2018-Earth Day Work Day: Planting & Garden Construction (High Plains Environmental Center)

Start Date-End Date: 04/22/2018-04/22/2018 Land Manager Office: High Plains Environmental Center Land Manager Contact: Kelley Driscoll Funding Partner: Colorado Youth Outdoors Programmatic Partner: Summary: WAITLISTED: Celebrate Earth Day by building a new garden on this Sunday project. Description: WAITLISTED:This project is full. Please register to be added to the waitlist; we are often able to accommodate more volunteers closer to the project date. About the Stewardship Site: The High Plains Environmental Center (HPEC) in Loveland features 2 lakes, 76 acres, and 3 miles of trail that are open to the public year-round. The urban park is designed to demonstrate how natural places can be preserved in the midst of development through sustainable planning, and educate communities about the value of land stewardship, native plants, and wildlife habitat. VOC has partnered with HPEC since 2009 and our volunteers have been instrumental in developing the site's many gardens and exhibits. About the Volunteer Experience: Celebrate Earth Day with VOC as we create a new exhibit - the Medicine Wheel Garden - at the High Plains Environmental Center (HPEC), which will highlight the historic edible, medicinal and ceremonial uses of native plants by Colorado's Native American Plains Tribes. Work will range from simple planting to more rigorous tasks such as building garden structures. Please note that this project takes place on Sunday. We'll be back at HPEC on June 16 for our Young Stewards project, exclusively for families with children ages 6-12. About the Overall Impact: With a small staff, volunteer projects like this one are instrumental to the development and maintenance of HPEC facilities. The Medicine Wheel Garden that volunteers create will be used to by HPEC to educate visitors - including more than 100 Larimer County schoolchildren - about gardening with native plants, their historic uses, and the heritage of Colorado Tribes. Need-to-Know Details: Minors:All youth under 16mustbe accompanied by an adult 21 years or older on single-day projects. Cancellation:Our land manager partners rely on VOC volunteers to accomplish critical stewardship needs, and our projects often have wait lists. If you need to cancel, pleasecontact Jamie Burkeat 303-715-1010 ext. 116 as soon as possible so we can free your spot for another volunteer and have a full workforce. Latitude/Longitude: 40.420470, -105.013301 Additional Information: Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Easy, Moderate, Difficult High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 40 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 37 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 10 Total Volunteer Days: 47 Total Unique Volunteers: 47 Total Volunteer Hours: 346 Staff Hours: 37 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: Earth Day started out with a dense, cold fog that shrouded the High Plains Environmental Center in a light mist. Volunteers eagerly waited to begin working and move around to achieve warmth. Once the day began it did not take long for the bright Colorado sun to burn off the fog and give way to warm clear blue day. 44 volunteers, young and old, all came out to celebrate earth day by constructing a Native American planting circle that will host a variety of medicinal shrubs, flowers, and herbs. Volunteers installed 32 rough hewn posts standing straight up in the ground and held in place with quick setting concrete. The posts would form a circle that would eventually act as a trellis for grape vines and a wayfinding directional compass. Younger volunteers were sent on a mission around the lake to find and harvest native rabbitbrush transplants, bring them back and then plant them along the shoreline of the adjacent lake. They were also treated to a short tour and an educational talk about the center and how it works collaboratively with the surrounding environment. Volunteers were also able to plant 35 blackberry bushes, 32 grape vines, 6 directional shrubs, 4 Pinyon Pine trees, and a large quantity of rabbitbrush transplants. Successes and Challenges: Successes: Hosting the first VOC project of the season with no inclement weather to make everyone uncomfortable. Completing another project at HPEC that was both unique and inspiring Challenges: Towards the end of the day there was not enough work planned so volunteers slowly started to migrate towards their cars as they felt as if the day was over. Lessons Learned: Always have a plan B & C when working at HPEC Special Notes: None Stewardship Education: Jim talked about the Lakota Indians and how they lived in harmony with the outdoor world and how the respect for their natural surroundings was an integral part of life. He also gave a short speech in the Lakota Language to the volunteers. Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: None Description of Accidents/Incidents: None Description of Work Completed: Installation of 32 rough hewn posts to form a Native American Medicinal Plant Garden, planting of 35 blackberry bushes, 32 grape vines, 6 other directional marking shrubs, 4 pinyon pine Trees, and a large quantity of rabbitbrush transplants.