Get on your gardening gloves and head out to Hammock Gardens Nursery Landscaping Saturday, Nov. 23, for a workshop on how to grow potted hypertufa mushrooms. The event will be held in the garden’s gift shop, at 5208 N. Oceanshore Blvd.

Hypertufa are lightweight containers made of a kind of rough, artificial stone.

Attendees can make one hypertufa mushroom for $20, or make three for $50.

Reservations are required. Call 446-9154, or visit hammockgardens.com.

New gift shop opens in Flagler Beach

Flagler Beach’s Pope Plaza is the new home of Creative Gifts and Crafts, a gift shop that carries frames, pictures, pet treat boxes, metal art, bird houses, seashells and Christmas ornaments.

With special prices available to seniors and veterans, the store is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, at 1844 S. Oceanshore Blvd.

Call 264-4042.

Flagler County Chamber announces board nominees

The Flagler County Chamber released Nov. 25 a list of potential candidates for appointment to its board. Their list is as follows:

Winnie Costello, Center for Business Excellence
Kent Ryan, Daytona State College
Tom Grimes, Hilton Garden Inn Palm Coast/Town Center
Michael Barr, Crossroads Development

All nominees are required to be members in good standing, and the board is intended to represent different types and sizes of member businesses.

Additional candidates can still be nominated by petition.

Nomination petitions must have the signature of at least five percent of the voting members in good standing and be filed by Nov. 27. If no petitions are made, the board will vote on and ratify the proposed list Dec. 3.

Watson Realty hires new broker

Watson Realty Corp., at 1410 Palm Coast Parkway N.W., has hired a new broker, a native Floridian who used to spend a lot of her time growing up at her grandparents’ brokerage office.

“I feel that being a native Floridian has given me an excellent prospective and love for the Flagler County area,” Dana Davis said in a release. “I was born in Daytona Beach, raised in Winter Park and reared my children in Melbourne Beach.”

Both of Davis’ parents worked in real estate, her grandmother worked in real estate into her late 70s and Davis’ aunt is a real estate agent in Altamonte Springs.

Davis is a member of the county’s, state’s and nation’s Association of Realtors and has a National Association of Realtors “green” designation, which allows her to help inform buyers about eco-friendly home features and green community initiatives.

“Every step you take towards green is a step in the right direction,” she said.

Call 569-4998, or visit DanaDavisProperties.com.

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Marin

• The Marin Open Garden Project encourages residents to bring their excess backyard-grown fruit and vegetables to the following locations for a free exchange with other gardeners on Saturdays: Mill Valley from 10 to 11 a.m. on the Greenwood School front porch at 17 Buena Vista Ave.; San Rafael from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. in Sun Valley Park at K and Solano streets; and San Rafael from 9 to 10 a.m. at Pueblo Park on Hacienda Way in Santa Venetia. Go to www.opengardenproject.org or email contact@opengardenproject.org.

• Wendy Johnson teaches a “Perennial Propagation in the Autumn Garden” workshop from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Indian Valley Organic Farm and Garden at 1800 Ignacio Blvd. in Novato. $30. Call 473-4024 or go to www.marinmg.org to register.

• Jen Strobel teaches a holiday planter workshop at at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 16 at Sloat Garden Center at 401 Miller Ave. in Mill Valley. $30. Call 388-0365.

• West Marin Commons offers a weekly harvest exchange at 1:30 p.m. Saturdays at the Livery Stable gardens on the commons in Point Reyes Station. Go to www.westmarin commons.org.

• The Novato Independent Elders Program seeks volunteers to help Novato seniors with their overgrown yards on Tuesday mornings or Thursday afternoons. Call 899-8296.

• Volunteers are sought to help in Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy nurseries from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays at Tennessee Valley, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays at Muir Woods or 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays or 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays in the Marin Headlands. Call 561-3077 or go to www.parksconservancy.org/volunteer.

• The Marin Organic Glean Team seeks volunteers to harvest extras from the fields at various farms for the organic school lunch and gleaning program. Call 663-9667 or go to www.marinorganic.org.

