BURLINGTON — With the July sun scorching the Eastern Plains, Elaine Wright, Wayne Runge and Ron Hielscher delighted in the dirt beneath their fingers as they watered a garden tucked behind a tree grove about 15 minutes from the border separating Colorado and Kansas.

The Burlington garden — replete with beds of squash, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes and other produce — is tended to by residents of local nonprofit Dynamic Dimensions Inc., which provides housing, resources and care to adults with intellectual disabilities. The produce is then harvested and used in meals for the Dynamic Dimensions residents.

“Everything is my favorite part about the garden,” said Hielscher, who lives at Dynamic Dimensions. “I love it all. Especially eating the squash.”

If Hielscher, his friends or the Dynamic Dimensions staff have gardening questions or need more supplies, Colorado State University — which helped establish the gardening program — is on hand to lend support and funding whenever help is needed.

Linda Langelo, CSU Extension agent and horticulturist, said the garden has a mission: In addition to offsetting food insecurity among a vulnerable population in a rural community, it provides educational opportunities and occupational therapy for residents with disabilities.

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