WOW! What a great group of volunteers we had today to help us out with a special project. Habitat Riverside received a donated lot on Pierce St in Riverside that we are not quite ready to build on. Unfortunately, empty lots attract unwanted vegetation, and a few other unwanted things. So we put out a call to a small group of volunteers who helped us clear the lot and make sure it’s not a problem for the neighborhood.
Unlike their project leaders, these volunteers were totally undaunted by the task ahead and literally dug right in! First task was to make sure we identified the whereabouts of an old dry well and ensure that it was completely covered to prevent anyone from accidently getting hurt. We covered that with some plywood and used a couple of traffic cones to make sure it was very visible. Then we located the old gas meter line and did the same, just in case.
The group fanned out and started digging up the bases of the tumbleweeds and hauling them into central piles. They just kept working away and fortunately, the weather was pretty nice and it made for a pleasant work day. They worked together to load up the Habitat box truck floor to ceiling with tumbleweeds, crushing them as they went to get as much in the truck as possible. Project Manager Dave and Habitat home owner Salina headed to Habitat to dump the load while the volunteers kept working away. When they returned, we quickly reloaded the truck, as well as Construction Supervisor Kathy’s truck and this time headed for dump. Since it was all clean green waste, it can be recycled into mulch. Salina, and volunteers Shayna and Leighanne joined us for the trip to the dump while volunteer Bert stayed and watched over the lot and a bunch of supplies that we emptied out of the truck to make room for tumbleweeds.
Once back at the lot, we all joined together to fill the big truck one last time and we barely made it with the last of the tumbleweeds. We found a few things that were dumped onto the lot that we’ll pick up on Tuesday and make a final dump run after we use the weed eater to clear the smaller growth.
Thanks to all of you for the great job today. We’ll make sure you know when we are ready to build because you truly did some groundbreaking today!