• The SPAWN (Salmon Protection and Watershed Network) native plant nursery days are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays and weekends. Call 663-8590, ext. 114, or email jonathan@tirn.net to register and for directions.

• Marin Open Garden Project (MOGP) volunteers are available to help Marin residents glean excess fruit from their trees for donations to local organizations serving people in need and to build raised beds to start vegetable gardens through the MicroGardens program. MGOP also offers a garden tool lending library. Go to www.opengardenproject.org or email contact@opengarden project.org.

• Marin Master Gardeners and the Marin Municipal Water District offer free residential Bay-Friendly Garden Walks to MMWD customers. The year-round service helps homeowners identify water-saving opportunities and soil conservation techniques for their landscaping. Call 473-4204 to request a visit to your garden.

San Francisco

• The Conservatory of Flowers, at 100 John F. Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park, displays permanent galleries of tropical plant species as well as changing special exhibits from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. $2 to $7. Call 831-2090 or go to www.conservatoryofflowers.org.

• The San Francisco Botanical Garden Society, at Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way in Golden Gate Park, offers several ongoing events. $7; free to San Francisco residents, members and school groups. Call 661-1316 or go to www.sf botanicalgarden.org. Free docent tours leave from the Strybing Bookstore near the main gate at 1:30 p.m. weekdays, 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. weekends; and from the north entrance at 2 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Groups of 10 or more can call ahead for special-focus tours.

Around the Bay

• Cornerstone Gardens is a permanent, gallery-style garden featuring walk-through installations by international landscape designers on nine acres at 23570 Highway 121 in Sonoma. Free. Call 707-933-3010 or go to www.corner stonegardens.com.

• Garden Valley Ranch rose garden is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays at 498 Pepper Road in Petaluma. Self-guided and group tours are available. $2 to $10. Call 707-795-0919 or go to www.gardenvalley.com.

• The Luther Burbank Home at Santa Rosa and Sonoma avenues in Santa Rosa has docent-led tours of the greenhouse and a portion of the gardens every half hour from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. $7. Call 707-524-5445.

• McEvoy Ranch at 5935 Red Hill Road in Petaluma offers tips on planting olive trees and has olive trees for sale by appointment. Call 707-769-4123 or go to www.mcevoy ranch.com.

• Wednesdays are volunteer days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Occidental Arts and Ecology Center at 15290 Coleman Valley Road in Occidental. Call 707-874-1557, ext. 201, or go to www.oaec.org.

• Quarryhill Botanical Garden at 12841 Sonoma Highway in Glen Ellen covers 61 acres and showcases a large selection of scientifically documented wild source temperate Asian plants. The garden is open for self-guided tours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. $5 to $10. Call 707-996-3166 or go to www.quarryhillbg.org.

The Trowel Glove Calendar appears Saturdays. Send high-resolution jpg photo attachments and details about your event to calendar@marinij.com or mail to Home and Garden Calendar/Lifestyles, Marin Independent Journal, 4000 Civic Center Drive, Suite 301, San Rafael, CA 94903. Items should be sent two weeks in advance. Photos should be a minimum of 1 megabyte and include caption information. Include a daytime phone number on your release.

CLEVELAND: Most folks in Northeast Ohio have heard of the Botanical Gardens, but far fewer are aware of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens.

And yet the Cultural Gardens are among Cleveland’s most unique assets.

Located in Rockefeller Park on the city’s east side, the public gardens consist of over 30 distinct gardens, each commemorating a different ethnic group, nation or cultural identity whose members have contributed to the heritage of the United States and Cleveland. Cultural figures and icons in a variety of materials are represented. And each garden’s landscaping suggests the particular country or nationality for which it is named.

The gardens were originally conceived in 1916 and were to feature literary figures. The first garden honored William Shakespeare and featured British icons and landscaping.

In 1926, Clevelander Leo Weidenthal altered the character slightly from literary to cultural when he planted the Hebrew Garden, the first ethnic garden.

His purpose was to get nationality groups working with each other and learning more about each other’s cultures.

