There is no underestimating the health benefits of serving your community. And if we’ve found anything out while in isolation this last year, it is that we need community. A Jeffco Mental Health Trainer pointed out, "Social distancing is not what we needed this year. In fact, we needed physical distancing to stay safe, but in times of crisis and distress, we need to reach out and align ourselves with the teams pulling for good." He said, "Being of service to others is one of the best mental health medicines."
On that note, if you only do one thing this year for your health and your community, sign up for a Rose Roots Service Team. These Ten highly productive and efficient teams maintain, promote and nurture our garden and its community (that’s you!). And the word is out: Rose Roots, in its tenth year as a community garden, is a crown jewel of community gardens in the Front Range. We are now sold out every year with a waiting list! We aim to continue to inspire other small gardens with our exemplary community building and high produce yield which serves community organizations in need.
Please sign up for at least one of these Service Teams before June 15 so we can get you in contact with your crew and you can start earning service hours and new friends in the process. Every member should sign up for at least one team:
Rose Roots Service Teams 2021
1. Operations Team-Leads: Gary Williams, Jim Richards
2. Community Space Maintenance Team-Leads: Patty Sacks, Julie Lesnick
3. Communications Team-Lead: Erin Newton
4. Membership Integration Team-Leads: Kendra Eliason and Laura Bennett
5. Community Outreach Team-Lead: Judy Newton
6. Food Donation Team-Lead: Theresa McKinney
7. Compost Team-Leads: Glen Andrews and Karel Hemler
8. Rose Roots Youth Team-Lead: Mary Poole
9. Westside Landscaping Team (2021 Grant Earned)-Lead: Patty Sacks
10. Quadrant Teams-Leads Available (see details on Work Crew Page Here)
Click Here to learn more and sign up. It only takes a minute!
Rose Roots Gives Back:
Mentorship: Rose Roots was recently contacted to help mentor two city groups, the Arvada Fire Department and community organizers in the city of Erie. Both groups are looking to start community gardens of their own. Rose Roots President Erin Newton, Vice President Patty Sacks and Founder Gina Schley put together a presentation on “How to Start a Community Garden”. The recipients were very appreciative and we all enjoyed hearing the founding stories of how Rose Roots started “as a neighborhood living room discussion about how we could really use a community garden for our families to enjoy”.
Stewardship: Recently a Sister garden in the DUG system, Beeler Garden, was vandalized and their kiosk, chairs and tables were destroyed. As their mostly Nepali community rely on their produce as a staple and no budget, Rose Roots donated $200 to help them rebuild. We hope to participate in a work day with them soon!
Community Space: The field of weeds to the west of Rose Roots Garden was slated in the initial Master Plan as an orchard. The Hills at Standley Lake park, where Rose Roots Garden resides, wasn’t entirely finished, and as such many of the trees in the initial design were never planted. We applied for a grant from the city to remedy that situation and add trees for wind block and ground cover to reduce weed spread, and we were recently awarded $5000 to complete the project! Rose Roots will match the city’s contribution with $2500 and will work to beautiful the vacant lot. Keep an eye out for opportunities to join work in progress!
Member Engagement gets Results: We are thankful for increasing member participation and feedback in Monthly meetings. A member mentioned the potholes needed filling in our parking lot. As a result we submitted a request to the city and within two weeks the potholes were filled! We invite you to our Monthly meetings the First Tuesday of each month at 6 pm to engage in planning, stay informed and give feedback at the garden unless otherwise noted.
Upcoming Dates:
Sun May 23, Opening Celebration, 2-4 pm: Bring chairs, picnics and family and enjoy live music and games with your Rose Roots garden community. Meet the Rose Roots leadership team, get to know your garden neighbors, and learn the Top 5 ways to show garden love.
Mon May 24, 6:30 pm, Gardening Crash Course: One of our garden founders Gina Schley, who now has a successful flower gardening business “She Grows” nearby, is offering a Must Not Miss opportunity to learn from her wealth of knowledge having already made many of the gardening mistakes and learned tips and tricks herself! She is offering a Crash course about How to get your garden ready for planting, Drip systems, amendments, and timing for planting. Don’t miss this great opportunity!
Thurs June 3 Work Party, 6-8 pm:
Bring a picnic, enjoy time with your garden neighbors, and get your service hours in by making improvements to your garden. Come learn about composting, get familiar with our community plot maintenance and show garden pride by helping us keep it in Tip Top shape! Patty Sacks and Julie Lesnick will be leading the Thursday work events and will guide you to jobs that need doing!
June 9, 6:30 pm: Compost Training for All Gardeners:
When it comes to composting, the more engaged and educated gardeners the better! Feel free to stop by if you’re interested in learning more about how we compost at Rose Roots. There’s nothing better than turning decaying organic matter into black gold! We are all learning new and improved techniques with the intent to create effective task teams, so come learn together! Many hands make light work!
Monday Monthly Meetings Moved to Tuesdays: Due to several holidays and DUG training conflicts, we will have all Monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at 6 pm, except for August which will be on Monday due to a DUG online workshop conflict.
Don’t forget to order your Rose Roots Spirit Apparel Here Before June 1 when the store closes!
In an effort to foster community, we'd love to learn more about each of our gardeners to share on our kiosk and blog. Feel free to share a little information about yourself Here.
For more information, check out our website: www.RoseRootsGarden.org
Please contact Garden president Erin Newton at leadership@roserootsgarden.org or (720) 702-6608 with questions.
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