Becki Zerr:
I'm Becki Zerr and welcome to Raising Kindness, a podcast all about promoting volunteerism within our community. Join me each month as I'm joined by my 12-year-old son, Bennet, and his friends demonstrating that together, despite my vision loss, we can definitely make a positive difference in others' lives. We may not always know what we're doing precisely, but we're going to learn, meet new people, and have a lot of fun during the process. So grab a friend and join us on the volunteering adventure that we call Raising Kindness.
Welcome to Raising Kindness, the podcast that's all about volunteering and giving back to our communities. Throughout my life, I've always had a variety of hobbies. Right from when I was wee little, I loved crafting. And when Bennet was little, our kitchen table was rarely without scissors, glue, and glitter. I've also always had a thing for baking. Those who knew me best during university could easily tell precisely when I either had a major assignment coming up or a final exam because our house was suddenly filled with baking. I've come to realize that baking is a fantastic way for me to both procrastinate and de-stress all at the same time. When Bennet was old enough, he would stand on a kitchen chair right beside me. That little bit of extra height would make him just tall enough to reach the countertop. He loved scooping and mixing, but most of all, he loved the chocolate chips that usually coincided with whatever we were making.
The crafting, it stopped, but the baking continued after my sight loss. For a while there, I couldn't even imagine finding another hobby that made me happy. But in time my hobbies changed, just as I had. My friends that knew me before my sight loss, well, they kind of thought it was absolutely hilarious when I shared with them my newfound hobby. I know that they were more so shocked by my choice than trying to be rude because my new choice seemed completely out of character. But I loved it. I loved gardening. I planted flowers from seed and planted my own variety of tomatoes right from seed too. Essentially, the hobby grew from there. I would sift through the pile of wee tiny seeds, gently feeling around until I could only feel one between the tips of my fingers. And individual pots, I would then plant them at the precise right depth simply by feel.
There were definitely moments of frustration, but that basic quiet repetition really helped clear my busy mind at that time and allowed me to practice patience. Today, I no longer start my plants from seeds, I just purchase them from a greenhouse like a normal person. But I do plant all of my own flowers outside. It's most definitely not an intricate arrangement that I'm putting together at all. I find it easiest to maintain plants of brightly coloured petunias. As much as I love to grow plants, I also happen to be really great at killing them, so I try to keep things simple.
Back in the day, when I first started this new gardening adventure, our vegetable garden used to be vast and expansive. It would consist of row after row of a variety of vegetables. At that time though, we lived on an acreage, today, we live in the city. And to be honest, how our yard is designed, pretty much anything I try to grow on the ground actually turns out to be a total epic fail. So I now have a raised bed built by my amazing husband, and I simply focus on the basics like tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and a small variety of herbs. Anyway, needless to say, I really do enjoy my new gardening hobby. So let's get started with today's episode, and perhaps by the end you too will have a green thumb. For this episode, we had the opportunity to volunteer at the amazingly beautiful Regina Floral Conservatory. Brenda Henning is the lead over there at the conservatory, and she was the one that gave us a green light on this volunteer experience. Welcome to the show, Brenda.
Brenda Herring:
Thank you, Becki. I'm happy to be here.
Becki Zerr:
Oh, I'm so delighted that you're able to join us. I'm just wondering if we can first start off with you telling us just a little bit about yourself.
Brenda Herring:
My name is Brenda Herring. My background is in education. I taught for many years. I was a principal for 17 years. I moved from Calgary to Regina, and within a year I met someone at a garage sale who told me all about the conservatory. So pretty soon I was volunteering with maintenance and then with education, and then I was the head of education and now I'm the president of the RGA, and loving every minute of it.
Becki Zerr:
Oh, wow. That's absolutely amazing. A little spoiler note, I guess on this side, my kindergarten teacher's name was Mrs. Herring, but.
Brenda Herring:
No way.
Becki Zerr:
Yeah, it totally was.
Brenda Herring:
I taught kindergarten too.
Becki Zerr:
Oh, did you really? Yeah.
Brenda Herring:
Yeah.
Becki Zerr:
We'll have to talk about that offline.
Brenda Herring:
Yeah.
Becki Zerr:
I'm just wondering if you can start off by telling us a little bit about the Floral Conservatory and maybe how it got started.
Brenda Herring:
Well, the Floral Conservatory started just with three greenhouses where the city had to grow flowers to beautify Regina. That was back in the 1940s. And then, as years went on, a fellow named Ken Beattie, who was quite a famous horticulturist. Now, he has several books out. He got together some members that were working at the conservatory and he said, "Why don't you form the Regina Garden Associates? Why don't you form an association so that you can take over instead of just the volunteering here?" And so those 12 people became the pioneers. And that was in 1969, and we've been together ever since. We now have about close to 200 volunteers.
