Hello! We’re excited to share the spring schedule for Garden Volunteer Hours at the Knoll, which will begin Monday, April 3^rd. Please share if you can—better yet, come and join us (and bring a friend!)

Spring 2023 Garden Volunteer Hours will start Monday, April 3rd and run until ~ May 12th* 

More information is at go/knollhours to help get some ideas about what happens in the garden in the early spring, what to bring, and more. This is also our way to communicate “live” status updates about cancellations due to weather, etc.

All are welcome to join us: students, faculty, staff, community members. We hope you will!

Thinking about hosting an event at the Knoll? We have updated the information about Event Hosting for this spring, which lives at go/knollevents.

Here’s to the springing!

Megan and the Knoll intern crew

All are welcome to the Knoll (located at 152 VT Route 125) to cut your own flowers. Meet the summer interns if you drop by between 9am – 3:30pm, or come at your leisure and find the cut your own “station” outside the garden shed. We provide pruners; suggested donation $0.25/stem.

Visitors are also welcome to explore the new Grazing Garden bed (snacking encouraged), learn about research happening at the farm this summer/fall, walk the labyrinth, and enjoy a stroll through the garden.

(Please note that Cut Your Own Flowers will not be available the 8/29-31 for an event.)

Community Friends, now in its 57^th year, pairs children who attend Addison County schools (ages 6-12) with Middlebury College students in one-on-one mentoring relationships. Big brother and big sister pairs are matched based on factors like shared gender identity, interests, age, and transportation availability.

Optionally, mentees and mentors can select to be a part of Manos Unidas, a new wing of Community Friends in partnership with Juntos, a Middlebury College migrant farmworker-student solidarity organization. Manos Unidas matches children and mentors who identify as Latinx and/or Hispanic and would like to engage in mentoring relationships that celebrate and explore shared culture and identity.

All Community Friends and Manos Unidas pairs meet weekly during the academic year to spend time on campus. They might also go for a walk on the TAM, swim in the college pool, or share a meal. All participants also have the opportunity to attend monthly group events, like our annual pool party, an ice-cream making event, and an outdoor field day.

To sign up your child, please complete the Mentee Referral Form available at www.go.middlebury.edu/cf or speak with your child’s school guidance counselor about being referred. Please direct questions to Megan Brakeley at the Center for Community Engagement, mbrakeley@middlebury.edu or the student organization email: comfriends@middlebury.edu.

Please note: it may take a month or more to find the right match. At this time, we have an abundance of female-identifying mentors and no male mentors.