More Photos! - Read the Story Below For Greenhouse Info

Soil preparer extraordinaire Nat

(TO READ ABOUT THE LAND & SEA COMMUNITY GARDEN'S BEGINNINGS, GO HERE  and HERE.)

Hi - Just posted these photos, left and below, tonight (2/8). They're of hard working Nat & Nick. Nick's a FHHS student from Jenny Wilson's Community Projects class who just started work in the greenhouse, as a project, today. Nat is a biologist who came all the way out from the East Coast of the US to work in Friday Harbor after reading about internships on our Land & Sea webpage!! Over the last week or so, Nat and others have put together the greenhouse beds and entry ramp, brought in and amended planting soil, and today Nick started with them working with the soil, filling in paths with donated shredded bark, and getting ready to plant starts! These guys are wonderful!
(Thank you Rikki Swinn for the lumber that surrounds these lovely beds!)
Look for more posts soon -  about the greenhouse and about the food to be grown there!!

Nick, getting right to work!

Nat worked on building these beds over the last couple days

This lovely rich soil was composted from the sod removed from the garden trail and the greenhouse site.

From little things, big things grow - plant starts!

Isn't this pretty? We'll post more photos, and stop and talk to the guys if you see them in the greenhouse!

Two Great Things!  Greenhouse Up and Going, and high school community service project Public Garden Trail built

We've been too busy to post for a while , and there's a lot to write about, so maybe look for catching-up updates this week.

the Greenhouse Guys - Cody Pierce, Parker Satin, and Ryan Cole!

Mentor, organizer, and cheerleader Marion Melville. the Greenhouse Boys, and volunteers

Contractor Terry Whalen, Jim C. John S,. Marion, Jenny

Volunteer FH general contractor Terry Whalen, carpenter Chris Wilson,

 Ryan, Cody, and volunteer student helper

Chris, Cody, Parker, Terry Whalen and John Stamey gettin 'er fastened down.

The dedicated crew hard at work

Steadfast and hilarious Jim Cole and Chris Wilson and crew

The amazing greenhouse is up Thank you Community Service Class students who did this project:  Cody Pierce, Parker Satin, and Ryan Cole. And thanks to the Greenhouse Guys' primary mentor and force of nature Marion Melville and contractor Terry Whalen, who took on a very big project and saw it through with a wish to give to the community, teacher Jenny Wilson and her husband, carpenter Chris Wilson, Ryan's parents Jim and Cathy Cole, John Stamey and Lenore Bayuk, grant approval/greenhouse research/site mapping mentor Scott Fitzstephens, Gates Foundation and kind committee, Marion's brothers from off island, Liz Keeshan, Soroptimists, Browne Building Supply, Darren, Sheila, Diane Olshefsky's and everybody at Harbor Rental, Dana and Stacy Baker, Kelly, Phil, and everyone at Friday Harbor Electric, Kerry Geiser, Pete Rose, David Kelly, Debbie Emery, Maureen See and Ingrid Carlson, Howie Rosenfeld, Jamie Stephans and all those members of the SJ County Council who took a positive interest in helping this project happen, Nancy Vejvoda, building comrades Mike P. and Ryan Ochoa,  Jim and everyone at OPALCO, Mike, Gary, Roxanne, Amy, and Sandy and the FH town offices, and Mayor Lacher and FH Town Council, high school/middle school principal Fred Wood, John Towson of the Lions and his Leos, Jack McKenna, Colleen and Bruce Gregory Howe, the incomparable Ian Byington, Jack Cory, and Sharon Kivisto, Jim Lawrence, Rikki Swinn, Melanie, Chris, and the SJ County Asssesor's Office, Gerry Warren, Matt & Maureen Marinkovich, mentor Linda Degnan Cobos, Aaron Kendzoriak - former FH Community Service class member, now an Evergreen U. student -  and Tasha Frey - community member and FH grad - who had a vision for a greenhouse, and a vision for this spot as a community garden, and who both helped get this going - and the so many people who's names I haven't thought of - but will - who offered help, and worked hard and selflessly to get the greenhouse here.)

