Dunbar Memorial Garden

The forecast called for a cold day but not rain and when we left for the garden this morning - in the rain - we hardly expected any one to show. But show they did.

James had another commitment but advised that I should swing by and pick up his sister who needed the "community service hours." Chris was off in Sparta. But while Erika and I sat in the car at the garden safe from the drizzle waiting for Jerome to arrive here comes Gracie with her gangsta-gang hat on.

We unloaded and prepared for digging some plants when Matt showed followed by his brother Richard and then Tyler in from EKU looking sleepy eyed but advising he'd slept "like a baby" at his folks house. Finally, our darling Sarah showed having slept in too - which is exactly what a college student should be doing on their fall break.

Then while we were all hugging and catching up (while Matt was digging transplants of coreopsis and wild bergamot and Jerome was trying to loosen the soil around the persimmon tree that's been trying to block our view of Hannah's beautyberry and Gracie went off to climb a tree and Richard was pulling polk plants with roots as big as fists) who on earth should come around the bend but our little "twinkie" Ellidia on break from the rigors of Vandy. Wow. Hugs galore.

While it never matters if our work force is great or small, it's a beautiful day when our old cohorts are near. They dug a hole and scraped away gravel. They divided plants and cleaned off picnic tables. They pruned and took photos and goofed off and ate breakfast burrito's. They talked college life and highschool life and love life and were just full of life. Then they moved a tree. Miranda gave her expertise and we hope it survives but like everything else at the garden, I don't know how it couldn't with all that love there.

Can you tell it was a good day?

This will likely be one of the last posts for the garden this season as we stop our work at Dunbar and start our work with Mindtriggerz. It was a helluva way to close the season. "Good times" as Erika taught me to say, "good times."

P.S. For the record, our "gleaning session" last weekend got us an article posted in Ace Weekly. Check it out at www.aceweekly.com. Click the "food" heading then download the pdf to see a pic of our crew and their friend the chicken!

Love y'all,
<3
Jesse's Mom

On a greater-than-dreary October Saturday morning, cold and rain-filled, a collection of volunteers gathered at the farm “Berries on Bryan Station” (berriesonbryanstation.com) to glean the fields of peppers, onions, greens and tomatoes. Erik Walles and Gayle Tomkinson had kindly agreed to allow the harvesting of their CSA’s fields with the proceeds benefiting a local soup kitchen to feed our area homeless.

What makes this unique is not simply the fact that a local farmer would allow us to harvest what was left over after his season. Not even the fact that the wonderful produce was organically grown. Nor was it that the synching of food surplus with a forecasted hard freeze equated to feeding those in need. What made this day special for those involved was that it involved young people full of energy, undaunted by the weather, and filled with great pride that what they did was harvest 185 pounds of beautiful produce to feed those whose lives are less fortunate than their own.

In late September Miranda Hileman (featured in ACE 7/16/09) coordinated with “Berries” to glean the fields in keeping with one of her many goals as the 2009 Compton Mentor Fellow: to promote the value of sustainable agriculture, the importance of school gardens and the reconnection we must maintain with our natural environment - where our food comes from and why it is important to know.

Miranda volunteered at Berries on several occasions over the summer – assisting with harvesting and preparing baskets for the CSA members. She exchanged information and expertise with Erik and his family of workers and volunteers. Through her connections with the Catholic Action Center and her work on its vegetable garden located on the campus of BCTC Leestown Road she arranged to have what otherwise could have gone to waste instead feed others.

Emails were exchanged among volunteers and potential volunteers and a date was set for gleaning on October 14th. Unfortunately, that day dawned miserable, cold and wet – the rain incessant and unforgiving. Temperatures hovered at 40 degrees. Miranda wore her galoshes. Erik gathered eggs and several cartons of his incredible homemade berry preserves. We got wet. Really wet. But harvested 80 pounds of eggplant, 71 pounds of peppers and baskets of greens and dried beans. It was a motley crew of three - but we worked hard.

While standing in the field covered in mud with red frozen hands I asked Miranda to not be disappointed in our numbers. It is easy to be a volunteer on a warm, sunny day but not so much when it is bitter and dismal. I reminded her (as well as myself) that “the homeless are no less hungry simply because it’s cold and wet outside.”

This became our afternoon mantra and saw us through the next two and a half hours of work. When it became evident that three people could not possibly harvest what was left on the farm we made a Plan B to return again over the weekend.

Anyone who knows Miranda knows that she spreads herself thin. More importantly, they know that she is energetic, optimistic, an incredible worker and filled with beautiful, altruistic and far-reaching goals. She’s spent many a Saturday pitching in at the Dunbar Memorial Garden – a native plant community garden located on the campus of Dunbar High School that is dedicated to the memories of students who left us too soon. During that time she’s formed a strong connection to us, to the students and to the many others involved in our project.

