Work Day: The Volunteer Experience

(source)

Evangeline from FarmApartment recently posted her volunteer experience at our last Work Day event. She wrote from such a wonderful point of view that I really had to share it with you here:

"Winding our way around the buildings, we came upon GSF’s flagship garden and were truly awe-struck.  Three-quarters of an acre of verdant land, abundant with fresh herbs, vegetable and fruit trees. With the roar of I-10 in the background, this patch of green seemed miraculous. Instead of exhaust and pollution, we inhaled the scent of freshly laid hay, rosemary and honeysuckle."

On a personal note, she writes:


"Let me just interject here that I am a product of the LAUSD.  I have vivid memories of jumping out of my chair at recess and running as fast as my legs could carry me onto the playground – a vast, imposing landscape of black asphalt that appeared to stretch far into the horizon.  A chain link fence let us know where the playground ended and the city streets began.  There was not a tree in sight.  Like desert buttes, two handball courts jutted through the concrete in the Southwestern corner of the yard.  All other play areas – four square and hopscotch courts, a race track – were simply painted lines on the ground. The rest was left up to our imaginations.  Hopefully, we were involved enough in whatever games we concocted to ignore the heat blasting off concrete beneath us.

Prison?  Schoolyard?  Schoolyard?  Prison?  Certainly the architecture didn’t offer any answers.

So seeing this garden was truly a revelation.  Each classroom had its own raised garden bed.  Sweet, hand-painted signs proudly announced the bounty within: kale, chard, cilantro, lavender, eggplant, melon, tomato."

If you still haven't been to one of our workday events, please take a moment to read her experience in full and come and experience it for yourself! She captured what a lot of us feel every time we walk through the garden. Plus, she has a pretty awesome blog!


Thanks Evangeline!