WARREN - Residents in wheelchairs or with other disabilities will be able to use the Victory Garden off York Avenue as handicapped accessible tables will be added this planting season.
Mary Ann Franklin, a member of the garden committee, said the residents are eager to start a new gardening season and she and others thought that local residents who are in wheelchairs should also have the opportunity to utilize the garden
Eight handicap-accessible tables, which can be moved, will be placed in different parts of the garden, allowing wheelchair users to simply push their chairs up to the table and plant whatever they would like.
The tables were made and installed by John Cotton's building trades class at the Trumbull Career and Technical Center.
The adaptive tables allow for everyone to use the garden, Franklin said.
''This was a great addition. This will allow everyone who wants to use the garden to do what others are able to do,'' she said.
The garden is off York Avenue behind where the former Horace Mann School was located.
Franklin said she has had requests from disabled veterans and residents in wheelchairs to use the garden.
Cotton said the eight tables were made by both juniors and seniors. Each table is about two feet high for someone in wheelchair to be able to sit at and plant and water. He said Carter Lumber donated the wood for the tables, which were constructed to hold dirt and plants.
Kyle Stegall from LaBrae schools, a junior in the class, said he liked the idea for the project when Cotton told them about it. He said it required a lot of cooperation and working together to get them completed.
Shawn Crowley, a junior in the class from Niles, said the project required everyone working together as part of a team.
''It showed what an actual job will be like when you have to work with others to get the work done,'' he said.
Mike McGhee, a garden committee member, said he and others have been cutting weeds and preparing the garden for people to begin planting seeds this month and in June.
''People should be able to start planting soon. Once the weather gets nice we should begin planting for the season,'' he said.
Franklin said while last winter brought little snow, there was a lot of heavy rain that prevented a good cleanup from taking place.
''The rain was so severe we couldn't walk in the garden,'' Franklin said.
Another addition this year will be a high tunnel greenhouse, which will allow people to garden year-round.
''This greenhouse will extend our growing season,'' she said.
Franklin said she has been contacted by Warren city schools of having children plant and grow their own vegetables in the garden to learn about gardening and healthy foods, which they can enjoy eating.
''The garden yielded many greens and vegetables last summer,'' she said.
Franklin said the schools have asked for three or four plots.
She said the Ohio State University Extension Office also has acquired three large plots for the Trumbull County Master Gardeners.