2013-Evening Garden Planting at Urban Peak

Start Date-End Date: 05/28/2013-05/28/2013 Land Manager Office: Grow Local Colorado Land Manager Contact: Barbara Masoner Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: NOTE: Registration for this opportunity is full. If you register, you will be placed on the wait list. Spend an evening outdoors planting a vegetable garden while at the same time helping to provide food for those in need. Description: STEWARDSHIP SITE Urban Peak is an organization that helps homeless and at-risk youth overcome real life challenges by providing essential services and a safe community, empowering them to become self-sufficient adults. VOLUNTEER PROJECT - WHAT & WHY We return to the Urban Peak for a secondyear to continue work on a vegetable garden, enhancing both beauty and functionality of this youth organizations site. This project is one of several where we will be planting vegetable gardens whose purpose is to demonstrate the beauty of edible gardens, engage community participation, and inspire Denver citizens to grow their own vegetable gardens. In addition, all produce will be donated to local organizations including local food banks, homeless shelters, and families in need. Volunteer work will be fun, easy, and child-friendly. Tasks will involve preparing the garden beds, weeding, working the soil, and planting vegetable seeds and seedlings. PARTNERS Grow Local Colorado Urban Peak SPONSORS Colorado Garden Show, Inc. Latitude/Longitude: 39.68682, -104.988426 Additional Information: Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Easy High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 40 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 35 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 25 Total Volunteer Days: 60 Total Unique Volunteers: 60 Total Volunteer Hours: 206 Staff Hours: 10 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: Successes and Challenges: Lessons Learned: Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Table to Table provided instructions and spoke about garden needs throughout the spring/summer/fall. Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Group was twice the number as expected. Parents hung back and the students did most of the work. Most memorable to me was the group of women from The Haven. Many of them had spent time at Urban Peak and were thrilled to be giving back to the organization that had helped them. You could see the full circle connections. Description of Accidents/Incidents: None Description of Work Completed: ROWAN LOCATION: On Tuesday May 29, a group of eight volunteers met at Urban Peak Rowan to plant flower and vegetable gardens. In five small beds totaling 100-square feet, the volunteers planted strawberries, kale, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants and a variety of flowers and fresh herbs! Food grown at this location will provide healthy and sustainable food for the youth at Urban Peak. Grow Local helped to guide the volunteers including a group from The Haven on the best site for the variety of plants. After a fun evening of playing in the dirt the volunteers enjoyed chips, guacamole and burritos generously provided by Chipotle. ACOMA LOCATION: About 40 VOC volunteers from the organization, People to People helped plant a variety of vegetables at which will be used to provide local, nutritious meals to the youth that utilize this shelter and its resources. Volunteers planted approximately 150 square feet of beds with carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, beans and many other veggies. At the end of the evening, everyone enjoyed donated Chipotle Burritos and each other's company on a job well done. This was VOC's last evening garden planting opportunity of 2013; please join us in the fall to harvest the remaining crops at these locations and put the beds to rest for the winter months!