One garden in Los Osos is just one of the four places where an annual garden tour takes place with the proceeds benefiting those in the community.
The self-guided Garden Tour is a fundraising project under the American Association of University Women. “When you get your ticket, it gives you a description of the garden and all the places you can go,” said Mary Sue Gee, AAUW co-chair.
With the opportunity to explore three gardens in Los Osos and one in Morro Bay, proceeds benefit local students. This year the organization will be sending middle school girls to Cal State Monterey Bay for a week during the summer.
“My favorite part was working on the presentation that we would get to present on the last day of the trip,” said Liberty Martinez, a middle schooler.
“They’ll stay in the dorms, take classes, do projects and have activities that are taught by women that are successful in programs like engineering, medical field, math and technology,” Gee said.
For the last ten years, Tara Noland has been attending the garden tour and is proud to have her backyard showcased. Last year over 500 people attended the garden tour.
“I was happy to find out because I have a Morro Bay high schooler and I actually work with the Cuesta nursing program and so I was excited to find out because I’m included in two parts of that and I think it’s wonderful that it’s a big fundraiser and it benefits education,” said Tara Noland, Los Osos resident.
Last summer Liberty Martinez was one of the Los Osos Middle School students chosen to attend the weeklong Tech Trek camp at UCSB.
“I would take away that there are some things that are very difficult to do but in all end, it’s all really fun and worth it especially if you have like-minded people there with you,” Martinez said.
“It was really interesting to see what a college life would be like," said Penny Dinunzio, a middle schooler. "We were just there for a week."
Penny Dinunzio says she learned many new things from the camp.
“When we first got there, we sorted into different science-based groups. I was in forensic studies group which was super interesting because I’ve never learned that ever before,” Dinunzio said.
The garden tour is on April 28 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and for more information on the four locations and tickets click here.
