Guide Meridian/Cordata Neighborhood Association hosted a gala opening of the Cordata Community Gardens on Saturday, June 6.

The Cordata Community Gardens, located at the end of Cordata Parkway, represents the first such community project on Bellingham’s north side. The gardens’ 50 4-foot-by-16-foot raised beds are the result of extensive neighborhood involvement in addition to grant money from Washington State University Extension, The Mary Redman Foundation, and the city of Bellingham.

Among the event’s features were commentaries from Mayor Dan Pike and Councilman Jack Weiss, tours of the gardens, snacks, food for purchase and a lottery drawing for 14 prizes, including a $100 shopping spree at the Cordata Community Food Co-op.

Land for the gardens was provided at no cost by Bellingham developer Ted Mischaikov. Last September, Mischaikov and other investors purchased the land where national homebuilder D.R. Horton had planned a 428-home subdivision in Cordata. Mischaikov is now proposing a re-imagining of that layout called Cordata Country.

For more information about the Cordata Community Gardens, call Bob Sanders at (360) 647-8773.