With the quick approach of spring, excitement is continuing to build for LifeRoots Community Garden and all that this project will entail. Winter is waning in Colorado, and the vision of flowery buds of new growth are inspiring the efforts of LifeRoots' assembled team. Compost bins have been built. Clear lines of demarcation lay out the exact spots of future garden plots. Donated materials are continuing to be placed within the garden perimeters indicating to the community at large that something is occurring on the property. Interest is continuing to ignite among various individuals, community groups, businesses, and organizations.
This is the property on which LifeRoots Community Garden will eventually sit. This view is looking towards the west, centering on Pike's Peak, taken from the center of the proposed garden spot.
This is another view of the existing property...this view is looking east, towards Union Blvd, one of the busiest north-south corridors in the city. The garden will sit about 100 yards from this street.
Yesterday, April 21st, marked a day of great anticipation for the LifeRoots team. It was on this Tuesday that a meeting was scheduled between LifeRoots Community Garden and Colorado Springs Utilities. This appointment was highly anticipated not only for the monumental nature of the meeting (this was the first meeting with an outside entity where LifeRoots, as a Surgance brand, would be discussed and presented); part of the anticipation was due to the complete validity that an organization like Colorado Springs Utility could lend LifeRoots Community Garden in all future partnership gathering endeavors. As Al Barrera, Garden Director, and John Wheeler, Garden Architectual Consultant, walked into the room, each one realized how important it would be to truly cast the vision for all that this garden could be.
As Al began to walk through the concept of LifeRoots Community Garden, he began to see changes in the faces of the three representatives of Colorado Springs Utilities. With each passing moment, the city utilities representatives' body language changed from skeptical to apprehensive to interested and finally to involved and excited. The most obvious interest was displayed as he showed the group a finalized artist rendition of the future property (designed and created by team members John and Jeff Haley, Landscape Architect)
As the group scanned over the garden's design, words like "beautiful", "ambitious", and "exciting" were emphatically mentioned. As the remaining time was spent in an informal question and answer session, recommendations were made by CS Utilities regarding water issues, advertising, partnerships, energy consulting, and the amount of involvement foreseen by CS Utilities. Steps were agreed to, by those representatives involved, to help LifeRoots in its pursuit of further Utilities' involvement. Suggestions were made regarding water rights contacts, grant proposals, and volunteer mobilization. As the meeting came to a conclusion, hand shakes and smiles filled the room in anticipation of seeing this project come to fruition.
We do not know what will come of this meeting. We do know that as we walked out of the room another critical set of connections were made. LifeRoots Community Garden has always emphasized the vision of facilitating the increase of connections within the Pike's Peak Region. If the meeting with Colorado Springs Utilities was any indication of the garden's ability to connect, then LifeRoots is well on its way to seeing the vision of a connected community come to pass.
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