The Rotary Club of Castro Valley is partnering with Forestr on a school garden project at Marshall Elementary School in Castro Valley USD. Castro Valley Rotarians Yon Hardisty and Limon Li-Hardisty, respectively, are the founder and CEO of Forestr. They generated the idea for the project and hope that it will become a model for school pocket parks throughout the community. Leading the project for Rotary are Randy Vanderbilt and Marco Jaramillo, who is coordinating the construction (e.g., carpentry, grading) work. The Club, led by a generous donation from Rotarian Carol Bigelow, has donated $10,000 to the project to support other gifts that Forestr has received. (Photos by Rotarian Gary Bosley)
To kick off the project, Rotary removed old planters and replaced them with new ones including one that is ADA accessible; brought in new soil for the planters and planted vegetables; cleaned up all the weeds and removed some trees and shrubs; and regraded the walking path. Click here to see photos by Rotarian Gary Bosley from Rotary hosted June 3rd workday.
The next phase of the project will begin in mid- to late summer and will include rebuilding the walkway with new borders and fresh rock; built retaining walls to level the space where two tables will be located on stone pavers; building a new trellis over the tables; building a new arbor and fence to frame the entrance to the garden; and planting several fruit trees and vegetables in the garden.
See more photos from the June 3rd workday at photoalbums/marshall-school-garden-project (photos by Rotarian Gary Bosley). Check Upcoming Events on the Club's website for details regarding the next workday in mid- to late summer - the more hands, the easier the work..