We had a blast planning and participating in this incredible event. The succulents are beautiful and the pots were so much fun to make! Thank you ChangeX and the Osceola County Library, Veterans Branch, for making this possible!
Pot decorating day! Kids and parents alike were very proud of the talent displayed. The imagination of each attendee can be seen in the fun characters and art on each pot.
This project is just the beginning of our group instilling the love of growing plants and providing educational activities to share how indoor and outdoor plants benefit us in so many ways. We are unique in our community as we welcome all family members to our events and the success can be seen in more than the attendance but in the continued interest and requests to have more of these types of services.
We mentioned before and we now have gourd seeds to implement the activity of Grow Your Own Birdhouse by planting gourds. This will be an ongoing project like the succulents and will give us ample opportunity to remind families to share how their plants are doing and submit photos.
Hello Crystal and team!
I just sent you an email but posting here as well:
Your succulents are on the way!
Tracking number here: 778101575501 Expected delivery on Friday 8/23!
I know this is a little early but we wanted to make sure they got to you sooner rather than later. Once they arrive please open the box and remove any paper filler. The succulents should be fine to stay in their tray in the box as long as they are kept open, airy and in indirect sunlight. If the soil feels dry, you can give it a little mist with water.
Also, you should have received your box with materials. We have heard feedback from folks that it's best to open that box right away and remove the soil from the box so that it doesn't get damp and stuffy in the box from the moisture of the soil and mold the bamboo labels.
I am attaching a short PDF guide that may be helpful for your kit building.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you Crystal and team!
Warmly,
Clara
Hello Crystal and Team!
We are so excited to have you join our Indoor Plant Program! 🪴💚
We saw in your action plan that you were going to use your seed funding for supplies like succulents and pots.
We wanted to make sure you were aware that this project was set up to have us (Neighborhood Forest) ship all those materials to you. The funding that you receive then can be used for any additional costs you may incur (printing materials, water spray bottle, etc). Funds left over can be donated to an environmental charity of your choice.
That being said we have 2 options for how we can proceed:
Option 1: We can ship you your materials to build 72 succulents kits (this number 72 comes from the nursery providers we work with). Materials we provide include: succulents, soil, bags with printed instructions, bamboo labels, peat pots). If you go this route, you can request your materials here: https://forms.gle/6rkELQvr89jR57CC9
Option 2: You can source all of your own materials (way to support local!) and if you go over your allocated funding for the materials, Neighborhood Forest can reimburse you up to $250.
Please let me know which option you would like to proceed with and / or if you have any questions - [email protected].
Thank you!
Clara Radloff (she/her)
Head of Community Engagement
Neighborhood Forest
Awesome - thank you Crystal! We will be sure to send you your materials ahead of your kit building date on 8/28. We are excited for your event on September 11th :-)
Clara - thank you! I submitted the request. We will use your resources for the succulents and materials and the funding we received to develop the program (clay pots and materials to decorate). We are VERY excited to be part of this program!
Action plan:
Timeline: During each Wednesday in August, we will host activities that go along with the theme "Storybook Succulents". These activities will include making a pot, painting or decorating it and then participants will learn, select, and plant their succulents on August 28. Our team plans to check in / meet each Wednesday until the event. The next key date, July 15, will be having all materials ordered and/or ready for purchasing.
Budget: Seed funding will be used directly for purchasing plants and potting materials for participants. We are currently reaching out to local pottery places, garden centers, and other organizations to partner to get additional materials such as soil, decor and such.
Impact: We hope to instill a love of growing plants and have this program be the first of how indoor and outdoor plants can benefit us. This is unique to our organization and community, and the success will be measured through already the current interest of this program and then on attendance (we anticipate a large participation, 50 - 75 students). We will ask participants to fill out a comment card at the end to let us know how the program was as well as what they would like to see us do in the future with gardening and nature programs (ex. grow your own birdhouse by planting gourds).
Location: This event/program is approved to be hosted at the library, where we will either host it indoors or outside in the green space.
Our kid leader and children of other leadership will be working on finding books and stories that can be used to provide theme ideas for the Storybook Succulents.
They assisted with coming up with the theme Storybook Succulents. The spoke about dragons, gnomes, fairies, and other fantasy characters we can use. By the end of our first meeting, they already selected several fiction books and educational gardening books to display to use and promote the event.
