Fall Kickoff!

We are moving again! Seventeen people met after the November 13th service to introduce Sacred Grounds to newcomers, rekindle excitement, and get moving on Phase 1 projects. Enthusiasm was high!

Volunteers jumped in to start planting native species, join the Love the Land work parties on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday, staff the patio info tables and communications, and select the material for the paths. As we complete visible projects we should gain more visibility and more volunteers and be able to move forward on the other parts of the Phase 1 projects.

These activities build upon the progress already made on each of the three Phase 1 projects. Completed components include the Plaza Enhancement misters, the Celebration Garden art sculpture and sourcing of the Sacred Stones, and the Garden of Hope art sculpture, butterfly garden milkweed, Little Library, and Rev B’s bench.

Completion of the full Phase 1 projects will continue to progress in dependence upon volunteers and donations. Jerry added that there are plans to develop the property to our south and maybe we should prioritize plantings to screen the view. Similarly we might prioritize shade for the sanctuary back wall which gets very hot.

A key objective is providing refugia for native species, and connecting people with the land.

Many opportunities for the congregation to engage were presented at the meeting. The Social Justice committee and Fran announced the UUCOD Environmental Film Festival starting Nov 20 and extending until Earth Day in April. In addition to Jerry’s Love the Land work parties, we also discussed more educational ideas such as UUCOD nature walks and talks, and a signed nature trail (with QR codes for videos). We also discussed the potential for the Peace Garden to tie into the Board’s goal for Outreach.

There are many opportunities to engage with other groups in the valley. Guest Elizabeth Erickson talked about opportunities with UCR including the California Naturalist, Climate Steward, Coachella Valley Garden Day, Wild & Scenic Film Festival and more. We also highlighted the many different organizations to engage (CA Native Plant Society, Master Gardener, Living Desert, Mohave Desert Land Trust, Oswit Land Trust, Friends of Desert Mountains, CV Water District, …).

The Sacred Grounds reserve fund will not be sufficient to complete the Phase 1 projects since bids will be much higher than they were in 2020. Any fundraising campaigns will wait until later March, after the Pledge drive. In the meantime we will be selling Sacred Stones at a patio info table and accepting unsolicited donations. We could really benefit from a volunteer checking out grant opportunities.

Another idea was to acquire boulders to provide habitat for lizards. Katie Barrows mentioned that Oswit Land Trust recently was able to get free boulders by noticing nearby construction projects unearthing boulders and asking if they could have them. Maybe we can keep our eyes open?