School Garden Project

The Alvarado Garden Project needs lots of help.

We need people who can donate three hours a week, every week, to work with teachers and students in and out of the garden. We need volunteers who can donate time for special projects, such as building berms to direct irrigation, constructing an outdoor classroom, and spreading compost. We need gardening supplies and equipment.

Members of the Co-op who volunteer for this project will be compensated at the rate of one week of shopping at the Co-op at an 18% discount for every three hours volunteered.

And that’s in addition to the fun you will have and the satisfaction you will get from participating in this groundbreaking (sorry, I couldn’t resist) program.

To sign up, call Joanie at 265-4631, Tuesday through Thursday.

For the last year and a half, some-thing very wonderful has been going on at Bandelier Elementary School — weekly dance classes for Mary Sciumbato’s Special Ed class.

The classes are taught by Tsiporah Nephesh, a dancer and member/volunteer at the Co-op.

Tsiporah says of her work at Bandelier,

“I love to dance and I like to share the joy of dancing with others. It benefits students in helping them focus and concentrate: skills they can apply in other areas. It’s a good approach for students who have trouble learning in a traditional way. The students don’t even realize they are learning — they’re just having fun.”

The learning and the fun were evident in a performance given by the students in May to a school assembly. The students glided through several complex modern dance pieces with gusto — wowing their audience, and obviously enjoying the dancing.

Tsiporah has been volunteering at the Co-op for four years now, in a variety of areas, before moving on to Bandelier.

“There is a lot special about the Co-op — a sense of community and shared values. Co-ops on a reasonable scale like ours keep life a little more personal, sane and humane. Everything else has that glossy, corporate feel. The Co-op is a touchstone of humanity.”

There’s a lot special about Tsiporah too, and what she brings to the students at Bandelier.

Thanks, Tsiporah!