What a fun and feel-good productive 2016 Earth Day!

We started off the morning with the LA Conservation Corp cleaning up the Good Earth Community Garden.  This included the adjacent side street in which we found all kinds of yucky things, and a discarded TV.

PAVA came in after lunch and added compost to the garden beds.  Thank you to Sean who continued through, without wheelbarrows!  He and the entire PAVA volunteers deserve a big hand for that!

Down the street at the Westside Neighborhood Park, the West Adams Neighborhood Council held their first Earth Day Fest.  There were a lot of great organizations there providing great information.  LA Green Grounds was present and shared information about Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling, presented the Good Earth Community Garden's David Jackson with his Victory Gardener certificate, and Summer and Francesca shared paper seedling pot making in LAGG's Teaching Garden.

If you have photos, please send them in to Summer Garden.

Thank You Letter from Florence

All of you have worked your hearts out, helping to make productive gardens -- this time to help the plot holders of Good Earth Community Garden. Though their participation was low - those present were very appreciative and happy - the garden looks vastly better. And now there's compost available to help all the gardeners.

LA Green Grounds dig in leader Sean Conant did a fantastic job, working with groups he'd not met until that morning. He coordinated the numerous tasks involved in cleaning that whole garden with LA Green Grounds volunteers, and other groups, notably the LA Conservation Corps. So much work was accomplished with a minimum of confusion, and a maximum of effectiveness. The LA Conservation Corps was impressive! I've worked with them before - and was happy to see them arrive. Their crew supervisor did a fantastic job, directing several groups of those incredibly strong, enthusiastic, hard working young people. They worked beautifully together and with LA Green Grounds folks. (Kimani - please be sure to copy the LACC - I'm sorry I didn't get the full name of their supervisor).

Many thanks and hugs to our steady Green Grounders- Zach Agrums and Chrissy worked hard alongside all our GG crew; Li Fellers, her husband, pre-school age son cleaned out that trashed south gate entrance, so it now looks attractive, instead of dangerous; Nkoli and Jenna greeted everyone who came, got them signed up, and took in too much sun; Denise and friend Janet worked tirelessly on persistent tough weeds with some of our new volunteers; Aram, first time out, went home to get his pole trimmer - to help reduce the height of a loquat tree. The garden probably hasn't had a cleaning in 20 years. And we had to say farewell (for 8 months) to Melissa Murdick - who's going on the road with a band! Masha and Brigitta and Francesca invited folks into the GG Teaching Garden to show them a trick or two about gardening -- Francesca, about how to make seed bombs. Mireya and Mado tabled with me at the Earth Day Fest, fighting a wind and still persuading people to make compost, to reuse things, to reduce waste, to grow, to plant, and to show kids how to make a paper pot and plant a seed. Sachiko had standing room only at her big tent - painting fantastic faces.

Florence, as neighborhood coordinator for UC's Grow LA Victory Garden Classes - thought it was a good time to give David Jackson, long time manager of the Good Earth Garden a certificate recognizing his contribution to urban gardening. He was pretty pleased. Steven Meeks did a lot of behind the scenes planning, organizing, arranging, securing, for the Good Earth Day Festival to go off without a hitch.

Thanks to the West Adams Neighborhood Council - for all their support - and for their ongoing we hope, future support of the Good Earth Garden and LAGG's Teaching Garden. Thanks to Kimani Black, Deputy for Herb Wesson, who not only brought his wheelbarrow (I think), but was responsible for securing all the other volunteers, the tools, and with WANC the logistical support. And finally, thanks to Nick Zaharoff of Carmel Partners, with whom we at LA Green Grounds are encouraged and happy to work into the future in a partnership to see more green, more food growing in the neighborhood, for support for our Teaching Garden. Thanks to them, all the volunteers who worked so hard had an excellent, much appreciated lunch.

Great Earth Day - thanks!

Florence