This came at a time when recent immigrant groups often carved out self-imposed ghettos, where they lived and rarely interacted with other groups or learned other languages or cultures.

The gardens were a great success from their earliest years. The unusual project had almost universal political, media and civic support that only grew with time.

That support became critical when the original plan to have each nationality group fund its own garden became unrealistic amid the hardships of the Great Depression.

The city of Cleveland came to the project’s rescue, channeling federal money and manpower through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) into building the remaining 13 of the original 15 planned gardens.

Since the WPA years, the number of gardens has continued to increase as new immigrant groups to the region fund their own gardens and take pride in their heritage.

In 1936, the American Legion Peace Garden was added, inspired by veterans of World War I.

The last garden to be added, the Albanian garden, was dedicated Sept. 22, 2012, and features a bronze statue of Mother Teresa — one of the most well known Albanians — by noted Albanian sculptor Kreshnik Xhiku.

Ben Stefanski, president of the Polish Cultural Garden Committee, said, “there’s nothing else in the world quite like these gardens. I’m so pleased that more and more people have been coming out to visit them in the past few years.”

According to Stefanski, funds are being raised to create a Norwegian garden, a Russian garden and an African-American garden.

Stefanski has been an active fundraiser and champion of the gardens for many years. He is currently working to replace lost statues of John Hay and Abraham Lincoln that once stood in the American garden. Hay was the secretary of state under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt and also served in the Lincoln administration.

The oldest and largest gardens are along East Boulevard from St. Clair Avenue on the north to Superior Avenue on the south. The newer ones are along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, starting just north of St. Clair, continuing to Superior on the south. An exception is the Chinese garden that is also along MLK Jr. Blvd but located halfway between Chester Avenue and East 105th Street, across from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Wade Park Lagoon.

The gardens extend roughly 1½ miles on both MLK Jr. and East Boulevards.

To reach the gardens, take the MLK Jr. Drive exit off I-90 and proceed south for 0.4 mile to where the gardens begin.

To schedule group tours, contact Mary Hamlin, coordinator for Cultural Gardens tours and speakers at 440-461-2533 or mwhamlin@adelphia.net. A self-guided tour pamphlet is available for download at http://culturalgardens.org/documents/TourSelfRev6-3-2012.pdf.

Kubota’s B2530 compact tractor has been chosen as the ideal groundcare solution for the world-famous Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, following the purchase of eight units from the UK’s leading provider of groundcare machinery.

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003, Kew is one of London’s top visitor attractions with almost 2 million visitors each year.

The site is one of the leaders in plant science and conservation with a collection of over 30,000 species of plant and trees within its 300 acres.

In order to keep Kew Gardens on top of the extensive maintenance programme that the grounds require, an army of groundcare machinery and personnel is required to keep the site in immaculate condition.

Tony Kirkham, Head of the Arboretum and Cultural service, commented: “As Kew Gardens is the top echelon of horticulture, we have to strive to be the best we can as the public expect to see the best when they come here.”

With that in mind, Kew purchased eight of Kubota’s B2530 compact tractors from local dealer Lister Wilder, following a competitive DEFRA tender.

The tender specified the need for a lightweight 25hp hydrostatic tractor with simple operator controls that would suit the variety of different operators required to use the machinery.

Other tender considerations included reliability, running costs and how environmentally friendly the tractor solutions were – all of which the Kubota’s scored highly on.

Tony continues: “The new machinery is absolutely critical to the business. With 300 acres to cover we need good tractors otherwise it’s down to wheelbarrows.

They’re our workhorses for moving materials, but we also have a number of attachments for landscaping work such as a flail for long grass, landscape rakes and tractor-mounted rotovators.”

With long working hours required to keep the centre in tip-top condition, another key focus of the tender process was that any specified machines needed to be backed by a high quality parts and service programme.

Tony continues: “The Kubota’s work hard, doing the most hours out of all the machines we have. That’s why it was imperative that a good service plan was part of the tender, as with the amount of work that needs doing we cannot afford to be without machines for long periods if they break down.

