March Winds

 

The Eagle (Richard Peters)  Has Landed

The Church Hill Boy Scouts adopted the garden for an Eagle Scout project.  The eagle is Richard Peters.  He planned, directed and controlled the installation of  7 large and 4 small raised beds, completion of the second compost bin and the installation of the manufactured sand in the garden path, erecting 3 bluebird houses and construction of the garden information center.   The work days covered several nights.  

With a donation from the Community Clothes Closet, 20.75 tons or manufactured sand were purchased from Vulcan Materials - Kingsport quarry.  The company extended a substantial discount, making the donated funds stretch further.  In addition, the City of Church Hill picked up and transported the sand to the garden site.  The pile looks pretty daunting,  but the 42,000 pounds of sand was quickly moved between the rows to act as a permanent weed barrier.  

Scout leaders, other Eagle Scouts, scouts and parents all helped in moving the sand and the other construction chores.

 The crew worked past sunset and finished most of the pile under the glow of the street lights, adjourning about 8:00.  

 Scout leader Kipp West is shown with Brian Kramer and the new  Information Center for the Garden.  We used the rear of the existing sign to mount the center.  A good recycling project, the glass door was a refused custom order at a local lumber yard.  The closeout price of $1.00 needed some additional modification, but made an ideal waterproof access to the center.  We now have a central location for all our messages and information about the garden.  We are now creating the graphics and materials for our volunteers.

The scouts also constructed the second compost bin.  They removed all of the cardboard weed barrier from last year and placed in the bin for compost material.  

With the assistance of the Scouts, we were able to complete all of our construction goals for the year before the growing season really got started.  It was a great project.  The young, strong backs much appreciated. Truly an example of the wonderful community support that the garden is generating.