Meeting Minutes 5/24/09

Attendees:
Connor Gillis
Kathryn Kendall
Will Chang
Alan Steinman
Andy Mariotti
Susan Halpin

Murphy Sister’s Foundation

• The foundation will be donating $8,000 to the Courtyard project. Thanks!!!
• The following are the items they will also be donating to the garden in addition to our monetary donation: Bench, Angel statue, sundial with inscription "This is the time to be happy and this is the place to be happy" and 2 gazing globes in maroon and gold.
• Michelle Murphy will be coming to our next Garden Meeting on Tuesday, June 2.
  

Assabet Valley Carpentry Dept.

• Changes in sizes and materials for the gazebo and storage shed based on feedback have been given to Wayne Coulson the carpentry instructor at Assabet. He would like us to finalize this project very soon so he can make his educational plans for his sophomore students for the fall.

Irrigation

• Ed Whittaker and Alan Steinman will be installing a temporary above ground irrigation system that will consist of hoses and timers that will help us greatly during the summer months. This will be installed on Tuesday, June 2.
• Discussion of a permanent irrigation system ensued. It will be hard and extremely expensive to get a well installed in this area since there is no access to the outside. The town will not approve an underground sprinkler system. We will have to talk to the town about alternatives. However, for right now, the watering needs will be met by what will be installed on Tuesday.
  

Painting Down the Garden Plan

• Alan suggested that a Math class or any other class that is willing to take the master landscaping plan and use the scale given to measure areas and actually spray paint the plan onto the grass. It will give all us a visual of where each structure and each patio area will be located. Now is the time to discuss changes in placement of structures, patio areas and gardens.

Work Needed in the Garden

• Garden beds are in very bad need of weeding. Please let us know if you would like to help with this task.
• There are also some more seeds that need to be planted -- miniature pumpkins (white and orange).
• Andy Mariotti used the stakes and string to create a climbing structure for the peas.
• We already have strawberries and radishes that can be picked.
• Gardens will need to be fertilized in the next couple of weeks.
  

Courtyard/Garden Website and Webcam

• Kathy Kendall has been working on the website. Wording and ideas for pages were discussed. Website should be up soon. She is using Contribute to create the site. This will make it easy for our committee to add information easily.
• We also discussed using PayPal on the website to assist with making donations on line. Perhaps we should notify alumni, they may be interested in helping with this project.
• Web cam has been taken down. As soon as time allows, more work on the web cam will happen.
  

Electronics Recycling Program

• The CLEAN group is planning to help out with Andy Mariotti and Sue Whalen’s electronics recycling program on June 20th from 8-12 AM. The funds raised are going are going to be given to CLEAN. CLEAN will be donating them to the Courtyard/Garden project. Thanks!

Next Meeting
Tuesday, June 2, 2:05 in E107.

Thank you and good luck to Connor Gillis as he graduates and heads off to study agriculture in New York. Keep in touch Connor!