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Volunteers make big changes at children's home
A few months ago, El Pasoan Julie Duncan stopped by the Lee and Beulah Moor Children's Home, thinking she would do some volunteer work. "I thought I could do some gardening with the kids. From my own experience, I found that going out in a garden and planting flowers kind of gets you to forget about everything," she said. Duncan only wanted to do a project that would keep the children, who live there during the week, busy and interested in growing plants from seed. What she didn't expect was that with a phone call _ and the help of some dedicated native plant experts _ one good idea would evolve into a major landscaping project that ultimately will reduce the center's water use and maintenance costs. "It's amazing what you can do with the right persons involved. It's real exciting," Duncan said. Over several months, volunteers from the Master Naturalists, Master Gardeners, the El Paso chapter of the Native Plant Society of New Mexico, and the El Paso Rock and Cactus Club, along with Duncan, have replaced a large turf area with a cactus garden, have restored a greenhouse, and are building vegetable and flower beds. Jim Thomas, senior administrator for development and activities at the home, said difficult economic times have hurt the center. "Donations are down for everyone, and it's especially bad for a children's home that makes no profit taking care of kids. We do it for free," Thomas said. "The way the economy is, we can't take care of as many kids as we'd like to." In better times, the home took in as many as 80 children. These days, it has 65 youngsters, who stay in cottages during the week and go home on the weekends. The children's family backgrounds vary _ some come from divorced families still adjusting; some are teenagers not getting along with their parents. The goal is always for children to eventually go back to living with their parents. "The home is here to take care of the kids. It's our number one priority, and we don't mind losing some attributes, but we would never let the kids go," Thomas said. The land, which was given as an endowment by Lee and Beulah Moor, includes about 13 acres of grassy lawns. "We have grass everywhere, and it takes a lot of water and upkeep," Thomas said. "But what we're trying to do with the Master Gardeners, the Rock and Cactus Club and the Native Plant Society is to xeriscape so that we use a lot less water." Virginia Morris, a Master Gardener with Texas AgriLife Extension Service who is on the board of the Native Plant Society and the El Paso Rock and Cactus Club, has been instrumental in getting the organizations involved. Morris first heard about the greenhouse project through a telephone call to the Master Gardener hot line from Duncan. "I wasn't confident ... my concern going into this was if we could sustain this. At the beginning of projects, there's always enthusiasm" but then it can dwindle, she said. But members of the organizations were generous and willing to get their hands dirty. They hauled 85 tons of gravel for the cactus garden and planted cactus varieties, including strawberry hedgehog and claret cups that had been rescued from construction areas. Visitors are now greeted by a blooming cactus garden at the front of the building at the corner of Octavio and Cliff streets. Price's Creameries donated $1,000 to the project, and other organizations also donated about $400 for materials. Wynn Anderson, curator of the Chihuahuan Desert Gardens at the University of Texas at El Paso, donated several plants left from its annual plant sale late last month. This fall, the volunteers plan to create a hummingbird and butterfly garden in front of the Children's Advocacy Center, a garden that will be private and child-friendly. On average, about 15 people from the various organizations work on the gardens once a week. "We still have quite a bit to do, but I feel a real sense of accomplishment," Morris said. "Being able to support my basic belief of native plants and cacti and being appropriate for this area is extremely rewarding." Morris has also enjoyed seeing the children's enthusiasm. "They're really excited and have so much energy," she said. Thomas also enjoys seeing the staff and children's excitement. "We try to help our kids to make a paradigm shift and have a world view and to contribute to the world. And so if they plant a seed and see it grow, they can feel like they're contributing. ... Being valued for who they are is one of needs of any human being." On a recent weekday afternoon, Rosie Gonzalez, 7, Evelyn Brown, 9, and Rosario Carrasco, 9, easily jumped into the task of planting tomato plants and cucumbers in raised beds next to the greenhouse. "It's going to look nice," an excited Rosario said as she watered her tomato plants. And when asked who would take care of plants, the 9-year-old eagerly responded, "I'm going to." For Thomas, working with children and affecting their lives positively is the best part of any project. "Once you work in this business and see a child get their life together and that you had something to do with it -- there's no other feeling in the world like it," he said. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. http://www.kristv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10345952 |
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