Reflecting on Raking

I have to say, when I arrived at the William Byrd Community House on Saturday, I was very surprised. I thought that we would be working on a much more farm-centric facility, instead it was much more focused on feeding the poor and educating urban youth. It seemed so far from the environmental focus of our course, and when we were set to clearing leaves from the paths and playgrounds, it seemed even less relevant. But then I realized that one of the focuses of the Community House is to teach children about where their food comes from, which would help expand their understanding about their surrounding environment. And since agriculture has such a large effect on the James River, this would hopefully help connect the children of Richmond to their river. Still, I felt very disconnected from the river as I raked a seemingly endless supply of leaves off the concrete. While I was working, I thought a lot about the state of the community house. It was clean, but generally shabby and neglected, probably due to a lack of funds. This reminded me of the trash that I noticed at the James River parks; apparently more attention needs to be paid to our public works programs, after all, these places provide invaluable services to the community as a refuge and source of aid. Realizing this made me feel much better about the small job I was doing, every bit helps when you’re helping your community.