It’s EASY Being Green! - Volunteer to Bring More Green into Our World!
Sorry, Kermit, but I have to disagree with you. It IS easy being green.
While I didn’t manage to get this launched on Earth Day, it’s still a great time of year to “be green” & for growing fruits and vegetables. I’m excited to announce Neighbors Helping Neighbors is partnering with Each Green Corner, founded by one of our volunteers, Sandra Nierenberg. With this new set of Green Impact Project initiatives, we’ll be growing for a cause. Please consider helping with one or more!
Programs
Help plant and maintain a garden for a housebound person or low income family who donates part of their property for the garden: Each Green Corner will donate seeds, design and expertise for a vegetable garden. Volunteers will prepare the land for planting, maintain it (water, weeding etc), and help harvest. This will give the housebound person the benefit of seeing the smiling faces of volunteers coming and going as well as watch growing things in their garden. The property donor gets all the produce s/he wants and agrees to donate the rest to local food banks. We can tailor your involvement to the time you’re willing to commit.
Raise seedlings: Everyone can participate in the seedling program! Even those who are housebound can nurture and grow seedlings! For parents, it might be a fun thing to give your kids to do as well as teach them about eating vegetables. For seniors and other homebound individuals, here’s a way to see life expand day by day and give back to the community too! Each Green Corner will donate seedlings if you agree to water them, give them sunlight, and talk or sing to them if you believe that helps! When the time is right, we'll collect the seedlings and use them to grow gardens (such as in # 1). Or, if you’re willing, plant your own seeds and donate the plants or the final product if you plant them in your own garden. Each Green Corner can offer advice.
Donate a part of your land for a vegetable garden, feed the hungry, get fresh vegetables, and learn a thing or two about gardening! With this program, you offer land for a garden - anything from a corner to the entire back yard. You pay for the garden "supplies" (plants, water, fencing etc) at cost. Each Green Corner experts will help you plan an effective garden and answer questions as needed. You take care of it. Keep as much produce as your family can eat and agree to donate the rest for the food banks to help mitigate hunger. If interested, sign up below and provide information about the space you can offer. Capacity may be limited, but we'll try to help as many as possible.
Do you have a tree with more lemons than you can squeeze? Share the excess of your existing garden - trees, chickens, etc. - with those in need.
Offer your gardening, landscape design, and/or contractor, handyman, carpentry experience: We’re hoping to create teams of “Garden Steward” volunteers for each house in the first program.
Donate: You can give directly to Each Green Corner or contact me for specific donation ideas.
Forward Contacts / Recruit: Do you know low income families with a spot for even a garden “bowl”, low income seniors who would lend land for a garden, anyone who will raise seedlings, for-pay customers who will tend a garden & donate excess, schools/homeless shelters who want gardens, neighbors with too many XYZ (lemons, persimmons, eggs, zucchini)? Please enter as much info as you can through the form below.
“I don’t have much (or any) gardening experience so having someone tell me want to do was helpful. It is also a fun, more active way to learn about gardening.”
Benefits
I’m very excited about these programs as they enable all of the following:
Volunteering and community-building as volunteers prepare, plant, maintain, and harvest gardens
Mood-lifting of seniors who don’t have any other external world contact as they get to see growing plants on their properties and can wave at smiling volunteers who come by to garden
Improved nutrition for low income and seniors as they can eat fresh fruits and vegetables from their gardens
Healthier food for those who get food from food banks as all the produce not eaten by the property owner will be donated to the food bank (One Life is a beneficiary now!)
Gardening and health education for low income families who grow a garden and those who volunteer
Hands-on learning opportunities than can bear fruit (pun intended!) in your own garden
A greener planet with more growing things in our area,
And….more (green & colorful) friends for Kermit!
Program in Action
We’ve already kicked this off with one of our grocery delivery clients, Henry. Henry is an almost 82 year old Vietnam Vet who survived a chopper crash and is a long-time San Carlos resident who built his own house. He’s nearly deaf and doesn’t get out much these days. Having been unable to do yard work, nature took over. Until last Friday, you couldn’t even get to or see the back yard!
Henry’s Back Yard Before Neighbors Helping Neighbors
Henry is now excited to be our first volunteer garden host. Thanks to the hard work of Scott McMullin, our Villages of San Mateo partner and yard clearing overseer, Seth & Marcie Digel, Ron Piovesan, and Tim Ryan, Henry’s yard has already been transformed from the jungle above to a space where you can envision a garden. (below) Mackenzie Banks & her husband and a group of Scouts from Troop 321 under the leadership of David Hill will be pitching in soon to get it all ready for planting under Sandie Nierenberg’s (founder of Each Green Corner) direction. The deer and gophers may not be very happy about this change, but those who go to the food bank will be very happy in a couple of months! Plus, fresh oranges have already made their way to our partner, One Life, for Friday’s distribution.
Come back later to see the garden grow!
Henry’s Yard After One Weekend of Neighbors Helping Neighbors