Friends of the Garden
Welcome to the California Native Garden @ GWC
Heart of the Garden
Late Thursday afternoon, June 2, 2011, the volunteer center in the GWC Native Garden caught fire and burned down. I received the call at home after 5:30pm and besides all the normal thoughts about HOW this had happened, I wondered what might still be there. The fire department had been there and done its job so perhaps the hand tools survived. Books were all on the south wall so it was conceivable some of them made it although there would certainly be water damage from the fire fighters effort. I was sure the seed collection was gone. As my wife Elizabeth and I drove to the College that evening we made a list of what I remembered being in the shed—a list of what we most probably lost—it was something to do as we drove.
When we got to the GWC Native Garden a blackened charred vacancy was all that remained of what had once been a home of sorts for our group of community volunteers. I could recognize the little desk and filing cabinet that had been pulled out along with blackened wall sections by the firefighters to make sure all hot spots were exposed and put out before they left. Everything else was pretty much ashes or melted. Our extensive lending library of books related to native plants and botany was gone or nearly so. A few sodden pages were still legible. On the floor a pair of volunteer’s rubber rain boots was a puddle of blackened rubber, nearby lay the metal heads of the shears and loppers, handles burned away.
The physical loss of the volunteer center and its dozens of books -all frequently used, a nice seed collection, various hand tools, propagation equipment and many supplies, is one thing. But somehow there is more to the loss. This is where we hung our coats when warmed by our work, where we stored the seed we painstakingly collected and processed, where we listed the plants we grew and made our labels, where we noted our day’s events and efforts, and where a comic strip apropos to gardening was tacked to the wall for others to enjoy. It was where I sat in the quiet and cool of the early morning and made a list of work suggestions for the volunteer’s workday. Without being aware of it, this simple little building became the heart of the garden for those of us caring for the Native Garden. It was packed full of tools and books and memories.
I don’t want to make this out to be more than it is. I know people who have lost homes in fires and this is of course nowhere near that level of loss. Still there is a disturbance in our work and in the pulse of the Garden’s work crew. Currently, the sad black area of ash and debris has been cleaned up. The charred trees on either side pruned. Time has passed and we are ready for a new building and a new beginning for our community volunteers!
If you would like to help us create the new Volunteer Center with its needed contents, and assist with the continuing care and development of the Garden, please consider making a monetary donation (of any amount), towards the effort. Donations of $100 or more will be thanked with a special tee shirt. If on campus you can visit the very nice people in the Golden West College Foundation Office which is located on the south end of campus adjacent to the President’s office, or Call them at 714-895-8316. You can also mail donations to the GWC Foundation at PO Box 2748 Huntington Beach, Ca 92647. Make checks out to “GWC Foundation” and write “GWC Native Garden” on the memo line. All donations made to the Garden’s account (through the GWC Foundation) are tax deductable.
Please consider giving and mentioning it to others. Thank you very much!
Dan Songster
Director, Golden West College Native Garden
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The place to be for a glimpse of a genuine California landscape. Intriguing plants, beautiful flowers, subtle fragrance, as well as butterflies and birds!
Wonder what all the excitement is over at the Golden West College Native Garden? Did you know we have our own award winning native Garden just west of the Math/Science building? Perhaps you have heard of the Garden but just haven’t been there or you have visited but wanted to know more about the different plants?
Did You Know?
2/4/11
The GWC Native Garden has an active volunteer group?
Meeting most Tuesday and Thursday mornings, our Garden volunteers have worked over 920 hours in the last year! And who knew that volunteering to work in the Garden is both fun and educational?
The Garden volunteers have grown in knowledge of native plants and the particular gardening skills needed to help them along. their time in the Garden really helps with maintenance and inspires and pushes projects forward. Besides weeding, raking, installing and cleaning plant labels, basic propagation, and pruning-they have helped with the Garden’s symposium, its workshops and workdays, and with guiding visitors who stop by. By the end of the morning there is usually coffee, conversation, and a grin as well.
Without the volunteers the Garden would not be as lovely as it is or as lively! Thanks to Bob Hogan, Dori Ito, Sarah Jayne, Jan Klein, and Alan Lindsay who are our regular helpers-and to Frederick Koepp who started the group as the Gardens first community volunteer two years ago!
If you would like to join this group (which is open to staff, faculty, students, and the nearby community) please contact Dan Songster at dsongster@gwc.cccd.edu
For campus folks who don’t have the time to work during Tuesday or Thursday morning work periods contact Dan and he may be able to arrange for a little area of the garden to care for at time that fits your schedule
Arrange a Tour of our GWC Native Garden
With Garden Director, Dan Songster
Wonder what all the excitement is over at the Golden West College Native Garden? Did you know we have our own award winning native Garden just west of the Math/Science building? Perhaps you have heard of the Garden but just haven’t been there or you have visited but wanted to know more about the different plants?
Although spring is the best time to see the Garden in bloom, all seasons have their particular points of interest. Winter rain begins the greening of the Garden after summer’s drought and the Manzanita, Currants, and native bulbs begin to bloom. Spring is a riot of color with both perennials and annuals in bloom for most of the period. Summer is a dry period with several outstanding bloomers like the California Fuchsia and Desert Willow and others in full flower despite the heat. Fall is that time of year when the design structure of the garden is laid bare and the Garden’s heart rate slows as late fall rains threaten and the wildflower seeds are sown.
Just like a museum you will enjoy the Garden more when you understand its “art” more fully. Ask your native plant questions and learn about these great butterfly and hummingbird attractors. If you can arrange to have 4 people or more commit to a tour, Dan will (his schedule permitting) set aside an hour for your personal tour on a Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon.
And of course, whether you are having a tour or not-you are always welcome in the Garden. Come for a few minutes or an hour, stroll the pathways, and inhale the scent of real California landscape, with Sage, California Lilac, Buckwheat, and more.
Questions about the Garden?
Contact Dan Songster at 714-892-7711 x52181 or email dsongster@gwc.cccd.edu