Gunilla grew up in a farming household. Her father was a commercial farmer who grew produce for sale locally and for export. At home, Gunilla was always surrounded by vegetable gardens and fruit trees. She, however, never really took much interest in gardening until her adult years. She has been working on her current backyard garden for the past 3 years and has really come to appreciate the benefits of gardening to her physical and mental health, as well as producing organic and nutritious food for her family. She is always seeking ways to improve her gardening skills and is excited for Common Ground Gardening to learn and share with fellow gardeners.

Doug’s Parents had large vegetable gardens, approaching one acre in size, when he was growing up. Doug and his two brothers were often sent out to weed, which Doug hated as a child. However, in time, Doug came to appreciate the miracle of seeing plants come to life and producing a bountiful harvest of nutritious food. He has had a garden of some type most of his adult life, and loves to garden today. He enjoys communing with God through nature, and enjoys time out exercising in the sunshine and fresh air. He is constantly learning new things about gardening, and looks forward to learning more through this Common Ground Initiative.