Team Up for the Gardening Season
by Robin Reid
News that an organization has been formed to provide an “endless harvest” to those in need and teach people how to maintain sustainable, ecologically sound methods of growing fresh produce year round is circulating in the Champlain Valley. A group of young visionaries has formed The Root Center, a registered 501c3 in the State of Vermont and their following is growing.
Executive Director Drew Burns is excited to see this project moving forward to a hands on stage. He has been working on the formative stages for three years and now with the assistance of Treasurer Robin Schulte, most of the paperwork required for national nonprofit status has been completed. Volunteers are ready to get to work in several plots that local residents have donated for The Root Center to use—extra rows in their gardens or a fallow area in their yards.
One such location is the north shoulder of Barber Hill in Charlotte where the Rural Route Today garden was expanded in order to share adequate space with The Root Center. Despite the chilly and wet weather, Schulte and another Root Center supporter, Jeremy Hammond, managed to construct the “trademark” geodisic dome at the end of the garden. The dome will house vegetable starts and can also be used to extend the growing season.
For more information on The Root Center, visit www.therootcenter.org. On Thursday, May 27 you can support The Root Center while enjoying a lovely afternoon at the Shelburne Vineyard. Lowell Thompson will provide entertainment from 5-7 pm. 10% of all wine sales will benefit The Root Center.
