GGSE: What do you do for a living separate from your volunteering at Harding University Partnership School?
Mairleitner: I am a Firefighter Engineer for Santa Barbara City Fire Department. I am currently assigned to Station 8 at Santa Barbara Airport.
GGSE: What connection do you have to the school that led you to want to volunteer there?
Mairleitner: My son Olin attended Harding from preschool through grade six. He promoted from grade six this past spring.
GGSE: What did you do there?
Mairleitner: Over the last few years I built a number of things but this past summer was my chance to really improve the garden:
- new counters and shelves in the shed (I’ve been told we have the nicest shed of all the schools)
- shade structure over teaching area
- whole new irrigation system with three separate pressure zones with individual control valves and boxes, two new hose bibs and a veggie wash center
- 10 new garden boxes
- repaired the 3 bin compost system and have been able to consistently transfer our schools kitchen scraps into our compost
- put up privacy fence along North West fence line to reduce unwanted debris blowing into garden and provide a little wind protection on gusty days
- sourced and purchase items needed for garden projects like everything needed to accomplish projects mentioned above
- purchasing additional what I call “gravy” items like umbrellas, coiled hoses, sprinkler wands and quick release fittings for hose bibs, these items help both the kids and the garden educator enjoy the garden
- moving 6 dump truck loads of mulch across school property to garden
- recruiting for, communicating, and organizing volunteer work days. We have a good little crew that we formed early this fall at the beginning of this school year when we had a ton of mulch that had to be moved across the school property to the garden.
GGSE: Did others help or was it a solo effort?
Mairleitner: I have been able to accomplish most of the more technical work like the irrigation system and the carpentry work by myself and moved more than three dump truck loads of mulch with the help of my son Olin and my wife Layla. However I was super, super happy when we started to form a small group that helped finish moving another three dump truck loads of mulch into the garden.
We also have Chris Errea, who has been behind the scenes communicating with me and the Harding Foundation, which raises the funds needed to pay for the items mentioned above. There have been numerous other parents, like Elizabeth Arroyo, whom have helped keep the garden alive when one of our garden educators wasn’t able to finish the school year.
There have been many others that have donated whatever time they have that I unfortunately have not been able to get to know as well as some of the people above.
Explore Ecology has helped with materials and a few garden blitz days and their knowledge and experience helped guide us.
Also Principal Binkley has been super encouraging and supportive of the work we have been doing!
GGSE: Why do you think people should do volunteering like you've done?
Mairleitner: It feels right.
If people who have even just a couple hours a year could channel that time into a form of productive volunteer work in their community it would be incredibly impactful. It isn’t always that simple either. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities out there that won’t leave you with that warm and fuzzy feel after. If that is the case don’t stop, keep looking for the right group for you. I have volunteered on and off at Harding over the past seven years and it wasn’t until the past few years I was able to really gain traction and do the kind of work I was desperate to do. I have also volunteered in many other groups and just kept coming back to Harding. Probably because it was right here in my neighborhood.