Neighborhood Stewardship

Last Friday, I took part in East Central Neighborhood’s Spring clean-up. We were headquartered right behind One World Spokane, which I’m sure you know about as a Spokanite worth your salt. The neighborhood clean-up inspired me. I’d eaten at One World before, but had never stepped out into their garden, a source for many of their meals. I’d thought about composting, but had never worked with compost before. It was a gorgeous, sunny, warm spring day, and I was happy working outside and didn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.

One aspect of the community clean-up was having a dumpster available for people to bring their excess garbage, old furniture or large items they might not be able to afford to bring to the town dump. The huge dumpster filled in about three hours. It surprised and pleased me how people from the neighborhood helped each other load and empty their cars full of stuff, and stopped by to take an interest in the One World organic garden.

I was pulling weeds when someone asked me if I was “artistic,” and I responded, “Sure, why not?” The volunteer coordinator led me to a very old trailer. The corrugated metal siding was rusting in places where the paint had chipped off. It had certainly seen better days. I’m not sure how this trailer was important to the operations of the restaurant or garden, but I said, “Sure! I’ll paint it.” It is amazing how a coat of cream colored paint can make a difference in how something looks: old, dilapidated, or clean and well-cared for.

After finishing the paint job, clearing most of the weeds out of the garden, and picking up trash in the neighborhood, we had some hot dogs and potato salad donated by Sonnenberg’s, an awesome local deli just down the block. I felt like I’d done something good for my neighborhood and for people I don’t know very well who live pretty close to me.

The concept of “stewardship” comes up a lot in conversations about how human beings should live in relationship to the earth. How do we use natural resources and how do we care for the people and earth around us? While I acted locally, the real benefit was a new connection to the place where I live.