Planting My Roots

One could say that my love for trees, or anything outdoors started from a young age. Whether I was climbing trees, making elaborate forts high up, hanging upside down from low branches or simply hiding from my brothers in a game of hide-and-seek, my appreciation for what grows outside has always been there.

My past experiences have made my time at our annual staff field day that much more rewarding. The summer of 2017, when we first went out to the Intervale Center reminded me so much of the wonderful times I had back on the farm at home. I remember the hot humid days so well, feeling almost giddy at the chance to get my hands in the dirt once again. Not only the prospect of being outside all day excited me, but the fact that we were able to give a grant to the Intervale Conservation Nursery so that they could continue to accomplish their goals made it that much more rewarding.

Patagonia Burlington's Annual Field Day at the Intervale Center 2018

It’s such an amazing feeling to be part of a company that looks to do things beyond just running a business. I remember walking away after we finished putting in the riparian buffer, feeling hungry to do it again. This love translated into my later years when I took a job at a local farm in Maryland, where I tended to all of the plants in the nursery and all of the gardens on the property. Whether it was garden maintenance, planting new flowers, watering the annuals and perennials, or simply thinning the peach trees to foster new growth, I loved being in the sun and watching all of these things take root.

I was able to feed that hunger this year when we returned to one of the Intervale farm fields for a second time. All of the past feelings I had felt came back to me in a rush. When we arrived at the Intervale Center, the weather could not have been more perfect. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze. 

All of my coworkers were ready to get their hands in the dirt. We eventually made our way back to the sight where we stewarded and planted trees last year, and while all good things take time, it was amazing to see the slow progress our efforts had made. We all immediately dove right in and began adding to our work. After a quick (very buggy) three hours, we had once again done what we had set out to do. It’s not every day that the people you work for let you get outside and fun-hog for the day to do something that holds such importance. 

Gabby (left) and Pete (right) Planing Trees at Patagonia Burlington's Annual Field Day at the Intervale Center 2018Patagonia Burlington and the Intervale Center have quite literally let me plant my roots in something I care about, and I can’t wait to see how it grows. We were not only going to plant more trees, but we were building upon our work from last year’s field day and supporting the nursery with another grant via Patagonia’s environmental grant program.

Gabriela Albornoz
Sales Associate, Patagonia Burlington



Photo captions: 

Header image:  The Patagonia Burlington's staff walking along one of the Intervale trails during their Annual Field Day on June 6th, 2018.

Photos 1 & 2: Intervale Conservation Nursery Manager, Mike Ingalls educates the Patagonia Burlington staff about planting trees best practices.

Photo 3: Trees starting to sprout at the Intervale Conservation Nursey.

Photo 4: Author Gabby (left) and Pete Hoops (right) make their way to one of the Intervale farm fields to steward and plant trees.