Update from our Germination Corps. correspondent Mark Boyd, on this past weekend in North Carolina:

We built some stuff (plant backpacks & giant vegetable puppets), hauled over to the Yancey County library, built a little more stuff (plant backpacks & shoulder bags) and did a little teaching and informing on the the fly (food security and accessibility, how and why to grow your own, where to distribute the extra to share, recycling and reuse, community gardening), THEN hauled on over to Dig In Yancey! for our first garden event.  The weather graced us with a break in the rains so we could take a few pictures and march around the garden

This coming week Germination Corps spreads like kudzu into the schools to work with 120 elementary school kids!  Each child will receive a plant shoulder bag generously fabricated and donated by Quality Plus Apparel (many thanks!) based on Jessica’s original design.  (Only in a small tight knit community would a local manufacturer step up and provide such a generous donation.  This is the power of neighbors helping neighbors!)  We’ll then have a short teach-in about plant propagation, community gardens, and food security and sustainability.  After that we’ll transplant seedlings (started with the assistance of the local ag extension service, more neighbors!) into the bags, then have a parade along the creekwalk to the site of the new 4H community garden.  At the garden, we’ll transplant seedlings event.  Here’s hoping for a sunny day!

And stay tuned, next Thursday we’re doing a big wrap up event at Dig In Yancey! during the afternoon.  Details coming here soon.