Elle Magazine, Surfrider Foundation’s West LA/Malibu Chapter, and Aveeno volunteers, including many members of APLD Greater Los Angeles District, came together Saturday morning to build an Ocean Friendly Garden at Franklin Elementary School in Santa Monica, CA. G3 was responsible for designing and installing the garden, and assisting Surfrider Foundation in implementing the Volunteer Workday.
ELLE/Surfrider/Aveeno Workday Begins
The invites read: RAIN OR SHINE. After the previous day’s relentless rain, the much-prayed-for sunshine was a welcome gift. But sunny skies didn’t reduce the “MUD FACTOR,” and the intrepid volunteers braced themselves for getting down and dirty! For the cameras, though, everything seemed to go without a hitch.
G3 Associate, Tom Stout Leads Volunteers
G3 Associate and CA licensed landscape contractor, Tom Stout, managed the installation of the garden and preparation of the site for the Workday. Tom also couldn’t resist the opportunity to be an expert in front of 50 female volunteers!
Aveeno rewarded the volunteers with a trip to Santa Monica’s Miramar Hotel for lunch and pampering at the Exhale Spa. The best part of the whole experience was one of the aestheticians at Exhale telling us that, “
Another chimed in, “When they were told that [the garden] was being planted with native plants, people thought it was going to be all cactus and succulents. They were surprised to see plants with flowers and green leaves.”
That kind of knowledge transfer is what the Ocean Friendly Gardens Program is all about!
