No Deer Allowed!!!

From the CGS Facilities Director John Gilbert:

I got a call from Larry Schmidt at 7:00 AM this morning, letting me know that there were four deer at the new garden, but that they were OUTSIDE of the mammoth deer fence.

Jeff Cothern later confirmed the story to me, but corrected Larry’s count, changing it to five. But, Jeff also assured me that they were all OUTSIDE the deer fence that can be seen from the space shuttle.

Great work!!!!
JG

A Garden to Last Many Years to Come!

Tucked away on the outskirts of Kansas City lies an organization that brings hope to countless lives. For over 40 years the Community of the Good Shepherd (CGS) has been serving adults with disabilities. Approximately 50 adults live at CGS, and many more actively participate in the great day programs that CGS provides.

After meeting with the amazing staff and residents at CGS, we realized that this is a special place. We also quickly learned that their greatest wish was to have a garden. They wanted to produce fresh fruit and veggies and also allow the residents to join in on the gardening fun. What a great opportunity to Grow Change -> Create Hope!

Our Burns & McDonnell + Spaces Inc. team became thrilled at this great opportunity. The excitement and desire to help was contagious. We were grateful to have Kansas City Community Gardens on board to help with planting and garden design and Turner Construction to donate their time and materials to build the facility director's dream shed. How cool is that?!?

The first day we assembled a team together to begin creating the raised beds for the garden, and it was snowing! How are we supposed to garden in the snow? Our determined crew worked hard through the weather conditions, ate some pizza, and worked some more to get 14 raised beds constructed. The next work day was our big day, and it turned out to be a beautiful one. We had over 20 people participate to continue building a garden, storage shed, and truly create change! Volunteers were all over the place: digging post holes, shoveling soil, putting up the fence, and most of all, having fun. Of course we could not have done it without residents Jeff and Larry, overseeing the work and manning the water and snacks tent. Before long a garden appeared before our eyes. Now it was time to get dirty and do some planting. It was a fantastic sight to see the plants in the beds, and witness the growth taking place.

CGS will continue to provide their wonderful services for years and years, and residents will come and go, but the bounty of the garden will live on for years to come.

FOR MORE PICTURES, PLEASE VISIT OUR SHUTTERFLY WEBSITE @ bmprojectchange.shutterfly.com