Meet Lauren Forrester, one of the Volkswagen owners being celebrated as part of this year’s annual Volksgiving celebration.

Today, HOLR is chatting with Lauren Forrester, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to discuss her experience being part of the annual Volkswagen Volksgiving and how it is celebrating owners who have a special story to tell.

Keep reading to learn all about Lauren and her story.

What has being part of this year’s Volksgiving meant to you?

Being part of this year’s Volksgiving was absolutely amazing! It was life-changing for both my community project and myself. We have already started making plans for the community garden that wouldn’t be possible without the generous donation from Volkswagen, and I am so excited to visit Paris for the first time ever! This was truly so special to me. 

What is the most rewarding thing about creating a sustainable community garden? What was your inspiration? 

The most rewarding thing about creating a sustainable community garden for me has to be seeing the space and the food we grow being used by our amazing community. People from all walks of life come together in the space to share food, play, and enjoy a beautiful place in our community. Everything we grow is edible and shared on our harvest table for whoever would like to help themselves to the items. My inspiration was my children. It was important to me to teach them about environmental sustainability and about sharing whenever and wherever we can. 

Tell us more about your community. How have they come together in this pandemic time? 

My community is so amazing and quite unique. The location of our garden borders two vastly different neighbourhoods. It’s been amazing to see the two communities come together and make amazing things happen; We started by clearing debris and hazardous materials and have made the space beautiful and safe for everyone to gather. The pandemic was really hard on everyone, so it was so nice to watch people interact safely outside but still able to be social and make lasting connections. In a time where food insecurities are at an all-time high, it’s been amazing to help people fill their fridges and nourish not only their bellies but their hearts and the hearts of others. 

Sustainability is as important as ever. What’s a piece of advice you give your kids, or other kids, as they start to adopt more sustainable practices?

Sustainability is so important, I always tell my kids to do the best they can, make the best choices and always strive to be better. With small actions, they can make a big impact on their future, and they can be the change! They are inspiring their friends and teachers to make small changes too and it’s been incredible to get the type of positive feedback from everyone about how they are making a difference.

What would be your dream road trip? Any places you’d like to travel to with your VW?

I have never travelled beyond Central Canada (Ontario) and it has always been my dream to visit British Columbia by driving across Canada to it. That’s my major bucket list item! Maybe it will become a reality in my brand-new Volkswagen Atlas that I get to pick up in April! (We love ours so much we decided to buy a brand new one). We are also hoping to travel this summer to PEI for the first time as a family in our new Volkswagen Atlas. 

If you’re interested in learning more about the owners being celebrated as part of this year’s Volksgiving campaign, be sure to check out the brand’s website for more information.

Article published by HOLR Magazine