June 9 was another picture-perfect Saturday. A work crew of a dozen volunteers, gardeners, and coordinators gathered at the 121 S. Johnson St. community garden to add compost to the garden beds, clean up hedge rows around the perimeter, and repaint a table for the deck.

Upon learning that a group of high school students would be available to serve in Ada on June 9, Joan Zachariah - ReStore Community Center’s Village Garden Coordinator - worked with former coordinator and current AmeriCorps VISTA member serving at ReStore, Julie Brewer, to plan for a workday.

These youth, a part of the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership program (HOBY), were scattered across Ada on Saturday to work on a number of projects, including work at the Village Garden.

Brewer recalls, “Working with the HOBY students last year in the garden was great; they helped us get a lot of projects rolling quickly: painting the deck, prepping wood for the gates, and spreading a lot of mulch. They saved us so much time and energy last year that I was eager to introduce Joan to the program to see how much we could get done this year.”

The 2012 service day was no disappointment. Energetic volunteers worked eagerly and conscientiously to water, weed, and mulch garden beds, in addition to repainting deck furniture that will be used for upcoming public garden information sessions, referred to by the garden team as Garden Parties.

”It is so great to have all of this work done before the Garden Parties start next week,” Brewer adds. Garden sessions, open to the public, will be held at the garden on the second and fourth Thursdays of each summer month at 7 p.m. Sessions will feature natural gardening methods, guest speakers, and question and answer time. All are welcome to come, to learn, and to enjoy community together.

The rich compost was generously contributed to the Village Garden by Greentree Stables of Ada, and other community members have stepped up to help by offering equipment usage to trasport compost, handy-man skills for various projects, and additional plants to distribute and grow.

The Village Garden team wishes to express their thanks for all those who have contributed their support to the project, including property owner John Amburgey for use of the space.

For further details, visit the garden webpage at www.restorecenter.wordpress.com/thevillagegarden or contact ReStore Community Center at (419) 558-1015.