Anchored in Routine? Buoy Your Spirits with a Community Frolic

Anchored in Routine?

Buoy Your Spirits with a Community Frolic

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.

When I’m docked at home port, I spend as much time as possible strengthening my anchor to Laguna Beach, California and the surrounding community. Besides enjoying the company of friends and family, this means digging in and getting involved with civic causes and community groups. Working with other people for the community good buoys my spirits and gives me a sense of connection I need more than ever now that I am self-employed. Volunteer involvement has also become more important to me since I left my 20+ year career as a nonprofit employee. Although I continue to consult for nonprofit organizations, contributing time is one of the most effective ways I know to make a visible difference in the world.

One of these life-saving groups, Transition Laguna Beach, met in our backyard last summer for a monthly gathering that reminds me of a barn raising. We call it a garden installation, and each month we meet to work at another member’s garden. I’ve renamed these kinds of events in honor of the Amish, who call them frolics. Frolics can take any form. Here’s how our garden frolics work:

1. Everyone is Welcome (no demographic boundaries here): From teenagers to seniors, everyone digs in and gets their hands dirty. Even the ones who wrinkle their noses at the smell of soil amendments and compost ultimately enjoy the experience.

2. Everyone Contributes: From professional landscape architects to neighbors seeking inspiration for their first vegetable gardens, everyone has something valuable to offer. After helping with three installations, group members are eligible for a garden installation of their own.

3. Everyone Learns: “Experts” and novices alike poll community members for answers to questions as they work, underscoring the point that there are no right or wrong answers, every garden is different and anything experimental is worth a try.

4. Everyone Laughs: We work hard and have fun. Conversation breaks contribute to the community-building experience.

5. Everyone Eats: We throw the best potlucks ever, with mainly vegetarian dishes we’ve pulled together from the bounty of our gardens. In the summer we’re rich in homegrown cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, lettuce and squash. We eat dessert because we’ve earned it (see recipe below).

6. Everyone Benefits: Because our gardens produce more food than we can eat, we share with neighbors and other community groups. Our volunteers have installed or improved gardens at a local homeless shelter, church (which provides food for the larger community) and schools, and has conducted workshops on raising chickens and bees, composting, alternative energy, water reclamation and other practical ways to live more sustainably. As thanks to Transition Laguna for giving me reason to frolic, here’s my favorite berry dessert recipe, which can be made with frozen berries in any season. Enjoy and share!

Garden Frolic Crumble

Spray or grease a deep casserole dish with vegetable oil and fill with 6 cups fresh blueberries, blackberries or a mixture of whatever berries you have. Squeeze the juice of one fresh lemon over fruit. In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup packed brown sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon and a dash of salt. Add 2 sticks cold unsalted butter cut in small pieces and mash until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of berries and cook uncovered in a 350 degree oven until berries are bubbly and topping is crisp (about 30-45 minutes).

Getting involved with a community group like Transition Laguna helps demonstrate what the great anthropologist Margaret Mead (who made the study of human societies her life’s work) so eloquently said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”