altering. -T.S.

We live close to the Plot Garden and really like the fresh vegetables. It is such a treat for us. Thank you to all the nice people I have met there who look after the garden. -H.K.

I have a wonderful friend who moved from Ontario to Surrey and became part of the plot…..and found it a way to connect to her new community. She loved the adventure, the friendships and the energy that came with the Plot. And of course the reaping of the rewards of fresh produce. Kudo’s to you all for the hard work and allowing a bigger sense of community to everyone. -B.M.

I love the feeling here of being connected to the earth with others. -L.G.

I totally support this because we need MORE places like this one (not LESS). To get rid of a place like this is to ask for more problems, like addiction, violence, more depression and anxiety in a city already OVERFLOWING with these issues. -V.M.

I believe that people need to know how important growing food and green spaces and community are to a healthy future. -K.W.

I discovered this amazing oasis in our neighborhood. -N.R.

The PLOT is a peaceful, healing place for people to gather and connect, bringing heart to the Newton community. -D.S.

This space enables the community to build resilience through bonds of friendship, offering support to those in need, and ultimately contributes to crime reduction. -N.C.

The plot is a great symbol of the goodness in our society, our community, and human in general. Planting and gardening was the fundamental element of our lives not long ago but now it has become a luxury. How time changed things and though we have no power over “time”, we have power over the “change”. Glad to see this power become a reality.

This is a great idea to educate children & others on where vegetables come from and to share in the joy of growing them. -V.R.

Surrey needs MORE places like this one to help the community heal in a natural, human, almost forgotten way… and yes: MUCH CHEAPER than hospital treatments and prescription drugs that don’t really attack the problem of critical isolation that, more or less we all suffer, at its core. -V.M.

We need this type of community involvement in Newton. -J.P.

This is so important on so many levels. We need to band together to keep thus alive and well! -C.B.

I have lived and worked in Newton for about 12 years, and have been employed at the Newton Recreation Centre since 2014. For a long time, the area behind the Newton Arena has felt shady and unusable. Since the community plot garden has been set up, I have felt much safer being in that area. It has given that area purpose, and has created an inviting environment for everyone to come in to. -J.B.