Reflecting On 2025 and Looking Ahead to an Exciting 2026 Season
A Successful 2025 Season Comes to a Close
The Banff Trail Community Garden (BTCG) is now officially wrapped up for the 2025 season. Generous July rainfall and the warm August sun helped create ideal growing conditions this year. Of course, the garden’s success is also thanks to the dedication and hard work of the many volunteers who make this community space flourish.
As we look ahead, the BTCG team is already excited for the upcoming 2026 season—anticipating time spent gardening with friends, enjoying the space, and continuing to contribute to the beautification of the Banff Trail community. Over the years, the garden has become a beloved backdrop for both private and public events, offering a natural and welcoming gathering place where friends and families can grow, learn, and share.
Honouring Our Founders
The Banff Trail Community Garden has deep roots in community spirit. In 2010, Dale and Mary Jean Jacobson brought together a passionate group of residents to build the garden. In their original application to the city, they wrote:
“The Banff Trail Community Garden is designed to provide residents with opportunities for communal sharing, engagement in achieving interactions, strengthening neighbourly ties, and community building.”
The garden has truly fulfilled this vision—and so much more.
2026 Commemorative Event
This coming spring, the Banff Trail Community Garden group will host a special event to commemorate its founders. Volunteers Mike Legge, Russ Neufeldt, and Alfred Wright have constructed a beautiful arbour that will soon be complemented by a plaque honoring the profound impact Dale and Mary Jean Jacobson have had on our community.
All community members will be invited to attend the unveiling ceremony.
A Living Legacy
The newly dedicated Dale and Mary Jean Jacobson Commemorative Garden represents the very best of what a community can be. Their vision and passion inspired a generation of gardeners and volunteers who proudly carry forward their legacy—hoping to inspire generations yet to come.
Taking You Back to 2010…
A series of original documentation displays the first Garden Committee Meeting minutes taken June 28, 2010. Notice that Thursday, July 6 was the day we broke ground, laying out the first of the raised garden beds.
The original Garden Layout and Key. The physical design was modified to optimize space, but the way Dale and Mary Jean envisaged the garden remains unchanged.
The garden today
A welcoming green space where neighbours can grow and harvest their own vegetables, pause to listen to the birds and bees, and enjoy vibrant, seasonal flowers. The Banff Trail Community Garden is a place to slow down, connect with nature, and gather with friends, family, and neighbours — a shared space for learning, growing, and belonging, open to all.
If you are interested in learning more about the garden contact [email protected].
Click here to the Banff Trail Community News home page for the latest Banff Trail community updates.
