What if instead of a regular day at the office you could be outdoors, enjoying Spring?
That was the challenge proposed by Jill S. Wilkins, World Bank Group External Corporate Relations Global Engagement manager (she oversees Connect4Climate!) and we immediately agreed. The idea was to offer a time for the department members to get together and enjoy some quality time as a team. What better way to do while contributing to a worthy cause?
Shovels? Check. Gloves. Yes! The Global Engagement team from The World Bank Group gets ready for action. Photo Credit: ECRGE
We chose the Anacostia Watershed Society, an organization that has been doing amazing work making the Anacostia River that flows through Washington, D.C. a healthy, vibrant waterway. On a hot Thursday morning, around fifteen colleagues replaced their regular suits with practical clothes and hit Hyattsville, Maryland, a mere twenty minutes from World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where the outing would take place. We were going to build a garden.
Before getting down to business, Jo-Elle Burgard, the project coordinator, explained to the volunteers the purpose of the garden we were about to build. The parking lot of the First United Methodist Church, located in the lower part of the property, often floods with polluted water during a rainstorm. Creating a garden on one of the hills on the church’s property would helpstop the water, which would eventually end up in the sewer storm drain located underneath the parking lot.
This drain channels the water— now warmer from the asphalt and the pollution involved—to the river causing an increase on the water temperature, which consequently provokes changes in the ecosystem.
Native plants set out for the future garden will help absorb water from rainstorms that had been plaguing the local eco-system. Photo Credit: ECRGE
Ferns, native pachysandra, and tiarella, plants native to the Chesapeake region, would make up the garden. They were chosen for their adaptability; they can bare various climate change differences as also tolerate a wide range of soils.
Everything was ready. The leaders had previously divided and set the plants in places where they were to be planted. Half of the job was done, we just needed to dig in and place them in the ground.
Creating a garden in a watershed area. Photo Credit: ECRGE
It was time at last. We started out with an immense enthusiasm. But as we dug, people started losing a bit of their energy. Great team work was what keep us going. Less than three hours later, the last shovel hit the ground. Our sense of accomplishment was clearly visible.
Working at a computer or shoveling? Guess what we chose? Photo Credit: ECRGE
What a great experience! Tiring but rewarding.
When asked if I would be interested in participating in another volunteering activity, I simply answer: Just tell me where and when!!
Bárbara Gomes Simões is currently an intern for Connect4Climate. Originally from Cascais, Portugal, she’s has worked on numerous international projects and is particularly committed to youth empowerment.
