This Wednesday was different than most others. I had a different pitstop to make on my way into town today. After my pit stop, I made plans with Emily to put together some final checks into our Annual Report before we send it off to all of you and our various partners who have helped support our organization throughout the years.
This week I am headed to Center of Hope to meet Dawnel and her team for their leftover cardboard. I had reached out to her earlier this week in search of more cardboard for the hoop houses and I was lucky enough for Dawnel to offer us an endless supply! Once I arrived at the Center of Hope, I was greeted with a helping hand and a big smile. I pull around back where they have placed their large collection for me to load up into my car. I did, however, forget to mention that I only have so much space in my vehicle. I may have been able to fit an entire toolshed in my small car but there was no way I would be able to fit ALL of that cardboard into my white car. What a wonderful problem to have. Luckily Dawnel said I could come back next Friday to grab some more!
Now that my car is loaded up, it is time to head over to our coworking space downtown to meet Emily and get some of our administrative work done before the fun begins! I am extra excited about our volunteer days this week because I have volunteers signed up for both my Wednesday workday and my Friday compost turning. The volunteer that was signed up for today was Katie! The last time we saw one another was when she helped us during a chilly Farmer's Market.
As I am pulling into our driveway, Katie is already in the garden and just as excited as I am to be outdoors. We unlock the gates and begin unloading all of my cardboard from earlier today, gather up our tools, and begin finishing up the soil of our third hoop house. It is always fun being able to relate with other people and some of us almost need to be outside daily to maintain our mental and physical health. We continue chatting away and making sure to toss the soil around enough before we begin stripping the cardboard.
As time passes, we finally begin to get all of the soil in the third hoop house turned to our liking, and now it is time to move all of the cardboard from earlier inside the hoop house and finish laying it down. We already had one half done so all that was left was the middle pathway and what we had turned up today. We began taking all of the tape and stickers off that we could and laying down the cardboard. We lost track of time and I quickly realized it was time to pack up and time to head home. With just a little more ground to cover, I know we will get this third hoop house finished up and ready to go by the end of the week.
While we are headed to our vehicles, Katie and I exchange our farewells. I'm getting into my car feeling more recharged and motivated. It is always really encouraging when Community Roots volunteers return for different opportunities and experiences. Not only does it allow me a chance to connect with the backbone of our organization but there is just something special about a community of volunteers working together for something that is so much bigger than ourselves.