Heather Bailey, HEALDSBURG TRIBUNE
This Earth Day, April 22, from 5 to 6 p.m. the School Garden Network will host a live and silent auction, a cooking demonstration with Handline chef Natalie Goble as well as a storytelling event.
The live virtual fundraiser hosted by Clark Wolf, a Sonoma County radio personality, will weave together colorful stories of the many school gardens here in Sonoma County, the people who care for them and the children they serve.
In between, exciting vacation getaways, wine, art and gardening gifts will be auctioned off in real time, and chef/owner Natalie Goble from Handline will offer up a cooking demo that is both accessible and delicious.
The silent auction will begin on April 12 and run through the event.
Tickets are $10 per household. You can also be a sustaining supporter of the event by purchasing a ticket at $50 or $100. Every additional dollar will help set children up for success when they’re back in the classroom by giving them the opportunity to have practical outdoor experiences after a year of virtual learning.
The first 25 people to buy $100 tickets will receive a bottle of wine from local wine producers, The Hobo Wine Company. For more information and to purchase tickets go to: https://springbloom2021.eventbrite.com.
The funds raised will help support programs like Healthy Roots Grow Kits, which includes plants, seeds, training modules for teachers, compost tea kits and more. It is hoped these kits will jump-start school garden programs this fall. Funds will also support schoolyard habitat designs and installations, the teen apprentice program that trains high school youth to sustain garden spaces, and professional development opportunities for educators to use the garden in STEM and in other cross-curricular ways.