Our Sustainability Hero this month is Christa Saracco!
Christa is an active participant in the Connect Auraria Community Garden (a partnership with Denver Urban Gardens). Christa's passion for gardening started about five or six years ago when she began experimenting with organic gardening in pots and a small dirt area behind her town house. When a chance to participate in the Auraria campus community garden opened, Christa jumped at it!
“I’m going into my seventh year working for Community College of Denver (CCD) as the College’s marketing and communications director,” said Saracco. “I work on campus just a short distance away from the garden and spend as much time there as I can.”
Christa is being honored as our hero this month because she stepped up into a leadership role when the pandemic hit and the usual garden manager (Jackie) couldn't be on campus as much. Christa has overseen and addressed any garden issues that arise (pests, theft, maintenance, etc.) and organizes communication with the gardeners. Most notably, she started a “community watering” group for those who would not be able to visit the garden each day (given the rise of remote work among our campus community). Eight gardeners signed up and the watering schedule has worked out great for all to keep their plants happy and healthy.
“Gardening has become a big hobby of mine and I love watching things grow from seed to harvest,” she said. “Gardening organically with like-minded people is about giving back to mother nature and keeping her happy and healthy too!”
A huge THANK YOU to Christa for her help in keeping the garden organized and functioning this summer.