Throughout this winter, the weather changes have been dizzying. Rainfall in December broke records, people wore shorts to Christmas dinner, and some of the coldest days of the winter followed. Today the rains have come again, while the cold has lessened somewhat.

But the show must go on, and that includes prep for spring planting. Stuart Perry has assured peers and staff at Perry Wellness Center that the market will not be affected by the changeable weather.

“We must all work together to ready our planting beds for spring production planting,” Perry says. He is referring to a significant yearly task – one that involves hauling and shoveling mulch and soil in all campus gardens. Luckily, we have enlisted the assistance of one of our best community partners. As in several years past, the grounds and maintenance department at Georgia Southwestern State University has generously donated ground mulch, and our large truck has been loaded several times with this essential growing material.

To provide work activity for several peers in the program, Stuart has requested shoveling of the soil in all garden plots. When the front end loader is not available, peers rely upon their own muscle power to load and unload soil material in all designated areas. Bucket by bucket, the job will get done—weather or not!

In the photo above, Jantwan Twiggs and Tyshaun Thomas fill their buckets with soil for prepping the many flower and production beds awaiting spring on the Perry Wellness Center campus.