Becki Zerr:
Wow, I totally remember the name of Ken Beattie. I totally remember his name. I'm obviously a kid of the '80s, so that's so fun to hear you mention him as well and that he was part of the whole beginning. So thank you for sharing that with us. I'm just curious if you can share a little bit about some of the programming that takes place at the amazing conservatory because I remember the kids when Bennet was in preschool, he stopped by with his preschool class and it was such a memorable field trip for all of us.
Brenda Herring:
Yes. Well, one of our mandates at the conservatory is to cultivate health, happiness, and hope to achieve a state of well-being, which was a little bit of a change from what we normally did. But we really do want to collaborate to connect people with plants and hence the education component, which is the most important component for us. We have two very important programs for children, the first being Little Gardeners, and that's for children all the age of one all the way up to five. And we run programs once a month. And they actually have to sign up for four sessions at once. So by the end of the four session, the parents have gotten to know each other, the children have gotten to know each other, and it's just a wonderful connection with people and with plants, of course, it's all nature based.
The other program are school programs, which has two components because of COVID, that we actually got a benefit from COVID there. The school tours are when the schools book our conservatory, they come to the conservatory and we plant a plant with them. We talk to them about plants and teach them on the specific things they need to know according to the science curriculum. And then we go into the conservatory and we show them all the wonders that are there. And the other thing that grew out of COVID is we realized schools couldn't come to the school to tour. So we put together a plant support unit kit, a nice long name, but it contains the pots, the soil, the cuttings. We put together two videos to support this. We put together a booklet for the teachers to follow all the directions. And people have come now from all over Southern Saskatchewan to pick up that plant support unit for their schools.
Becki Zerr:
Wow, the options that you have for each stage of the learning process is just amazing. And as a side note, you can totally tell you have a very strong teaching background because you can just hear the passion in your voice today when you were talking to the kids and teaching them all about the different plants that were within the facility. And the wealth of knowledge that you were able to share with them was definitely apparent. But I mean, building on the programs that you guys provide there, obviously, funding is a consideration. So I'm just wondering if you can share with us your primary funding sources and if donations happen to be something you rely on for the public as well.
Brenda Herring:
Well, they certainly are, Becki, as you can imagine. Our funding actually comes... We're in a partnership with the City of Regina, and the City of Regina provides us with $18,000 a year, and that's to cover the cost of buying the plants. That pretty much is what it costs us a year to buy plants, because for every display we put in new plants. And the shelf life of bringing in those plants is about a good month and a half, two months, and after that, they're finished. We need probably another $5,000 on top of that to cover all our expenses at the conservatory. So we do rely on donations, we do events and try to raise money in that way.
Fundraising has become crucial for us because our contract with the city is due for renewal at 2024. We are not sure what's going to happen. We know we need a new home. We know this one is really feeling its age, and we know that our hot, hot summers, we're not sure how we can keep going there because we lost an awful lot of plants. We don't have automatic vents that open, we don't have misters, we just have one real hot box, and that's what our plants are growing in.
Becki Zerr:
Well, it would be very exciting to just begin to imagine what a new facility could be like for your group and how amazing it would be for everybody to come and visit. I'm just curious, I mean, you spent a couple of hours with the kids and I today, and I'd like to think for a bit of an atypical volunteer group, but I'm just curious what your thoughts were on our little group coming out to help out. I mean, me as a visually impaired mom and then having kids being part of the volunteer team, what are your thoughts on that?
Brenda Herring:
Because I work with children and find the value of children and enjoy working with children, I truly enjoyed that. Interesting though with the Floral Conservatory, because it's a whole different scenario again because we rely on 100% volunteers. So what we've found in the past that we welcome volunteers to volunteer with a mom as long as they're a member. You could only volunteer at the conservatory if you have a membership. And membership is only available if you're 16 years and older. We've tried different things during the year. The schools all have volunteer programs. And so we've tried several different scenarios and found that the work that is required to do all the recording and to work with the kids, we're struggling to stay on our feet.
Becki Zerr:
For sure.
Brenda Herring:
And that's just one more thing so sad that we're not able to accommodate.
Becki Zerr:
No, and that's totally fine. I mean, the age of 16, that's still a doable age. They're still young and impressionable I think at that point where they can come out. What about people who are somewhat similar to myself that may not be sort of quote, "mainstream," and may have a little bit of a disability or a challenge? What are your thoughts on them coming out being part of the volunteer team?
