CAMDEN — Camden CAN, a local climate group, is offering a Camden Food Garden Tour on Thursday, Sept. 12, as part of its effort to get the town talking, thinking and acting on climate change (“on the great changes happening to our weather, how to address the causes and learn to cope with the challenges,” said Camden CAN, in a news release.)

“Food production is one of the challenges we are experiencing and we can help ourselves by learning to produce locally, supporting each other and the small  farmers in our surroundings,” said the release.

A wide range of different sizes and kinds of gardens are being offered: large and tidy rows, small and playful, fruit gardens, mixed flowers and vegetables, sunny and shady, on street and back gardens, raised furniture beds in community housing, several group cooperative and community gardens, and a hay bale garden that has subsided into a tidy little hay mulched garden plot. A rich and established forest homestead will be open for a tour on the weekend.

“Growing food is getting harder around the world,” said CAN. “The droughts, deluges, whiplash temperatures, are causing crop failures, locally, regionally and world wide. Commercial and peasant farmers around the world are often struggling even  failing. The cost of food is beginning to show the effects. If we learn to grow our own, even in small amounts, we will be able to help, at least locally, but we need time to learn and achieve these skills, especially as we must adapt to the changing and less predictable weather. Hopefully we will help encourage more residents to grow local and help make Camden more climate resilient.

“Besides, visiting gardens and talking gardens is fun. Come see our Backyards and walk by our Dooryards.”

To register and for more information, call 207-236-8732 or beedyparker@gwi.net, for a map and list of gardens.