AGENDA #3a(1)

From: Christine Ellestad [mailto:garden08 AT nc.rr.com]
Sent: Friday, December 14, 2007 11:12 AM
To: Carlo Robustelli
Subject: Chapel Hill Spring Garden Tour petition for co-sponsorship

Petition:

On behalf of the Chapel Hill Garden Club, I am requesting that the Town of Chapel Hill consider co-sponsorship with Department of Parks and Recreation of the 7^th biennial Chapel Hill Spring Garden Tour to be held April 12th and 13th in The Oaks and Meadowmont neighborhoods. Our tour of private gardens and the North Carolina Botanical Garden draws visitors not only from Chapel Hill but from around the State and beyond. This tour is first and foremost a gift from our club and our hosts to the people of Chapel Hill in that it fosters a sense of community by providing an enjoyable recreational, cultural, and educational event. It also serves as a fundraiser for the North Carolina Botanical Garden's new environmentally sustainable Visitor Education Center and the community and educational projects of our club.

The tour demonstrates the close ties that bind the University of North Carolina to the citizens of Chapel Hill; it is a true illustration of town/gown relations at its best. This tour will be a living laboratory teaching the public environmentally sustainable practices for managing their own private gardens.

As our host gardens proudly share the "Southern Part of Heaven" in spring, educational specialists in the fields of water conservation, bee keeping, native plant rescue, soil management, and composting will be teaching wise conservation of natural resources. Global climate changes are affecting us here in the forms of drought, elevated temperatures, and changing wildlife habits. Each and every one of us needs to learn new ways to adapt to the changing environment. We hope to use this event as a way to come together in a congenial spirit of cooperation to share ideas and search for answers to using our land and water wisely.

Our club, which has over 100 members, is in its 77^th year of proud service to the community of Chapel Hill and we fully intend to continue to serve our town for many years to come. We respectfully ask for your co-sponsorship for the following support:

to be listed in the town events calendar

to be listed in the Community Billboard on Chapel Hill TV 18

to be listed in Chapel Hill enews

to be listed in townweek

to consult with Catherine Lazorko, Town Information Officer

to coordinate with Butch Kisiah of the Parks and Recreation Department

to have the streets cleaned on the tour route

to ensure that waste will be picked up before the tour

to alert the police of the event

to be considered for financial support if any is available for events of this type.

respectfully,
Christine Ellestad
Chapel Hill Spring Garden Tour Chair
chapelhillgardentour.net
919-929-3013
garden08 AT nc.rr.com