On Saturday, July 27th 2019, Daily Acts partnered with the City of Petaluma and Straus Family Creamery to host a 14,500 square foot landscape transformation for Straus’ Headquarter in Petaluma. The day went from 9am – 3pm, and with the help of 78 volunteers we were able to move 45 cubic yards of compost, 134 cubic yards of mulch, and 23 6-foot rolls of cardboard! Daily Acts did an open circle to introduce the project, collaborators, and set the stage for what the day would include. Following the circle was a demonstration of how to sheet mulch, how to cut around obstacles, and why sheet mulching is an effective water saving tool. After questions and answers, volunteers got to spreading material; 1 inch of compost, 2 layers of cardboard and 3 inches of mulch.
The volunteers were phenomenal and moved material so much faster than expected. It may have been the coffee, chocolate milk, Straus yogurt and ice cream sundae bar that kept people moving so quickly, but by 1pm we were about 85% done with the transformation! It was at this point that Daily Acts gathered people together and hosted a closing circle to share gratitude and appreciation for all who joined, as well to highlight Petaluma’s Mulch Madness program which allowed Straus to receive free sheet mulching material. Following the closing circle, volunteers were able to relax in the shade and share a delicious taco bar lunch, mingle with fellow attendees, take a spin on the smoothie making bicycle and stop by Daily Act’s information booth for more details on programming and Do It Yourself resources.
This transformation will help to save 200,000 gallons of water annually, and was the first of three phases. The remaining two workshops will be to plant and install drip irrigation with the intention of creating a low water-use landscape that provides crucial habitat for native birds and other insects. The location of this event holds great value because it is located on a main business street where the surrounding buildings have nothing but lawn. We hope that Straus Headquarters will be a model site for surrounding businesses to conserve water through landscape transformations.
Many thanks to everyone who helped make this project possible! We are so fortunate to have so many supporters, and it was incredibly inspiring to see that many hands truly do make light work.
