It is mid-June and the Garden Challenge is in full swing! The youth team has been out to visit a number of participants, digging around in their backyards, delivering fresh topsoil, and helping families set up raised-beds. Word is quickly spreading that there is a team of young, hardworking green thumbs wandering about the Hazeltons lending a helping hand to aspiring gardeners.
The biggest challenge so far has been transporting topsoil. We never imagined that a little box of dirt could be SO HEAVY! After putting in a day sandbagging for the flood, the youth team had little energy to spare for shovelling. A number of participants are building Raised-Beds. We hosted a workshop at the end of May with Bob and Alice Smith to demonstrate a simple model. Bob, who runs a small mill was nonchalant about the workshop, saying that he had come to "show us how to nail four pieces of wood together". It was pretty comical just how easy it really was!
Visiting the participants has been really exciting and fun. Backyard gardening seems to be one of those things that everyone has on their to-do list, but never get around to doing it for one reason or another. Teaching our children about the land and getting them outside is another big reason that people are eager to dive in to the dirt. The next round of visits begin in mid-July, and it will be great to include all the young ones for some summer fun.