Brenda Herring:
I think that's a very important component. Interestingly, we had a fellow who... He was a farmer and had brain injury and asked if he could come and work at the conservatory. And so, one of our volunteers stepped forward and said, "Sure, I'll take him under my wing." And we were just happy to have him. We found out his niche was washing pots, and so we just loved that. He just seemed absolutely loved doing that. So we were able to accommodate his needs. And I don't know, Becki, if you noticed, just as you were leaving, there was a group that came in from the Cosmopolitan Centre to Regina.
Becki Zerr:
I sure did.
Brenda Herring:
Did you notice them? Well, we went to their center. We took the plant unit to them and we talked to them about plants and planted plants, and that was in about April or May. So of course, I recognize them and I said, "Hi." And one of the gals recognized me, "Brenda, you're here." She gave me a great big hug. Like, oh my gosh. That was just such a special moment.
Becki Zerr:
Absolutely.
Brenda Herring:
Yeah.
Becki Zerr:
I have to admit, I have a special place in my heart for the crew over there at Cosmopolitan Industries because when I was a nursing student, actually in the summertime, that was one of the places I actually chose to work because I loved what they're doing. I loved the people that were there that I had the opportunity to work with and learn from. So my ears definitely perked up when I was leaving, and I had a big smile on my face knowing that that group was going to spend some great time in such a wonderful atmosphere. So if people are interested in learning some more information on the Regina Floral Conservatory, where would you best direct them?
Brenda Herring:
To our website, reginafloralconservatory.ca.
Becki Zerr:
That's perfect. Thank you so much, Brenda, for the amazing volunteer opportunity.
Brenda Herring:
You're welcome.
Becki Zerr:
The kids and I had an absolute blast. Like I said, they were pretty much bouncing out of the building when we left and they haven't really stopped since we got home here. And they're very proud that they had an opportunity to help out at your amazing organization. So thanks again.
Brenda Herring:
Well, thank you for your kind words. It was a pleasure for me as well, Becki.
Becki Zerr:
Next up, I'm happy to invite an ongoing volunteer at Regina's Floral Conservatory, Sarah Ludlow to join us on today's podcast. Welcome to the show, Sarah.
Sarah Ludlow:
Thanks for having me, Becki.
Becki Zerr:
You bet. I'm wondering if you'd mind starting off by telling us just a little bit about yourself and what you like to do for fun.
Sarah Ludlow:
Yeah. So I really like nature and the outdoors and particularly birds. So I spend a lot of time bird-watching and just enjoying nature. And I also really like plants and gardening. And so that's sort of what drew me to Regina Floral Conservatory.
Becki Zerr:
That's amazing. I loved hearing about the birds. How did you initially get involved with the Regina Floral Conservatory?
Sarah Ludlow:
Yeah, so I've only been volunteering with them the start of this year, so I'm pretty new, but I love it. And I had initially started volunteering with them as part of a requirement of volunteer hours for a gardening certification program I was doing. And so I thought, "What a good fit." I grew up in Regina, I've gone to the Floral Conservatory as a child and then continued as I got older and I just love it. So it just seemed like the perfect opportunity to help out a place that I love and also get my hours in at the same time. So that's how that sort of came about.
Becki Zerr:
Perfect. I can totally see why you love it there. I just spent there a couple of hours there this morning with the kids and really time flew by so fast and we could have just pitted in for the entire day, honestly. And the ladies that were there volunteering as well were just amazing. It was so pleasant. I'm just curious, what type of volunteer opportunities have you had so far?
Sarah Ludlow:
Quite a few. So I help out with the display maintenance, so that's taking care of the plants and making sure that everything looks good. I also help out with the reception. So those are the volunteers that greet you at the door. And I also help out on the communications team specifically with our social media posts.
Becki Zerr:
Nice.
Sarah Ludlow:
So I'm doing a nice wide variety of things.
Becki Zerr:
And that's super fun too. And I've noticed some of your guys' social media posts, they're just amazing and you guys are on there-
Sarah Ludlow:
Oh, thank you.
Becki Zerr:
... quite a bit, which is awesome. I'm just wondering, what do you enjoy the most about volunteering? I mean, when we walk out of a volunteer opportunity, I know I feel really happy and excited and just so fulfilled myself. I'm just curious what your experience is that you've noticed so far.
