WESTBROOK – Westbrook remains in the throes of a long, cold and snowy winter, but you can almost feel the warmth of a summer sun when hearing plans for a community garden that could sprout up later this year.

Local residents Martha O’Connor and Bill Hilton are working with the Westbrook Community Center and University of Maine Cooperative Extension master gardeners to bring a community garden to the city.

“We’re really excited. I can’t believe Westbrook hasn’t had something like this before now,” said O’Connor.

Amy Witt, horticulturist at the cooperative extension’s Cumberland County office, said the extension provides research-based education and information to the pubic. She said they have informational packets for those interested in starting community gardens in their towns, and staff conduct site tours to help determine if a site has appropriate water sources, drainage and soil for gardens.

Community gardens have grown in popularity over the past couple of years as people become more aware of the benefits of knowing their food sources and keeping things local, Witt said. She said there are many communities around Westbrook with community gardens and more are cropping up all the time.

Hilton, the 26-year-old son of Mayor Colleen Hilton, said he was talking with O’Connor, a family friend, about the lack of a community garden in Westbrook when they decided to take action.

“I think it could be beneficial in a lot of ways for a lot of people,” he said.

Hilton said he works at a group home where they organize a garden. He also did gardening in his childhood and said he would like to become more involved in the pastime again.

Similarly, O’Connor said, she participated in a community garden in Portland 30 years ago. She lives in a condominium in Westbrook and has no space for a garden of her own, she said.

O’Connor, 52, has worked with low-income families through food and nutrition education programs. She said a community garden would have many benefits, including teaching the value of local, organic vegetables, donating produce to the food pantry and bringing the community closer together.

“This is a way to bring people together,” she said. “The beauty of it to me is that people will start to make connections and it will be multigenerational.”

O’Connor hopes community groups would be interested in renting plots and that the garden could lead to future events like potluck dinners or educational forums.

O’Connor said participants would be able to grow what they like. Personally, she said, she would enjoy watching salad vegetables as they grow to full size from tiny buds sprouting out of the ground.

“I’m fond of cherry tomatoes,” Hilton added.

O’Connor and Hilton are still working through the planning stages, but would like to get the garden up and running this year. O’Connor said she hopes there is interest among residents and ideally would like to see multiple sites throughout the city.

The Westbrook Community Center, located in the old Wescott Junior High building on Bridge Street, is a likely site. Maria Dorn, director of community services, said she supports the idea.

“A lot of people have been talking about community gardens,” she said. “People are here all the time and we want people to come out here. We thought this would make the most logical sense.”

Dorn said families, church groups and other organizations could rent inexpensive plots to grow flowers and vegetables. She said they are working on grants for money to offset startup costs like installing raised beds.

“It will be beautiful,” she said.

A garden planning session is scheduled for March 3 at the Westbrook Community Center. Those interested in the concept are encouraged to attend.

“We really want to get the word out to people and we’re really hopeful there’s a lot of interest,” O’Connor said.