Labor Intensive

Low water use succulents bring the green back.

Succulents installed at the Chinese Monument
by Homeless Service Center Volunteers

Labor Day. Every Monday we work to clean up, clear weeds, and assess potential problems in case the earth decides to move, or in a wet year, slide, around us. We labor to preserve a place that was a hub of entrepreneurial idealism, despite racial tensions and Civil War conflict. Santa Cruz's population grew, and then some died. The land was deforested to feed lime kilns and build dwellings, town businesses, and industry. It was cleared for farmland. And there was drought.  Evergreen was a name of hope and to instill hope, they created  Cemetery Decoration Days.  As always, they had to warn folk about the consequences of plant theft.

California enters it's third year of drought. And yet, here we are, again, like our forebears, giving hope, decorating our Cemetery,  trying our best to make sure our monuments prepare for our most important event of the year: Legacy Day. Our local paper, established in 1856, and author of the above print, recaps here,  today's events.
If you would like to volunteer at our site please contact the Museum of Art and History.

Rain is on the way: A salamander found by youth volunteers
clearing away ivy, searches for damp ground.