Having worked with Lister Wilder for so many years, I know that if we have a breakdown I can rely on them to pull out all the stops to get it fixed quickly.”

Tim Vines, of dealer Lister Wilder, commented: “We have enjoyed a long relationship with Kew Gardens and were happy to be able to supply them with the right solutions, that they required to help maintain the site.

“Following the DEFRA tender, it was clear that Kubota’s B2530 was the best machine for the job thanks to its versatility, ease of use and exceptional reliability. They will be a great addition to the machines already working at Kew and should help keep the site in pristine condition for years to come.”

For more information on Kubota and its extensive range of solutions for the construction, groundcare and agriculture sectors visit www.kubota.co.uk or call 01844 268000.

CONSHOHOCKEN An Upper Merion builder who was denied conditional use approvals for 615 apartments in four buildings by Borough Council last month is asking for zoning relief for the same project.

The developer, ONeill Properties Group of Upper Merion, asked the Conshohocken Zoning Hearing Board to grant variances to allow construction of the project on Thursday night during a three-hour hearing that was continued to another hearing date in December.

The four buildings would have four stories of apartments built over a single level of parking. Part of the 10.7-acre parcel at 401 Washington Street is located in the floodway of the Schuylkill River. Part of one building is located in Whitemarsh township because the township line bisects the building and the parcel.

Attorney Edmund Campbell Jr., representing ONeill Properties Group, said the variances requested were for parking and setback distances.

Engineer Mike Engel said the number of units had been reduced to about 588 units.

Engel said the edge of the buildings near the river was at the floodway line and the majority of the buildings are in the flood plain. A battery manufacturer and a pump manufacturer previously occupied the site. Remediation of the land has begun and will be completed with construction of impervious surfaces and new topsoil in grassy areas.

Storm water will be captured and discharged into the river, Engel said. Revised plans were made in response to comments and they were reviewed by the planning commission on Aug. 28.

A zoning determination letter on Sept. 20 from the borough caused an appeal from the developer, Engel said.

The open space plan includes 33.3 percent of open space on one parcel and 21 percent on a second parcel, while the minimum open space required was 15 percent.

Engel said a submitted landscaping plan provided the required number and size of replacement trees.

Campbell said the developer has always been willing to participate in a global parking study for several development projects on the Schyulkill River. Engel said the developer was submitting a traffic study next week to comply with the traffic study requirement.

Engel said the apartment unit sizes would be determined after the site plans are approved but would comply with borough regulations.

A proposed trail will be built 51 feet from the river bank.

On setbacks, minimum building setbacks will be 15 feet from the roadway right-of-way. The buildings fronting on Washington Street and Cherry Street are either 15 or 28 feet from the two right-of-ways. Buildings must also be 25 feet from any private or internal driveway.

Engel said the proposed buildings were 75 feet apart, which complies with a setback regulation. Landscaped islands, lawn area and trees are located between the buildings.

On parking requirements, Engel said the amount of parking complied with the 1.2 parking spaces for each apartment unit. He said 22, existing public parking spaces would be re-configured to be more efficient.

Campbell said Stetlers determination letter had defined the parking on the ground level under the buildings as surface parking.

Engel said that requirement for vegetated plantings to break up the surface parking areas were not intended to be underneath apartment buildings.

The apartments in the buildings must be elevated at least 1.5 feet above the floodplain elevation to avoid flooding of the apartments during major rainstorms. Many commercial and apartment buildings built along the Schuylkill River in Conshohocken have a similar parking scheme with parking located underneath buildings.

Weve asked for determinations that our setbacks and parking are compliant, Campbell said, or we are asking for variances for the two items.

Campbell said, we think this is covered parking. One reason we are here is that surface parking is not defined in the regulations.

Engel said there are 633 parking spaces for 527 apartment units in Conshohocken, which meets the parking ratio of 1.2 parking spaces for each apartment.

Board member Russ Cardamone Jr. questioned why the North/South driveway between the buildings was not considered an access driveway. Engel said it was designed for residents to drive slower and find parking spaces.

Chairman Richard Barton also questioned the definition of the North/South driveway.

