[Thanks to Sarah and Vesta of the Sonoma County Gazette for permission to repost this]



Get Growing – It’s Almost Spring

Mid-February, heavy rain filled the Laguna. When the sky finally cleared late one afternoon, the setting sun cast a pink light on snow atop Mount St. Helena. Daffodils are up. Tulip trees are full. More blossoms are on the way. Spring is coming. March is time to get ready for Spring. Here are some community work projects to join.

The Sebastopol Grange # 306
Our Grange is experiencing a renaissance, as discussed elsewhere in this issue. Interest in local food, from diverse perspectives, has reinvigorated this institution.

Founded in 1897, and one of the oldest organizations in Sebastopol, our Grange has a young leader, Joseph Stefenoni, age 19, a fifth generation member. The Hall, east of town on Highway 12, was built on donated land with mostly volunteer labor. Its 1954 look will undergo a transformation when members redo its exterior and parking lot using Permaculture features. The goal is to make it a beauty spot on the entrance to town. Interested? See the new website, offer to help, and consider joining.

Earth Day Celebration April 30, 2011
This year’s event includes several daytime projects. The Labyrinth at the Youth Annex on Morris Street will be rebuilt by lifting the bricks, cutting away the thatch, and putting in a new sand base. This effort will redefine the path and make maintenance easier. A cob bench will be built in the Peace Garden at the Community Center. Site boulders will be repositioned, native trees and bushes planted, and a drip system installed. Other work includes removing overgrown berry brambles and litter along the Laguna Trail.

Volunteers will find refreshment during the day at a drum circle, through prayers, poetry, and music. Food will be available for purchase.

Contribute your time and money to this project, Sebastopol’s first Cittaslow event. Contact Jeff Edelheit at [email protected] and let him know what you can do. Once the work’s done, party with the Love Choir at the Sebastopol Cultural Community Center.

Rodota Trail/Calder Creek Clean-up and Restoration - Ongoing
Berry brambles aren’t just a problem on the Laguna Preserve Trails over by the Community Cultural Center. They’ve invaded the Railroad Forest on the north side of the Rodota Trail [from its Petaluma Avenue terminus east to the bridge over the main waterway]. Nor is litter limited to one area. It’s left along the pathways and washing down Calder Creek and other tributaries into our parkland.

The Stewards of Calder Creek have raised awareness of this natural resource, fortunately, left naturalized as it parallels the bike/walk path. Several informal groups have taken on the clean-up work of removing brambles and litter. One group is rumored to be called the “old geezer guys.” If you’re interested, contact me at [email protected] and I’ll connect you.

Our community hopes to restore this riparian corridor and improve the Railroad Park.

Garden Plots at the Laguna Skategarden
The Skategarden had become a well-known and well-used resource, for locals and out-of-towners. Skaters travel here to experience our skating bowls. Tour groups walk through the property, front to back, reciting its long history, including its plan for expansion. This expansion project needs funding for its implementation. Philanthropists can contact Kenyon Webster at [email protected]. Gardeners seeking a community plot should also contact him.

350 Garden Challenge with iGROWsonoma.org
More than 600 gardens were planted during the inaugural Challenge in 2010. The results are far-reaching: lawns out and produce and fruit trees in; smaller efforts in containers, wine barrels, and pots; grey water systems, rain catchments, drip irrigation, and other water conservation equipment; butterfly, pollinator, and native plant gardens; business, school, and church locations; seed banks; food pantry delivery systems.

If you don’t have a yard or don’t want to leave home for a community garden, “just plant one plant” and enjoy it.

2012 MLK Jr. Work Day Planning
Baby Boomers like to contribute. Some are already asking about local work projects to honor Martin Luther King Jr. in 2012 and benefit our local community. The projects could take from 1-3 hours or as long as almost all day. Send ideas to me so I can start the list.

By Sarah Glade Gurney,
Councilmember, City of Sebastopol