From fairly empty to full and fabulous, the San Diego United Lions worked hard at building a garden for children to thrive and learn in a new educational program to teach young minds how to take care of the earth, life skills such as organic gardening, recycling, and water conservation along with a new place to play…
“Green Thumbs” Kids Garden
When Sarah, a volunteer at the local public library, wrote a single message on NextDoor, an online neighborhood application soliciting help to fulfill her vision of a “Green Thumbs” Kids Garden at the community library, she was surprised at the expeditious response, strength, and actions taken by the San Diego United Lions Club.
Sarah had received approval to develop an educational garden program that would take place during -*the Summer in the internal patio of the public library. Her vision included raised vegetable and fruit beds, bird baths, plants, flowers, garden sink, a teaching area, children’s playhouse, succulent planters, sensory garden, and a serene sitting area for reading and reflection.
Sarah’s budget was a mere $100 with a possibility of more money later in the year, but not in time for her to begin her summer educational program for young children. The educational program included taking care of “Mother Earth”, water conservation, organic gardening for self-sustainment, and a play area, where none existed, encouraging children to come to the library.
When a San Diego United Lions Club member saw Sarah’s post, they immediately went into action. With a quick visit to the public library to assess the garden area, a meeting with management for a better understanding of the “Green Thumbs” Kids Garden and required approval, a list of wishes and requests were drafted and prioritized, and the SDULC team got to work to meet a very short deadline for summer.
“We got so lucky when you read the post. I had no idea who the Lions were or how they could help us. I feel blessed.”
While San Diego has beautiful weather most of the year, the week that three and a half yards of compost and dirt had to be moved from the dump and a local nursery to the community library, was not one of them. As the sun beat down, and the temperature and humidity rose, the SDULC Lions began the arduous job of manually shoveling compost from the dump, and dirt from a rented trailer, into 5-gallon buckets for hand-transport into the garden arena.
Approximately 265 buckets were filled with dirt, and walked from the back of the truck to the garden in the course of a single day.
As the first priority was completed, the Lions gathered in multiple homes to cut wood, build raised vegetable beds, paint, assemble, and ready items. Putting together a large children’s playhouse seemed much like the night before a holiday celebration trying to get the “bike” assembled before morning with plastic pieces and tiny screws. There were 96 screws with the playhouse.
During that week of event day preparation, many of us wondered whether we would make the deadline or not as we began “hitting a few bumps and thumbs” along the way.
As the builders built, painters and assemblers were pulling their fair share of the work load. Event day was only five days away. Check lists were being checked and items crossed off the list. More wood was purchased, more paint was acquired, a new pack of screws, and another run to the local hardware store for that “one more thing” that was needed to complete the project at hand.
“Teamwork is everything. It is everyone pulling together and in the same direction.”
Local neighbors and friends of the community were invited to “join in the fun,” as the deadline got closer.
On Event Day, the SDULC Lions and members of the community got to work as a team with a visit and the support of our local councilmember, District 6, The Honorable Chris Cate.
The San Diego Library Staff kept an eye out as the ringing of cheerful voices and laughter filled the air…neighborhood children, along with their parents, joined in solidarity to help beautify the garden area.
The “Green Thumbs” Kids Garden project was starting to show some real progress, and library patrons peeked through the windows at all the excitement. The raised garden beds were ready for dirt and plants, and so were the kids. The kids were given plastic shovels and pails, and they began to help with the “heavy lifting.” As the kids kept busy, others were climbing ladders to hang wind chimes.
Just an hour from SDULC’s goal to complete the project, we were getting close and you could feel the excitement in the air. There were flowers, flowers, everywhere!
As we finished our project, the group was all smiles! Sarah has begun her outdoor library “Green Thumbs” Kids program, and the SDULC, along with help from the community, leaves a beautiful garden and a place for outdoor education for generations to come. The End!
Principles for Project Management Success
In order to be successful for this project, project lists and timelines were developed to meet the needs of the public library that would remain open during the face-lift and makeover. The outside yard was essentially loose dirt and rock, and not useful for raised garden beds. Over three and a half cubic yards of dirt would need to be brought in without ruining the library flooring or disturbing the patrons.
Benches and playhouses would need to be ordered and assembled, a sensory garden designed, wind chimes hung without damaging existing city property, and raised garden beds built, filled with dirt, and fruits and vegetables planted.
The placement of pots and plants would need to be decided, designed, and then created to ensure that a place of simple rest and relaxation was available in the garden. The San Diego United Lions Club members went to work on a budget, and outlined how many people would be needed to make the magic happen in three short weeks.
Could this project come together in just one day? With determination, focus, project management, and drive, the Lions were joined by Library Staff and citizens of the community to make the execution of this project a huge success!