An email from our friend Stuart Moody about the Davidson Centennial Garden.....

Friends:

 

We did it again!  Saturday, September 22, felt like the best Garden Work Party yet!  But that's only if you don't count our pre-summer party on Saturday, June 2.  Here's a report on both days, with a big Thank You to all who attended, and all who intended, even from afar.  As you read June's list of accomplishments, you'll see how we built on them this summer and this weekend.

 

JUNE 2

Planted :  tomato seedlings, sunflower seeds, bayberry tree, plus succulents in EndGarden.

Removed :  invasive fennel along path to bridge; bermuda clump along the path (requiring the deftness of an archaeologist); various interlopers in the EndGarden and the nearby soil/chip area

Harvested :  lavender, kale, fava beans, verbena

Built :  two tables on either side of the Shed

Extended:  irrigation lines to artichokes, raspberries, etc.

Corrected :  timing on irrigation

Found and repaired :  the two-year leak!

 

SEPTEMBER 22

Repaired :  the fence by the Riparian Zone

Staked:  tomatoes (remember how small they were in June?  They were tumbling all over until Gabriel and Jose straightened them up.)

Made :  signs for entry gates, with bold letters and welcoming words

Planned :  autumn seed plantings to be done by 6th grade Science classes of Bob Olson-Brown

Removed and covered :  bermuda grass at Garden perimeter, in Riparian Zone

Spread :  wood chips (donated by DMS alumnus), especially covering the now-pristine area around the fig tree

Diagnosed and repaired :  irrigation system

Installed :  motion-sensitive light on wall

Harvested :  lavender, kale, pole beans (the very last), tomatoes, raspberries

Admired :  the 6-foot-and-taller sunflowers, with multiple blossoms still coming

Removed :  ailing squash leaves

Filled :  the worm bin with lots of leaf trimmings, shredded to a fineness by a crew of five

Pruned :  the prolific shrubs in the EndGarden

 

THE NUMBERS

June 2:  our team comprised 12 volunteers, half of them from our beloved Harbor Rotary Club, putting in a total of approximately 37 hours.

 

September 22:  Harbor Rotary had other business this month, but parents and teachers came in to make up the difference, with 20 volunteers (including four students) putting in an estimated 43 hours.

 

 

APPRECIATING OUR PROGRESS, AND DREAMING MORE

Did you notice how the work of previous groups laid the base for the next group's efforts?  We did not need to weed the EndGarden this weekend, for example.  This is because the Garden Club and summer Garden Patrol volunteers cleared that area completely.  In more and more areas we are reaching the place of Comfortable Maintenance, meaning that beauty dominates.  The resulting leisure allows not only joy but also room for more visioning and expansion.  The latest idea for expansion?  Principal John Berry's vision of an 8th grade Haven around the apple tree behind the Wood Shop.  We have made an initial appeal to Harbor Rotary for help with this, and will start drawing plans soon.  In the meanwhile, teachers are noticing barren planters around their rooms and talking about what herbs and shrubs might brighten their spaces.  Marin Releaf took a walk around campus and we have the seeds of a proposal for re-foresting key sections of the property.

 

We also have plans for beautifying the entry to the campus, drawn up by landscape architect Don Blayney.  Along with the construction of the 8th grade Haven, we hope to begin work on this section soon.  All of these projects are being helped by a growing number of sponsors and donors.  Last school year, for example, San Rafael Rotary (a sister group to Harbor Rotary) donated $500 for curricular materials and garden equipment.  These are now hard at work with the 6th grade Science program.  SloatGardenCenter just awarded the Garden $250 for materials.  This kind of support makes dreams real.

 

Do YOU have ideas?  Let us know.  Do you want to help at our next Garden Work Party?  We're zeroing in on a date: Saturday, November 17, 9 am to 1 pm again.  You could not pick a better place to practice Earth Stewardship - right close to home, where our children can thrive and learn.

 

With love and appreciation,

 

Stuart Moody                                                   Brooke Jackson