Tools for all!

There has been a tool windfall here at the Hilton-Winn Farm!

The Youth Enrichment Center is the happy beneficiary of a generous donation by Corona Tools of Corona, CA, a long-established manufacturer of high quality garden, landscape and agricultural tools. Through its Corona Cares program, Corona seeks to support community-based green education projects. Happily for us, despite being located all the way across the country, they determined that the mission of the YEC is in line with their goals and sent along a shipment of garden and orchard tools that were put to immediate use this week.

The donation included:

• Long and short handled pruners for maintaining the fruit trees
• Folding hand saws and hand pruners for the fine pruning of the fruit trees in the summer
• Folding hand extension pole saws and pruners for large tree pruning
• An assortment of spades, shovels, and trowels that we’ll use to handle compost and wood chips, plant trees, and work in the garden.
• Two sturdy wheelbarrows that will be great for a range of garden chores.
• Rakes to spread wood chips and to clear leaves and cut grass.

The tree pruning tools will be used by adult volunteers who will be trained in onsite workshops on fruit tree pruning. The other tools will be used by the volunteers who maintain the facilities and run the programs at the YEC, and of course, by the children who participate in the YEC programs.

Tchukki Andersen, Staff Arborist for the Tree Care Industry Association and volunteer Orchard Manager at the YEC, facilitated the connection between Corona and the YEC.  She is thrilled to have such high quality pruning tools to use on the farm’s young trees: every cut made on a young tree can affect it for the rest of its life. Having these new, high-quality Corona tools available for orchard work can prevent harmful cuts and tears that compromise the vitality and reduce lifespan of tender young trees.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Corona Tools for supporting the mission of the YEC, and to Tchukki Andersen for her commitment to the YEC orchard.