Looking at the work done by the RBHS SEE Team (and other volunteers) today (see the areas around the Police Station and 1st Am Bank), we will have a much improved look to the CBD after tomorrow's workday! And yes, there will be fun a plenty for anyone that wants to come out and join the festivities - Saturday morning (5/29)at 9....
A BIG THANK YOU to all those volunteering their time and effort to make our town all the more beautiful.
I was out of town this weekend, so missed out on the final planting. Would someone post pics of the new plantings? I would love to see how it turned out, after all the volunteers' hard work.
Kudos to Terri and Ben and all!
Everything looks really nice. Thanks to the volunteers!
What a wonderful outcome to a great undertaking. Riverside really did Spring Ahead over the last few days. On Friday, May 28, over 45 RB students from the SEE Team (School of Environmental Education) came out with their teachers to help plant the areas in front of the Police Station, First American Bank, and Arcade Jewelers. Then, on the big planting day on May 29, we had over forty volunteers plant all along Burlington in our downtown.
The tranformation is remarkable already, but just wait until those plants really get established and take off. As Terri taught me during this project, the saying for perennials is "The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, and the third year they leap!" To get some idea of what our downtown is going to look like, just take a look at the triangle at Longcommon and Forest.
I think it safe to say that this was one of, if not the biggest volunteer projects in Riverside's history. To give some idea of the magnitude, we had over 125 indvidual volunteers involved from all ages, from Daisy Scouts to former Village Presidents. We planted over 2000 plants, and easily 700 person-hours were expended in the project. A conservative estimate of the monetary value of the project is $40-50,000 and we did it for about a tenth of that, all of which was collected from donations.
I could not begin to estimate the value of the project in terms of community spirit, camaraderie, and sheer beauty for our Village.
We had a host of donors, but the Riverside Chamber of Commerce stands out -- without their early and extremely generous donation the project would have not happened.
Similarly, we had a lot of hard workers who lent their hands to this project, but three deserve special mention: Landscape Advisory Commissioners Terri Lynne-Culloden and Bob Finn, and our Village Forester Michael Collins. Their dedication, talent, and focus made this project a reality.
Thank you to everyone who took part in this incredible project. It is a shining example of how a common devotion to beauty can bring people together to accomplish wonderful things.
I will try to get some photos, but they simply do not do justice to the transformation. I encourage everyone to come downtown and see for yourselves.
Ben
Very nice. Glad we got that rain afterwards. Two things - will the local businesses help to water the planters in front - Hope so. And I think there should be some signs advising people to not walk through them. Many were tramples at last year's 4th festivities, and it would be a shame to harm any of that hard work. Kudos to all of you who worked so hard.
I received a final list from the Village of the donors to the Riverside Springs Ahead Community Work Day and wanted to publicly acknowledge and thank them. We raised over $9000 for the effort, not counting the contributions of refreshments and lunches provided by Riverside Foods, Chew Chew, Grumpy's, and Mi Casita. We spent about half that amount this year, which means we will have adequate funds for new mulch and replacement plants for next year, as well as augmenting the plantings along Longcommon.
Thank you to our sponsors!
Riverside Springs Ahead Community Work Day Sponsors
Riverside Chamber of Commerce
Thrivent Financial
Riverside Junior Woman’s Charity
Riverside Garden Club
Frederick Law Olmsted Society
Ascension Lutheran Church
Riverside Bank
National City Bank
Arcade Jeweler’s
Riverside Community Caucus
Riverside Foods
The Chew-Chew
Grumpy’s
Mi Casita
Martha and Lou Heine
Dave and Kelly Navarro
Joseph Pinter
Juanita Ray
Ben
Impressive work Ben (and company)!
You must log in to post.