We cleaned up leaves and tumble weeds in a large yard around the vicarage, removed volunteering trees from the social area near the Commons, and cleaned up the playground behind the food bank and the “winter church.” Working with Walter, we loaded trash on a trailer which was hauled to either the compost site or a burn pile. Some broken playground equipment was hauled to a recycle site on the west side of the campus.
We inventoried future needs for assistance, which include:
- an additional trip to finish clean-up of the grounds,
- mitigating a drainage problem,
- improving irrigation in the orchard,
- redecorating bedrooms used for visiting groups,
- constructing a small kitchen garden area, and planting flowers,
- organizing the archives in the museum (holding many of the records and artifacts of Father Leibler’s, (founder of SCM in 1943) tenure),
- and supporting economic development enterprises selected by SCM leadership.
Coordination with the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado, via its Justice and Advocacy Initiative is proceeding to assemble additional financial assistance and volunteer support. St Patrick’s (Pagosa) will send a construction crew in early May to rehab the fascia boards and soffit on the Museum building. (Estimated cost for materials is $1,000.00) The return trip to complete the spring clean-up is currently being planned to occur in 2-3 weeks. If you are interested in going, please contact Sam Burns at burns_s@fortlewis.edu.