Reading — Test 19

Reading passage

Dear Priya, I hope you and the kids are doing well! I'm writing because I finally have some good news about the Elm Street Community Garden project I mentioned last spring. Remember how frustrated I was after the city council rejected our first application? Well, we regrouped, revised our proposal, and this time we included letters of support from eleven neighbouring households, plus a simple budget showing we only needed $2,400 for soil, fencing, and a shared tool shed. The council approved it two weeks ago, and volunteers broke ground last Saturday morning. We've divided the empty lot behind the old bakery into eighteen raised beds, each about four feet by eight feet. Fourteen families have already signed up, and there's a waiting list forming for the remaining four plots. The rule is that everyone must volunteer at least two hours a month on shared tasks like weeding the pathways, maintaining the compost bins, and watering the herb spiral we planted near the entrance for anyone to use freely. What I didn't expect was how much this would bring the neighbourhood together. Mrs. Okafor, who lives three doors down from me, taught a Saturday workshop on companion planting, and even the teenagers from the community centre came by to help build the shed. My son Ravi, who normally complains about anything involving dirt, has been checking on our tomato seedlings every single day after school. We're planning a harvest potluck in September, and I'd love for you to come with your family. It's about a ninety-minute drive from your place, but I promise it'll be worth it. Bring a dish featuring whatever you're growing this year, if anything! Let me know if you can make it. I'll send the exact date once the garden committee finalizes the schedule. Warmly, Fatima

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