Cultivating  502

A Year Like No Other
We Made It!
 

 

I want to end this year by saying thank you. Thanks for still being here after this year that we have had. I am certain you are getting a lot of messages about all of the things that were accomplished this year despite a global pandemic. I want to share a little bit of a different message. 

I want to thank you for still engaging after the exhausting, stressful, and anxiety-inducing year we have all endured. I certainly did not accomplish the things I had set out to do this year for the residents of Jefferson County. I was hoping to help more of you get excited about testing your soil. I really wanted to dive deeper into irrigation systems and help you conserve more water in your garden spaces using drip irrigation. And this was going to be the year to really nail cover crop planting at community gardens throughout Louisville. But that's okay. We will get there when we can. 

This year I became a content creator. Weird! I, with so many of my colleagues, had the opportunity to create recorded podcasts, workshops, and demonstrations that are now forever available on the internet. What an awesome amount of resources now available at any time for us all to see! They aren't perfect. They were created with little to no money. I am certain the editing is poor and the sound quality terrible at times but they were made by passionate people that wanted to make sure you all could still learn what you wanted to learn despite a pandemic. 

I have listed a couple of my favorites in the sections below. 

Our Environmental Educator, Erin James, began her job with the Conservation District right before the pandemic hit. When I asked her how she felt about this year, she said it perfectly. This year provided her a chance to really see the challenges our community faces every day. This year gave her the opportunity to really scale down and consider the really important things moving forward in her work. And those experiences helped her clarify how she can better serve the needs of you all. We are looking forward to connecting in any way that is safely possible right now to continue to serve you. 

I hope you all are staying safe and taking care of yourselves. Let's get through this pandemic together and come out on the other side ready to keep working towards positive change in our community. Happy Holidays!
 

 

Lilias Pettit-Scott
Urban Agriculture Specialist