Dear Sir,
I am a volunteer gardener in the Lake Chapala Society gardens. Working there puts me in immediate touch with the earth, which is as life-giving to me as breathing air. I am just a worker bee, pulling weeds, cutting dead foliage, and carting debris to the refuse pile. I hear the hum of conversation and laughter drifting from the Casa Linda Cafe, along with a mixture of languages. I notice visitors as they walk through the gardens — they grow quiet, commenting on what they see. Some come for the cats; others come just to sit and read, enjoying the second-best “clima en el mundo.”
I asked the LCS board during their June meeting not to forget the gardens and the gardeners. They need real tools, not just the ones they have had to fabricate on their own. My previous requests for wheelbarrows — made to the most recently departed executive director — got caught in who-knows-what kind of sticky red tape. But then new faces joined the room, and one took my request home, responding with whiplash-like speed, and tools were delivered. Some people who care showed genuine interest, and I am so thankful to them for hearing my ask and acting on it.
With a new board and a new executive director now in place, I hope the administration will include a line-item amount for garden maintenance in their ongoing planning. I encourage the LCS administration not to rely on such gifts falling from the sky for such a basic need, especially given how vital the gardens are to LCS and its community.
I remain hopeful and encouraged about the prospect of a positive future at the Lake Chapala Society.
Cynthia Bishop