Garden Tool Repair Cafe at the GreenFest was a big hit

The 5th annual Montgomery County GreenFest was held on Sunday, April 28 at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton. The theme of this event was simple, yet powerful: Where the County comes together, learns together and takes action together! It was also Brookside Garden’s 50th birthday and Earth Day: talk about the perfect combo! Thousands of residents, and a few from overseas, arrived in droves to participate in the celebrations and the atmosphere bursted with energy.

In the same spirit of community service, the Silver Spring Timebank set up shop in the atrium with a Garden Tool Repair Café. Attendees were welcomed with a warm and friendly smile from greeters who engaged them in talking about the timebank and how they could join our growing community. The repair team included five timebank members who were armed with equipment to sharpen, lubricate, and shine tools such as grass shears, mattocks, and loppers to name a few. They also shared tips on aftercare to make sure the tools had maximum shelf life.

The traffic flowed and had peak times but that didn’t faze our garden tool experts; they multitasked so perfectly that it one could only wonder if this is what Santa’s workshop looks like! 

All in all, it was a great turnout and a true partnership in serving the Montgomery County community.

Many thanks to SSTB members Anisa Yusuf for writing this article and to Saunya Connelly for organizing all the SSTB volunteers for this event.