Volunteers from the Rotary Club of Pearlridge teamed up with the Master Gardeners Association on Saturday, November 27, 2010 at the Urban Garden Center in Pearl City to complete work on five new rose garden plots and a new garden gazebo.
Saturday's Urban Garden Center work day project was coordinated by Rotary Club of Pearlridge Community Service Project Chair, Tony Lorenzo. The project was part of the club's efforts to secure a $10,000 grant from the Weinberg Foundation to benefit the Kokua Hawaii Foundation and their outreach programs.
"The Weinberg Foundation project is what we participate in every year to support our community," said Lorenzo. "On the completion of our service project here, the Weinberg Foundation is going to award the Kokua Hawaii Foundation which was started by Jack Johnson, $10,000."
The Kokua Hawaii Foundation led by Garden Education Coordinator, Lydia Morgan has recently set up 12 schools to develop school gardens as well as notional education. The Kokua Hawaii Foundation's Garden Education program with is very interested in developing additional schools in 2011. The Master Gardeners Association is there to help them succeed.
"About twenty percent of people who come in to become volunteers with the Master Gardeners Association are teachers," said Bob Speer, 2010 President of the Master Gardeners Association. "Almost all of them, to a person, want to teach schools about gardening."
The Master Gardeners goal is to provide advice and their expertise to teachers and students on how to successfully grow gardens.
The partnerships between the Rotary Club of Pearlridge, Master Gardeners Association, Kokua Hawaii Foundation and our schools is an example of how non profit groups and their core of volunteers and supporters can come together to benefit our community.
"This is pretty cool from our standpoint," said Speer. "This is kind of a quadrilateral relationship as I see it with this grant."
Another beneficiary of Saturday's work project at the Urban Garden Center will be the Honolulu Rose Society who will move about a 135 rose plants into the new rose beds that the volunteers from the Rotary Club of Pearlridge helped to complete.
"In January of 2010 we received 135 roses which was a donation from Star Roses in the mainland, said Myrna Cariaga, President of the Honolulu Rose Society. "The intention is to plant them into Urban Garden's rose garden. We would like to start with little phases and create a big, large rose garden for everyone to enjoy."
To learn more about the Honolulu Rose Society log onto: honolulurosesociety.org
Congratulations to everyone who came together to make Saturday's work project a success. Also, to Rotary Club of Pearlridge President, Theo Stiller, Community Service Projects Chair, Tony Lorenzo and to the club's membership for their dedication and hard work as community volunteers.