Hot August Contributions: Volunteers Exertion Transforms Our Farm Lab Site

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Written By Caitlin Case

A Sincere Thank You

We offer extra kudos to those who braved the heat to help us out on the sweltering morning of Thursday, August 20th. These monthly volunteer days at Petty Ranch ensure that our Farm Lab site is in tip top condition for our third graders and their teachers and chaperones.

Maintenance and New Additions

Keeping an educational site ready for programs requires ongoing diligence, but it also means staying open to growth. This summer—including our August volunteer day—we focused on both maintaining what we have and building something new:

  • Wrestling With the Weeds: Grasses grow incredibly tall around our stations. We continue to hand-pull and dig them out so students and adults can move safely through the site.

  • Mulching, Mulching, & More Mulching. Farmer Chris, who owns Petty Ranch, once again generously arranged for a nice pile of mulch to be dumped between two our of teaching stations. We were able to spread a thick 2-inch layer throughout our plant station area.

  • Seasonal Garden Box and Flower Bed Care: Thank you to the loving hands that continue to clear out old growth, add fresh soil and compost, and replant our garden boxes and flower beds.

  • New Bug Station Renovations. We are thrilled to be installing a new "bug" garden this summer! This addition will expand our students' ability to explore and experience beneficial farm bugs. We have already planted two areas near the station with pollinator plants (like milkweed) and drought-tolerant natives. Next up: enhancing the decomposing woody area and adding a small, open water barrel.

A Special Thank You To:

  • Walter, one of our loyal and steady volunteers, who almost single-handedly tackled loading and dumping mulch throughout the plant station area.

  • Vanessa, our Summer Intern, who brought fresh, inspiring ideas for the bug station and even came out to volunteer after her internship officially ended to keep working on the project.

  • DeeJane and Mary Carol, two dedicated volunteers who continue to beautify our flower beds and garden boxes.

The support and talents of our volunteers continue to inspire us and nurture the spaces where we teach. To everyone who joined us this past Thursday: thank you for your time, energy, and care!

Get Involved & Upcoming Events

We are always looking for extra hands to help us grow! Here are a few ways you can make a difference.

  • Volunteer at our Southbank Learning Farm

  • Help out at Special SEEAG Events.

  • Support our Farm and School Education Sites

Santa Barbara Farm Day.

When. Saturday, September 19th:

To get involved. Here is the link to register to volunteer for this event.

Stay Connected

We will be posting our next monthly volunteer workdays for both the Southbank Learning Farm and our Farm and School Education sites soon. Keep an eye on our website and social media for dates!

Questions or Suggestions? We’d love to hear from you! Feel free to reach out directly to:

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Caitlin Case
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Save the Date: Registration for SEEAG’S Programs- Farm to Food Lab and STEM CPA opens Tuesday, September 1st