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Open Your Shed and Dig Out Your Gardening Tools
The seeds have been planted. The Rooted in Wyoming organization in Sheridan county has had a successful year with their school gardens that teach students all about self-sufficiency. They have provided school gardens to 2,000 students in kindergarten through fifth grade and the community center in Tongue River Valley. Lise Foy is the executive director. She explained that Rooted in Wyoming teaches the knowledge and skills so that the participants can grow vegetables and then share ideas about the possibilities of what they can do with the vegetables. The residents of Sheridan county and surrounding communities can benefit from local, dedicated, hard-working gardening experts of a variety of ages.
Now the seeds are growing. Bonnie Gregory, committee chairperson, is grateful to everyone who has volunteered to help. Since 2016, 8,500 volunteer hours have been donated. She said that Rooted in Wyoming brings our community together and it gives insight as to where our food comes from.
Watch the seeds continue to grow with the Rooted in Wyoming annual fundraising events. The first is an online auction which begins this Friday, October 2nd at 9:00 a.m. with the winning bidders announced on Saturday, October 3rd. Now is the time to check out and bid on the enticing items such as a rifle, half of a locally-raised beef, a guided fly fishing trip, jewelry, and local art. Ms. Gregory said, “The response has been overwhelming!” You can support Rooted in Wyoming by donating items as well. Just go to the website: rootedinwyoming.org and follow the link to bid or donate items. Please enter your gifts by Wednesday, if possible.
The second event is a concert at Luminous Brewhouse on Saturday evening from five o’clock to nine. Enjoy both Wes Urbaniak and the Nate Champion Band. Ms. Gregory said that due to Covid-19, this is now a hybrid event. It is live with limited seating at Luminous Brewhouse, and it is going to be streamed live for those who prefer to stay at home. It is a free event, but donations for this once-yearly fundraiser are always appreciated.
John and Pam Standish have helped the vegetables to thrive. They have generously offered to match all of the donations and proceeds. So, if you donate $10.00, that will become $20.00!
Cultivating the gardens means working on and reaching new goals. Ms. Foy said Rooted in Wyoming would like to start two new gardens which has an estimated cost of $20,000. She would also like to partner with other organizations so that they can reach out beyond Sheridan county. They would like to have a permanent facility. Another goal is to have the locally-grown produce could be used in the school lunch program.
Let’s make it a healthy crop. You can go online to donate items and to bid on them, and you can go to the concert. Rooted in Wyoming needs your help to reach their annual budget. With the double down, they could be ready to plant even more.
Submitted by Meredith Brose
