Sawhorse took a journey back to its old summer camp days and spent a beautiful weekend traveling to Orcas Island to build a pollinator garden fence. In collaboration with F.E.A.S.T. (Food, Education, and Sustainability for Teens), a program based on Orcas Island that actively engages young adults in hands-on experiences that teach them how to understand, grow, harvest, reap, and prepare foods that will sustain them, Sawhorse staff and students worked together to beautify a triangle space on a busy road in order to provide essential habitat for pollinators and activate youth in the area.

The program uniquely created a space where urban high school-age youth from Seattle can mentor rural middle school-age youth from Orcas Island. “Veteran” Sawhorse youth, who had participated in several programs prior, had the opportunity to step into a role and teach how to use power tools, how to use space, and how to work with their hands much like they had been taught in our Seattle Programming. The youth also got to spend the last day on the island celebrating Earth Day with the locals and taking in some beach therapy before returning to their busy lives.

A very special thank you to the Orcas Island Rotary Club for funding this project and allowing Sawhorse to be a part of it, as well as Dowbuilt for providing all materials. In addition, many thanks and much admiration goes to Rosedanie Cadet with F.E.A.S.T., who co-led the program, taught us all so much, and was a wonderful hostess to us on the island.