Here’s Lookin’ at You, 2019!

Happy New Year, EGC Supporters!  Looking back on 2019, we are so proud of all that we accomplished, and incredibly grateful for your support.  We could not have had such a successful launch without your generous donations and many, many volunteer hours. Please donate here to support our continued work and expansion in 2020!

Here’s a snapshot of EGC’s accomplishments in 2019, as well as our goals for 2020!

* First Work Day – On December 14, 2019, EGC partnered with the San Carlos School District, the Arundel PTA, Arundel Elementary staff to host our first work day!  Thirty-three volunteers contributed more than 90 work hours to clean out several abandoned or unkempt gardens, plant an Herb and Citrus Garden replete with five varieties of citrus trees, plant 8 native huckleberries to harvest and complement school curriculum, plant a 14×10′ winter garden bed with culturally-diverse herbs and winter vegetables, build and plant two Herb Towers, and revitalize the native pollinator garden to support a healthy ecosystem for our agriculture.  It was a very busy day, but with the hard work of all of our volunteers (and some delicious coffee cake donated by Hobbee’s Restaurant!) we made major progress on our Arundel Living Campus Project. See the end of this post for pictures!

* Logo Design – If a picture is worth a thousand words, a quality logo is priceless! Thank you to our financial donors as well as those who volunteered design and marketing consulting hours for helping us create a pretty great (if you ask us!) logo!  

*  Federal Tax Exempt Status Granted – We officially became a federally tax-exempt organization this summer, with our tax-exempt status retroactive to October 31, 2018.  

*  Administrative and Operational Launch – Website design, CRM system selection and insurance brokers, oh my!  Add in developing partnerships, drafting waivers, creating a volunteering system, and planning our first projects, and you’re looking at more than 600 hours of volunteer time in 2019!  Getting a start-up non-profit to launch is not for the faint of heart.  Thankfully, our many dedicated volunteers are full of heart and passion for our cause!

Now that we’re up and running, what are our goals for 2020?

* Recruit and Begin Harvests from Residential Garden Stewards (that’s likely you!) – Our mission is predicated on finding garden space anywhere we can, and we target residential land, school/public land, and commercial/non-profit spaces.  Now that we have our first school partnership underway, our goal for 2020 is to recruit and harvest from 50 residential Garden Stewards with already existing gardens.  Do you already have a lemon or persimmon tree that is currently flooding your yard with fruit?  Are you dreading June when you know you’re going to have piles of dropped plums?  Sign up to be a Garden Steward and donate your excess harvest.  We’ll do all the work, you just have to sign up!

* Identify, Plan and Install 4 New Garden Steward Sites – With our model proven and a stable of dedicated volunteers, we are now ready to expand our site planning and installation operations!  In 2020, we plan to identify, plan, and install four new Garden Steward sites, aiming to have two fully-funded public sites (e.g. schools, homeless shelters) and two Garden Steward-funded sites (e.g. private homes, commercial locations).  Have any ideas (or a yard) for a good site?  Email us at admin@eachgreencorner.org or sign up to be a Garden Steward!

Are you inspired?  We certainly are!  Please continue to follow our progress at Each Green Corner, and if you are able, please consider donating to support our activities.

Thank you, and Happy New Year!