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| Planting with students and Next Gen Rotarians |
This work day was a culmination of a collaborative project that started out as an idea last Fall. As the project lead I felt especially proud of the many partners who donated time, money and resources into this garden. The more names on the plaque, the better.
In the book Building Communities From the Inside Out, community development "is the process by which local capacities are identified and mobilized. This mobilization mainly involves connecting people with capacities to: other people, local associations, local businesses, local institutions, capital and credit." We accomplished this garden because we reached out to people with access to all of these areas, whether it was a connection to Home Depot, Alhambra High School's wood shop class, the church neighbor bordering this garden, our awesome connection to free compost through Vons Grocery Stores, a grant, and of course the Rotary's capital and volunteer backing.
While it's definitely a slower process to involve more people, the results are much more satisfying not just in terms of cost, but in terms of ownership. The best part has been walking with the students in helping them plan the garden, fill the beds with the compost, and plant the first crop during the work day. And in the immortal words of Hannibal from The A-Team, "I love it when a plan comes together."
