Excitement was in the air as the Wild Frontiers USA arrived at the local Truckee Demonstration Garden (run by local non-profit Slow Food Lake Tahoe) on a beautiful summer morning, a gaggle of family members in tail, ready to get our hands dirty and make a positive difference in our community.
After meeting the garden manager, Katie, we were put right to work on a variety of tasks including harvesting garlic, fertilizing the many plant beds, watering, putting a fresh paint of coat on different stations around the garden, and the dirtiest task of them all – rotating a very smelly compost pile. Local sustainability organization “Keep Truckee Green” had just initiated a composting program allowing households to drop off their materials to a large fenced area in the garden… and turning these organic materials (comprised of fruits, veggies, eggshells, coffee grounds, and more) with a metal rake was reminiscent of an episode of “Dirty Jobs”. Not only did this require some serious elbow grease, but also perhaps some nose plugs. We shared laughs and loved every minute of it!
As the sun warmed up the garden our hearts became full knowing that we had successfully given back to the community. The mission of The Truckee Demonstration Garden “is to cultivate a community committed to local food production and increased local food security, through education and demonstration of high-altitude gardening techniques.” My favorite aspect of what they are doing at the garden is that all produce grown there is donated to Project MANA (“Making Adequate Nutrition Accessible”), another local non-profit which provides hunger relief and promotes nutrition through education and awareness.
After completing our hands-on projects, the Wild Frontiers USA team left the garden looking shiny and healthy, waving goodbye to our new friends at the Truckee Demonstration Garden. We know we will be back, and that we will continue to engage in service projects in our local community and beyond.
