by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
Volunteers are badly needed for the Sartell Volunteer Garden Club.
At the first Garden Club meeting recently, only seven people attended.
Most of the garden beds in the city’s 40 parks have not been “adopted” yet by volunteers. As a result, those beds – featuring mainly perennials such as shrubs and perennial flowers – are looking pretty sad, according to Sartell’s new landscape coordinator Karen Anderson. The city’s long-time coordinator, Kaye Wenker, resigned from that job to take another job that opened.
“Those areas can turn into weedy messes if they are neglected,” Anderson said. “A volunteer can be anybody of any age and can work any time.”
What’s needed are volunteers willing to weed, maybe mulch and prune here or there if needed.
The Sartell Volunteer Garden Club also maintains the planters along roadways – mainly along Pinecone Road. Those planters dry out quickly in the wind and heat and must be kept filled with water, which is delivered by a city truck.
Although the number of volunteers has fallen off, Anderson said she is grateful for the volunteers who do show up, such as Cub Scout Pack 11 and some students doing community service for their civics classes. Anderson is also pleased with the dedication and skills of some of the long-time Garden Club members – people like Jody Pohlkamp, who tends a beautiful garden in Sartell Lions Community Park. One summer, a couple was about to get married in the park. Pohlkamp happened to be tending her garden at the time and invited the couple to come have a look. Impressed by its beauty, they decided to get married right in front of the “Pohlkamp” flower bed.
Anyone who wants to volunteer or to join the Sartell Volunteer Garden Club should call Karen Anderson at 248-1220.