Community Spotlight

The Patch is giving back!

Round Up at the Register

In 2022, shoppers rounded up $2,509.49 for Wolf Creek Community Alliance (WCCA)!

WCCA focuses on cleaning up Wolf Creek and restoring it to a condition of optimal health for the benefit of all its human and wild inhabitants.

Funds raised from the Co-op’s Round Up at the Register program support project planning and development for their Forest Resiliency project. WCCA works with public and private landowners to educate and inform them on watershed health and forest resiliency, while working with them to reduce and remove dangerous overgrown tree growth and flammable invasive plants from the forest understory.

BriarPatch PatchWorks Volunteer Team

Head over to the Nevada City Farmers Market Information Booth and you’ll find volunteers Richard and Sandra with big bright smiles assisting folks in making EBT purchases.

“I started volunteering at the market two seasons ago because I’d just moved here and it was a way to meet people with similar values. I continue volunteering because my time helps local residents buy high-quality local produce and meat, so I’m supporting both the buyers and the vendors,” said Richard.

BriarPatch PatchWorks Volunteers have donated over 2,200 hours of their time to the Nevada City Farmers Market!

To learn more about where you can volunteer and to sign up, visit briarpatch.coop/patchworks.

Apples for Gardens

Each month, BriarPatch donates 10 cents per pound of apples sold to a local school or community garden. This year, BriarPatch donated $845.53 to Arete Charter School’s Gardens program! That’s 8,450 pounds of apples sold! Hooray!

“Some kids learn so much better out here,” said Founding Director Sarah Schwartz, as youngsters ran through the garden filled with perennial pollinator plants, sunflowers, amaranth, squash, tomatoes, watermelon, green beans and pumpkin. The garden is an important part of the school’s vision to educate the whole child by providing time in nature, away from screens.

Two years ago, parents and teachers cleared weeds and put in new raised beds. It operates on a shoestring budget, relying mostly on muscle power and community donations, like yours through the Apples for Gardens program.