So on Saturday morning, while many others enjoyed a warm bed and sleeping in – the Dunbar Memorial Garden changed its work schedule, went to “Plan B” and several of our regulars gathered at Berries to help Miranda glean the fields. Among the crew: two Dunbar Seniors, one Dunbar Sophomore and one Dunbar graduate home on Fall Break from the University of Michigan. They chased chickens and laughed in the cold. They picked and weighed produce. They gathered eggs. They left the farm knowing that what they did was important and good and they didn’t begrudge those who stayed home in comfort. They did what they did because they love hard and unconditionally. Because we’ve learned working together at Dunbar that we lean on each other and help each other in every way we can. Don’t ever let anyone say: “the youth of this generation don’t care” because we’ve seen first hand that they do.

And they worked. Jaz and James, Natalia and Chris. With a few of us old-timers and Miranda the impetus.

Sometimes you just have to act. We did. Next year I hope to read of incredible gleanings on farms all over Lexington with people who want their actions to speak louder than their words. In Jesse’s words “that would be awesomeness” and yeah, I think it would.


Rebecca Woloch is the President of the Jesse Higginbotham Technology Trust, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit dedicated to continuing the work of her son, who died in an automobile accident in April of 2007. The creation of the Dunbar Memorial Garden was one of her son’s many projects. Gleaning fields at Berries on Bryan Station, she thinks, is something her son would be infinitely proud of her for doing. www.jessehigginbotham.com

It was a cold and dreary morning in Lexington today so what better way to do work for the garden then to MOVE INDOORS and make art! We convened in Ms. Eller's room to break tiles, caulk glue and adhere pieces to the "horse." There was a nice crew of volunteers thanks in no small part to Ms. Davis and her Beta's!

While Gracie read "Final Exits" the rest of us set to work. Tables were moved to make room for the horse who's been relegated to a back room these past few weeks. Our experienced members loaded up the glue and got down to business in fast fashion. The pruning twins were in action (sans pruners and with Lindsay looking a little tired :P) and brought up the proverbial rear of the Beaumont Beta's - soon to be Dunbar students. Thankfully, we got to work with David and his big sis Beth who have been MIA the last couple of weeks but made up for their absence from 11 to noonish.

We missed Serena who was off taking boring SAT's but expect she'll be back next weekend when NATALIA RETURNS FOR FALL BREAK FROM MICHIGAN. w00t!

As always, thanks to everyone who came, worked, played, laughed and swept (Jaz, you are my broom hero). Shout out to Grace who is trying to resurrect the Dunbar GSA with help from James and others. This means a lot to me, as Jesse loved his participation in the original GSA.

And as a gift at days' end I had a late lunch with Jon at my favorite place the Coffebre@k Cafe where we were waited on by a young woman named Roselynn who shared her personal connecshun with Jesse. <3

Until next weekend. Luvz.
Jesse's Mom

Our "plan" today was to begin dividing some of our hugemongous native plants - the garden however, did not agree. With the recent rains and mild temperatures very little at the garden was ready for moving and shaking - everything was just too "green" or yellow, or purple, or pink. So we did what we do best and that is to go with it so instead of transplanting, we pulled weeds (miss you Sarah!).

Lindsay's dad dropped her off (along with filling the pickup with a plethora of Mindtriggerz donations, yeah and luvz) but she had to be a pruning twinless today as Kirby couldn't make it this weekend. While she went about expertly removing a few more sunflowers, Chris made a run for his house to fetch additional pruners. Jamie tagged along.

Serena's stay was short but productive - she got a call from her manager at "work" who needed her skillz so we sent her off to earn money (begrudgingly!) and our small group got caught red-handed because of the tiny bugs on the oxeye sunflowers. They kind of squished up, a little gross but randomly funny. I regret I neglected to get a photo.

Gracie helped Jerome clear weeds from around the fringetrees and Josh's red maple while I cleared up around the shining sumacs. It was a windy, blustery day but included plenty of sunshine and beautiful smiles and giggles. During our "snack break" I shared the lulz of a PBS documentary that Jesse's dad told me about (and that I found, of course, on youtube) and Lindsay's laughter just egged me on (not pun intended!). When bored, or in need of laughter, please look for "The Natural History of The Chicken" video.

We spied the garden "kitteh" today that Jerome subsequently ran off because of his heckling "here kitty kitty" calls and a random couple wandered up with a very friendly dog who proceeded to jump up on me, having not receieved the memo that I am a cat lady! It was a nice day. Jerome has been so busy with Mindtriggerz that he hasn't been at the garden in SEVERAL weeks - it was a nice change of pace for him and we were all glad to have him back.

Next week we will convene indoors to work on the horse again. Hopefully we will get at least one more weekend outside again - Natalia will be home for fall break on the 17th so fingers will be crossed that we can all work outdoors again (she won't mind the weather considering it is freezing already in Michigan).

Love, love and always love. The garden is beautiful and so is our crew!
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