Stetler questioned why there were no notes on the plan to dedicate the walking trail to the borough. Your impervious coverage is at 70 percent, which is required, but you have not indicated how much coverage is for each parcel, she said.

Fire Marshal Robert Zinni said the emergency roadway had to handle emergency vehicles that can weigh up to 80,000 pounds.

Conshohocken resident Ralph Webb asked the amount of open space that could be capped with clean fill. Engel said that asphalt was the most efficient way to cap soil that is contaminated.

Steve Forster, senior vice president of land development for ONeill, said that both the Conshohocken and West Norriton apartment developments had been a net positive impact on the two communities because the large number of single units attracted singles, couples or roommates but very few families with children.

There is a dramatic increase in building rateables but only a small increase in the number of children, Forster said. By adding new residents there has been an increase in the commercial areas of the borough.

Stetler said that the earned income taxes have not increased greatly. Council President Paul McConnell said most of the earned income tax revenue from new Conshohocken residents goes to Philadelphia because of state regulations.

Webb questioned the validity of traffic studies. I have a concern about adding this number of apartment units, he said.

Resident Sandy Piersol said the apartments will definitely increase traffic. Conshohocken is already at 35 percent rentals. This will decrease our home values. It will not add to our community.

Resident David Small said he was very concerned about the sewers and traffic problems. The developers need to alleviate both of those issues.

Barton said there was surface parking under the building and the developer needs to get a variance for the parking. The setback issue is more problematic, he said.

The board decided to meet in December to consider a revised plan with less parking lot access driveways onto the internal driveway add more driveways onto Washington Street.

Council held a conditional use hearing on Aug. 21 and voted to deny the conditional uses on Oct. 16.

The conditional use was recommended by the Conshohocken Planning Commission with several land development requirements, said Stetler. Campbell said at the conditional use hearing that the conditional use would allow the walking trail, two storm-water outfalls and several rain gardens to be built within 100 feet of the Schuylkill River bank.

Engel said that a small, triangular-shaped piece of the property, located in Conshohocken in front of the proposed Building 200, would be subject to the requirements for a conditional use.

Follow Carl Rotenberg on Twitter @CarlWriter.

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Volunteers who fanned out across Ashland counted at least 106 deer this fall, down from tallies of about 190 deer during fall counts in 2011 and 2012.

However, fewer volunteers were available to count the animals, said Michael Parker, an organizer of the deer count and chairman of Southern Oregon University’s Biology Department.

Volunteers previously covered 63 sections of Ashland, but in a count earlier this month they reached about 48 or 49 sections, Parker said.

A handful of tally sheets are still out and could boost the count, he said.

Anecdotally, many volunteers said they saw fewer deer in the areas they did cover, Parker said.

“Generally, there was a feeling that there were fewer deer,” he said.

Organizers and volunteers first started counting deer during a half hour window at dawn in fall 2011 to get a baseline estimate on the number of deer in town.

Only deer that are visible to volunteers can be counted, not animals that are hidden in backyards or bedded down in thick vegetation.

Some residents welcome the sight of the wild creatures, but others are concerned deer eat gardens and landscaping, collide with vehicles and — especially during fawning season — threaten pets and people.

In 2012, the Ashland City Council passed a ban on the feeding of deer and other wildlife in town and also allowed residents to build taller deer fences to protect gardens, lawns and landscaping.

Some people who have put up deer fences said the fencing not only keeps the animals off their property, but seems to disrupt their routes through town.

Parker said volunteers hope to carry out another count in spring 2014.

That count will help reveal how many fawns survived the winter, he said.

Staff reporter Vickie Aldous can be reached at 541-479-8199 or vlaldous@yahoo.com.

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PLANS for Leyland’s next gateway feature look set to get the go-ahead tonight.

South Ribble Council’s regeneration team has put forward an application for a First World War memorial and peace garden, and a decision is set to be made at a planning meeting this evening.

The council’s planning officers have now recommended the planning committee, made up of councillors, approve the scheme.

