...FROM THE ASHES OF NEGLECT

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DATELINE: Petaluma's La Tercera Park

December 2, 2007 ...A bright & cold (as in 29 degrees Fahrenheit) Saturday morning...

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Approximately forty volunteers from the La Tercera neighborhood and Petaluma Bounty showed up throughout the day to continue building the La Tercera Community Garden.

By way of a quick history, Meloni Courtway's Take Back La Tercera movement led to a community meeting in La Tercera Park in February of this year. As a result, increased efforts were made to discourage vandalism and graffiti in the park and the surrounding neighborhood.

• To encourage the further rehabilitation of the area, Grayson James of Petaluma Bounty prepared and presented a proposal to the City for a community garden in the park. Petaluma Bounty also facilitated the design, planning and creation of the garden with the La Tercera neighbors.
• The City of Petaluma approved the project earlier this year and Parks & Rec put in the water supply for the garden.
• On November 17, community volunteers laid out the garden and set the perimeter fence posts. http://frank-simpson.petaluma360.com/default.asp?item=702292

The tasks for last Saturday were to prepare the garden with sheet mulching and to build the fence.

Sheet mulching is a process whereby you put down a layer of cardboard (normally used shipping boxes) and then cover the cardboard bed with compost and mulch. The cardboard base kills the underlying grass and weeds and eventually decomposes.

Of course, for a project the size of the La Tercera Community Garden you need a LOT of cardboard, compost, and fencing materials...

• Volunteers collected the cardboard from various stores.
• Sierra Fence donated all the wire mesh and provided a discount on lumber.
• Rex Hardware donated screws and fence staples.
• Shamrock provided a discount on cement.
• Golden State Lumber promised $250.00 towards the garden.

All the materials in the world are of no use without people and they showed up all day long to build the garden. While I have never seen one (and I know it is a terrible cliché), I kept thinking of a barn raising as I photographed people working.

Huzzahs & Kudos to everyone who helped make it happen.

The Take Back La Tercera movement, with the help of Petaluma Bounty http://www.petalumabounty.org/ and the City of Petaluma has come a long way since February.

COMMUNITY GARDEN PHOTO COLLAGES

Tools of the Day...

Cardboard and Compost...

Ed Courtway, Grayson James, Mayor Torliatt...

Community At Work...

Building the Beds...

Petalumans...

Day's end...

Tag Petaluma Outside.In [where: 94954]

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