Staff Stories: Cristi Rodriguez-Alfaro, Garden Manager
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| Heya, my name is Cristi Rodriguez-Alfaro and I am the Garden Manager at Growing Hope. I started working with Growing Hope in April of this year, and have been eager to experience and shape my work in each changing season. I love human connection, using my body to make things, and more than anything, having my hands in the dirt. This is the simplest form of what I do at Growing Hope. |
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 Cristi and volunteer, Jesus, preparing materials to update the garden at Towne Centre |
Additionally, I manage the Home Vegetable Garden Program from April to August. This year I hit the ground running, visiting neighborhoods all around Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti township in which participants live. Twenty-five Home Vegetable Garden participants received new garden beds, compost, and seedlings to grow through the program. I am grateful that I learned how to use various woodworking tools and gained experience in building wooden garden beds, all while engaging with community members one on one. Nothing is more special than collaborating with Ypsilantians, knowledge sharing, and hearing and sharing stories of how being able to grow food has impacted our lives. |
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| Since the program ended, I have had a lot more time on the farm, working alongside Christopher, the Farm Manager. We have spent the majority of our time this fall cleaning the farm up, planting and taking care of veggies in the hoop house, developing a larger compost system, and we have even prepped a new growing area near the front of the Growing Hope House.
Thanks to the generous support from the Glacier Hills Legacy Fund from the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, I am also working to build 40 raised garden beds at Towne Center, a senior living apartment complex in Ypsilanti. Thank you to all the volunteers who lend a hand to make these things possible. |
 Cristi installing a home garden |
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A taller, accessible garden bed built this summer
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Home Vegetable Garden Participant and their new beds
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Offering in-ground garden support as well |
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