Community treasure John Stamey

FHHS grad Aaron Kenzoriak dreamed big.

Activist, community member, mom Tasha Frey

THE TRAIL

THE TRAIL CREW - Keith and Kevin

Keith Dimmick and Kevin Aguilar - trail heroes.Thanks you Dimmick and Aguilar families!

Another wonderful and long lasting project at the garden was done by FHHS students Kevin Aguilar and Keith Dimmick. This project also originated in Jenny Wilson's Community Service class and was also mentored first by Scott, then by Linda, with support from Jenny, Fred Wood, and the Aguilar family.
First, Kevin and Keith visited Colleen Gregory Howe's Mitchell Bay Farm on a Land & Sea field trip with Linda. There, Colleen gave the boys advice on healthy fruit trees, and a first hand look at bee hives with stories on how they work. Kevin then decided to visit Island Gardens landscaping for information on path-building. He visited Ace Hardware, who generously donated weed mat and path making materials. Keith found sources for shredded bark, and trucking from his dad. With Scott, Kevin and Keith researched path making, made a map, and drew a design. Both young men visited deputy County Administrator Pete Kelly and SJI County Administrator Pete Rose's offices for advice. Both boys worked at the site marking the path area, and Kevin spent one warm afternoon with equipment from Harbor Rental,  removing sod with Bruce Robinson, Matt, Linda, and Maureen. Then these two boys designed and - with hard work of their families, built - the beautiful wood chip public path that now runs through the Land & Sea Garden.

Members of FH Middle SchoolCindy William's wonderful Quest class working in the Land & Sea garden this fall with fall garden manager Bruce Robinson. They planted garlic and favas on this day.

And on this day, Quest students dug Ozette potatoes with Linda

2011- The Quest class dug 2 big cases of potatoes. Linda couldn't wash them in time for the community dinner this time, so they are being stored to use as seed potatoes and to cook up a little later for the Quest class. They are delicious!

In Oct. students from Cindy Williams' FH middle school Quest class dug Ozette potatoes in the garden with Linda Degnan Cobos one day (the potatoes were grown in our garden from seed potatoes that originated with Salish Sea/San Juan islands native people, and that were gathered wild and donated by biologist Madrona Murphy) and planted garlic and a fava cover crop with Bruce Robinson, using beans and seeds grown in our garden.

2010 school year, members of Ruthie Paul's high school cooking class dug the 2010 Ozette potato crop, 3 big cases full, which went to a community dinner. 

These pickles were made by the cooking class at FHHS run by the amazing andd resourceful Ruthie Paull. The cukes for the pickles, and the garlic and onions were donated through Land & Sea by the big-hearted Heritage Farm CSA (now known as Happy Belly CSA. - look for some great things from these community minded farmers!)

Ruthie at home in in her teaching kitchen at the high school. In the foreground you can see garlic grown in the Land & Sea garden, and donated by Land and Sea. That beautiful green basil on the table is from farmers Cam and Pablo at the CSA garden at Heritage Farm (aka in 2011-12 Full Belly Farm CSA).

This is incredible salsa made from local canned tomatoes by Ruthie's students. Aren't these beautiful? These late-season tomatoes were all picked by Linda and donated to the class by Jim and Lisa Lawrence of Thirsty Goose Farm.

Cooking class students' tools and products

An end of the season harvest of Thirsty Goose late-season heirloom tomatoes. They are so delicious!

Heritage/Full Belly fresh fragrant basil grown, picked and donated by CSA farmers Cam and Pablo, ready for chopping

Land & Sea's first Land & Sea garden manager Tim McGee working at his own lovely Heritage Farm CSA garden, where the cucumbers, basil, garlic, and squash donated to Ruthie's class by 2010 CSA managers Cam and Pablo were grown.

All photos in this post - Linda Degnan Cobos