Sarah Ludlow:
Yeah, for sure. So the main reason I started volunteering with them is like I said, to make those hours I needed in a place that I wanted to contribute to. And another reason was that I wanted to meet people in my local gardening community. And so I found that that's been a really big benefit as I've met lots of wonderful people as part of this experience. And then just being able to give back. So I think the Regina Floral Conservatory is a gem in Regina and it's just like we're so lucky to have it. And so being able to make sure that that keeps going and it stays around is something that is important to me. So that's also something that's... Yeah, I'm happy to be able to contribute.
Becki Zerr:
Totally. And I mean obviously, you have a keen interest in nature, gardening, and birds, and the whole gamut, but I'm just curious if there is a viewer watching and they may not have as green of a thumb as yours, is there an extensive amount of gardening experience that's required and knowledge in order to volunteer there, or what are your thoughts on that?
Sarah Ludlow:
Not at all. So if you love gardening and love plants and want to get your hands in the dirt, by all means, there's a place for you. But if you are a people person and you don't want to get your hands dirty at all, there are lots of jobs that you can do where you're still in that beautiful setting, like the reception volunteers for example. You're greeting people afternoon, you make the complimentary coffee and tea and you might have to fill the few plant questions, but we have resources to help you with that. Yeah. So there are really options for everybody. It doesn't mean you have to be a master gardener to come help out.
Becki Zerr:
I love that you mentioned that there's a wide variety of activities for a wide variety of knowledge levels and experience. So that's super fantastic. What would be a piece of advice that you would lend to somebody who's considering joining your guys as volunteer team?
Sarah Ludlow:
I would say, do it. Yeah. So like I said, it's been super great. I've met lots of really amazing people. And even just like I was saying as working at reception, being somebody who greets visitors as they come in, it's always just so interesting to talk to them and hear their stories and see where they're from and why did you choose to spend your afternoon with us today and that sort of thing. So it's a good way to just meet people and grow that community. And then it's just a really nice place to be. So if nothing else, if you want to come and do maintenance and you don't want to talk to anybody, then that's maybe the job for you. It's beautiful and it's peaceful and it's just the couple of hours or an hour in the morning on your maintenance day that you get to be in that peaceful place without crowds and anything like that. So I don't know, those would be two main reasons I would say.
Becki Zerr:
That's perfect. It sounds like you're having an amazing time and you picked a really great organization to fit your personality. And from our little experience today, it is definitely someplace that it seems like a little hidden gem that we have here in Regina that maybe more people aren't quite aware of that definitely should check it out. So thank you so much for all of your volunteer time. Thank you for joining me on today's podcast, and thank you for all of your volunteering that you do throughout your day and your busy, busy schedule.
Sarah Ludlow:
Yeah. Well, thank you for having me and for the opportunity to talk about the Floral Conservatory. Because like you said, it is a hidden gem and so the more people that know about it the better.
Becki Zerr:
Well, it's time for me to move over and make room for the kids. Time to hear their perspective on today's volunteer experience at the Regina Floral Conservatory. Welcome to the show, Colby and Bennet.
Bennet:
Thank You.
Colby:
Thank you.
Becki Zerr:
So I might get in trouble for this, but earlier I made mention that Bennet's preschool class, a field trip to the conservatory, and just how amazing it was. But in all actuality, both of you guys were in that class. I think you guys were around the age of four and I totally remember it like it was yesterday. I'm just curious though, if either of you guys happen to remember that same field trip at all.
Colby:
I really do remember Mrs. Marshall's class. I remember going there and seeing the fish in the pond and potting some plants and taking them home with us.
Bennet:
Okay. I'm going to be honest, I remember Mrs. Marshall's class, but I do not remember going there.
Becki Zerr:
So let's switch focus to today's volunteer experience. And let's start out like we usually do by you guys painting a picture of today's volunteer experience. Colby, do you maybe want to start out? And Bennet, you can jump in at any point and help her out.
Colby:
Yeah, I thought that it was way more fun than I expected it to be because I really loved potting all of our plants and making sure that we really helped them out there by potting them and helping them sell them and everything.
Bennet:
Yeah. I think it was actually really fun. At the start, we didn't really know what we were doing, but then at the end, it was awesome. We planted little plants and it was actually really fun.
Colby:
Yeah, I really agree. I enjoyed looking at all the plants. I enjoyed getting told about what the different plants did and what the different trees did, how they looked, where they were from.
Bennet:
And there was also one more thing, we learned how to do the Dairy Queen test where you flip the plant upside down, like the dirt upside down to make sure that you have a good base when I'm planting the plants.
Becki Zerr:
Was there something that each of you guys were able to learn by our volunteer experience today?