Supporting documents read: “The structure will form part of a series of ‘gateway’ public art structures denoting, and enhancing the entrances to Leyland.

“Should permission be granted, changes to the site would result in a highly visible, but relatively tranquil site.”

The project will be developed on council-owned land near the roundabout of Stanifield Lane, Farington Road, Lostock Lane and Watkin Lane, to mark the centenary of the start of the First World War next year.

A report adds: “The application requests permission to erect a sheet steel memorial with sunken peace garden and surrounding turfed embankment; ancillary ground works and landscaping measures.

“In an effort to commemorate the centenary of First World War (2014), central government has established a heritage fund to assist funding of events and memorials – subject to planning approval, the council would submit a bid to fund this initiative.

“This application forms part of a future objective (not forming part of this application) to create and link footpaths from the site to St Catherine’s Hospice Gardens.”

One letter of objection has been submitted.

to the council from a resident, who describes the ‘shaped piece of rusted metal’ as being an ‘eyesore’, which will attract graffiti and vandalism.

However, the final design will be subject to a public consultation.

TAMPA

Lah Ku spends much of his day working in the gardens off the unpaved roads of Causeway Boulevard just outside St. Mary’s Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

Ku’s 3-year-old granddaughter runs around him and clutches his leg as he tends plants. There are papayas, moringas, chili peppers, lemongrass and other vegetables and leaves native to his home country, Myanmar. He fled the country, formerly known as Burma, nearly three years ago.

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The garden is more than earth and plants for Ku, 56, and many of the other refugees who come there to grow food. It’s a community.

Through the week, families, mostly Burmese, come and go. They grow crops for sustenance and sale. On the weekends, large families gather, sharing meals and stories, communicating despite the cultural and ethnic differences that separate them.

Pastors Joseph Germain and Berhanu Bekele started the garden 3 1/2 years ago. Germain led a congregation filled with refugees and noticed that many were leaving the state because they couldn’t find a livelihood.

He wanted to find a way to help them settle and find community, something often missing in resettled immigrant populations.

“You don’t have family here,” said Germain, pastor of the Global Refuge Community Church in Temple Terrace. “You don’t have community like you have back home. For the most part, these people grew up in small communities where everyone knew everybody.”

About 9,000 refugees live in Tampa, said Janet Blair, Community Liaison for the SunCoast Region Refugee Services Program offered through the Department of Children and Families. They come from countries including Burma, Iraq, Somalia and Sudan.

Refugees must prove to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that they are unable or unwilling to return to their home country because of fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in social groups. They come to Tampa with legal status and a small set of benefits — cash assistance, Medicaid and food assistance for eight months — provided by DCF.

The goal is to enable refugees to find employment within the first eight months, Blair said. After a year, they become eligible to apply for citizenship.

“We know it’s a huge adjustment period,” Blair said. “Particularly for Burmese refugees, they’re coming from camps — camps without running water or electricity. So they land here in Tampa Bay, and it takes time to integrate.”

But even after the first year, Blair said, it’s often difficult for refugees to adjust. Many who find employment are at or below the poverty level, seeking jobs in housekeeping, landscaping and other things they can do with little command of the English language.

Nearly four years ago, Pastor Germain attended a meeting of people who work with refugees. He mentioned what he had seen in his congregation. Bekele, pastor of St. Mary’s Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Tampa, said he had 6 acres of land.

Most of the people from his congregation came from agricultural backgrounds, Germain said. It was a perfect marriage of resources. The refugees could tend a garden and plant any crops they chose, including plants from their native lands if the soil was right for it. Refugees could do what they wished with the crops, even selling them on the side if they had extra.

Bekele and Germain received $10,000 from the Allegany Franciscan Ministries, enough to buy plants, tools, chickens, sheep and goats. But foxes got to the chickens, and the grant ran out. The pastors had been essentially sustaining the garden on their own.

In December, DCF’s Refugee Services Division, which provides language classes and other social service support for refugees within the first few years of their arrival, held a fundraiser for the garden.

Now the group has received almost $85,000 from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, which has stepped up funding of community gardens across the country.

