Mid Maine TimeBank

Most of the MMTB members from Damariscotta are part of the Damariscotta Region Transition Town Initiative (DRTTI). DRTTI is also a time bank member, and has posting service ads there. It will be posting requests for volunteers needed by other organizations in the Damariscotta area in addition to the projects DRTTI comes up with. For instance, recently two DRTTI members volunteered at the Pirate Rendezvous – a yearly event that raises money for Lincoln County Family Holiday Wishes.

An exciting new community garden project has just begun, and the Damariscotta chapter of MMTB is coordinating the effort. To celebrate the beginning of the new project, there was a block party on July 3rd on Pleasant St., where the community garden will be located.

Residents of the street have been using the site for years to dispose of their tree clippings and other yard debris. The owner of the land agreed to let the site be converted to garden beds for community use. Much of the waste wood at the site is going to be buried in small raised beds or Hugelkultur mounds. These mounds will provide ideal growing conditions for years to come. (An example of a Hugelkultur mound was recently built at the Damariscotta River Association community garden as part of a workshop conducted by Haas Tobey.) Hugelkultur mounds reduce the need for irrigation and sequester carbon.

MMTB members who volunteer time working on at the new community garden will earn time credits, which can be redeemed for hours of service from other members. More information about the project is available by contacting DRTTI through the MMTB website. Derek DeGeer, coordinator of DRTTI, had this to say about the project: “This is a great opportunity to bring the community together over something that creates value for each of us and improves our neighborhood as a whole.”