Colby:
I personally learned a lot. I learned how the different plants worked, where they were from. I learned about how to take care of the plants, how to plant a plant.
Bennet:
Yeah, it was super fun. Basically the same as Colby learned how to plant plants properly and just taken us for the tour around the place showing us all the different plants and stuff. Oh, there was this plant that when you brushed your hand along its leaf, it would close. Its leaf would close because there was a whole bunch of different ones. It was for protection, so flies and stuff wouldn't go inside of it.
Becki Zerr:
Now, if somebody's watching and they're considering volunteering at the conservatory, what would be a piece of advice that you guys would offer them?
Bennet:
Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty.
Colby:
Yeah, I definitely agree. It's not as bad as it looks when you're trying to pick up the plant and all the roots are falling out.
Becki Zerr:
What was your favourite part of volunteering today?
Colby:
My favourite part was planting the plants.
Bennet:
My favourite part was probably getting the tour and her telling us all about the different plants and where they came from and what their adaptations are.
Becki Zerr:
I'm just curious, how does volunteering make you guys feel? I mean, when we leave a volunteer experience, I know how I feel and I'm just curious what the feelings are that you guys are experiencing.
Bennet:
It feels pretty good to go and help out and volunteer and just brighten people's day. It was pretty fun. They were pretty happy that we got there and helped them out with planting the plants and stuff.
Colby:
Yeah, I agree. It does feel really good to be helpful in the world and to make a difference.
Bennet:
We have one more thing to show you guys. So we brought home these plants and I picked out these little... I don't know, it's fluffy. And a funny story, my grandma actually has these, and I was actually touching them and she was like, "Stop touching that, you're hurting it." So I got my own to touch.
Colby:
Yeah, I can't quite remember what this one is called, but I know that this one is called... This one right here is a baby of the Mexican hat mother plant, and you can plant it in a pot and then it'll grow to be like a mother.
Bennet:
And we both planted these ourselves today.
Becki Zerr:
It was so fun volunteering again with you guys, and I know we had a total blast. I'm sure that the Kindness Challenge you're about to put forward is going to be a good time also. That being said, it's time for the Kindness Challenge. It's the perfect opportunity for you, our viewers to get involved and help us spread kindness all over our communities. Okay, you too, I'm handing the mic over so you guys can tell us all about today's Kindness Challenge.
Bennet:
Today's Kindness Challenge that we chose is to go to the Floral Conservatory in Regina and buy one of these little $5 plants, and you can just take a picture of them and post it to our Instagram and our Facebook page.
Colby:
All money goes towards their education fund and their little thoughts teaching programs.
Becki Zerr:
Oh, once again, good job. Your Kindness Challenge sounds super fun and I really like how much thought you guys are putting into each of these challenges. I'm really looking forward to seeing everybody participate. So remember to tag us in on your social media posts.
From the moment I began researching this volunteer opportunity, I was so excited. I just have so many good memories of young little Bennet right beside me in the garden. He would help me plant, discern between what were weeds and legitimate plants. And his favourite was always the end product. Whether it was a cucumber, peas, or raspberries, he just loved sampling them all, and he was just so proud of what he helped us grow. And when he was really little, there were a few times when my flowers just displayed green foliage because all the beautiful blooms were picked off by Bennet and gifted to me.
I love daisies, lilies, anything that looks bright and tropical, but my favourite flowers of all time are tulips. Although I can't entirely see the flowers anymore, they still bring me a level of happiness just knowing that they're there. And even though I couldn't see all of the beauty that the Floral Conservatory brightly boasted, it still provided such an inviting atmosphere to me because it was warm. It radiated an atmosphere of peace and tranquility, plus it simply smelled amazing. So for somebody who's a little bit on the edge about volunteering in an environment that's full of hustle and bustle, the Regina Floral Conservatory or a similar environment would definitely provide a little calmer, more relaxed environment. So if you're thinking about volunteering and you're thinking about trying something a little bit different, this is definitely an opportunity you want to check out.
And that brings us to the end of this episode of Raising Kindness. We look forward to you guys participating in the Kids' Kindness Challenge, so be sure to tag us in on your social media pages. Thanks so much, everyone for watching. Take care and see you next time.
And that's a wrap on this episode of Raising Kindness with me, Becki Zerr. Thanks so much to all of my guests and to you for tuning in. Be sure to check us out on social media. You'll find us on Facebook and Instagram at raising.kindness.podcast. And don't forget, you're going to want to like and subscribe to the podcast on YouTube and your favourite podcast platform. See you again soon.