With the grant, Germain said he and Bekele hope to expand the garden and their chicken operation and develop a fish farm. The Office of Refugee Resettlement also plans to bring in 35 refugees to work on the farm, help them learn English and give them the ability to start microbusinesses, selling eggs, fish and other surplus crops.

Essentially, Germain said, they hope the garden will provide a greater sense of community, a place where the refugees can sit and talk or share food.

Bekele, who came as a refugee from Ethiopia in 1985, said he remembers the sense of belonging he received when he came to the United States, and said paying it forward felt right.

“The people were very, very nice,” he said. “I never forget the people who lifted me up. I never felt like I was a stranger in a strange country. The reception was so wonderful. You cannot live without community.”

To Ku, who recently showed off photos of a successful yield of Chinese cabbage from last spring, the garden is more than community. It’s a point of pride.

Soon Ku will move with his wife and granddaughter to live on the land so it has a full-time caretaker.

As his family looked on recently, he touched the soil.

“It’s good earth,” he said.

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Old strands of holiday lights may not work, but they’re far from worthless.

A project at a central Lincoln elementary school is aimed at helping Mother Earth while taking steps to fund a walking path.

An organized effort to keep thousands of pounds of strands of holiday lights out of local landfills will pay added dividends at Eastridge Elementary School, 6245 L St.

The 2013 Recycle Holiday Lights Drive will not only protect the environment, it will benefit projects organized by the Eastridge Elementary School PTO.

Scrap Central Inc. has agreed to pay the school 25 cents per pound for lights collected through the drive. Proceeds support PTO initiatives and phase two of the Eastridge playground renovation, which calls for building a community walking track that the community can use outside of school hours. The walking track will be handicap-accessible.

Other projects

Phase one involved raising over $60,000 for a new traditional play structure. It was installed over a three-day period in late October.

“We are now just waiting for the safety flooring to be installed underneath,” said event chair Angie Alesio. “The students are very excited to play on it.”

Phase two – the community walking track – will cost about $22,500. Phase three calls for a Nature Explore Outdoor Classroom.

Partners

The list of partners jumping on aboard the 2013 Recycle Holiday Lights Drive is growing daily, said Angie Alesio.

There is no cost or sponsorship fee to partners. It is free to be involved. The Eastridge PTO provides the bin, signage, delivery and pick-up of light strands.

Drive begins Dec. 1

Any business or organization interested in participating is asked to email: eastridgepto@yahoo.com or participate by donating lights at any participating drop off site. The drive begins Dec. 1 and runs through Jan. 5, 2014.

Organizers will accept lights that are working and those that don’t.

Drop-off locations are:

Bella Skin Care Massage Therapy, 4726 Cooper Ave.; Campbell’s Nurseries Garden Centers, 5625 Pine Lake Road; Christmas Décor by Festive Expressions, 604 Calvert St.; Community CROPS, 1551 S. Second St.; Earl May locations, 48th Hwy 2 and 70th O; Eastridge Elementary School, 6245 L St.; Eastridge Neighborhood Association; Finke Gardens, 500 N. 66th St.; Leon’s Gourmet Grocer, 2200 Winthrop Road; Michael’s Arts Crafts, 3010 Pine Lake Road, Suite A; Mills Squeegee Fill Stations, 27th Superior and 70th Pioneers; On The Go Convenience Store, 5240 S. 48th St.; Prairie Lake Mobile, 8600 Amber Hill Ct.; Prudential Real Estate, 3801 Union Drive, Suite 204; Russ’s Market locations: 33rd Hwy 2, 66th O, 70th Van Dorn, South Coddington West A St.; Scrap Central Inc., 8515 Blondo St., Omaha; Super Saver stores: 27th Cornhusker, Fallbrook Blvd., 48th O, and 56th Hwy 2; Valentino’s Italian Buffet and T-Go, 35th Holdrege, 35th Holdrege; Valentino’s Grand Italian Buffet, 70th Van Dorn; Vega, 350 Canopy Street, Suite 220; and Yankee Hill Landscaping Co. Inc. , 11855 Yankee Hill Road.