Lessons from Free Mulch Day!

Today was Denver's annual mulch giveaway.  Each January, the city waste services collect discarded Christmas trees and turn them into mulch, which they give away free to city residents who are willing to come and scoop it themselves.  That in itself is a nice lesson in reuse and recycling.

But the thing that really struck me while I was filling up our bags with free mulch was an interesting confluence of opposing perspectives.  First, there was certainly an air of self-preservation.  The mulch went fast.  The giveaway started at 8:00 am.  At 8:45 as we were leaving, the last of the pile was gone.  Folks were left scraping bits and pieces off the asphalt.  At the same time, though, there was a noticeable atmosphere of community - of sharing, of common purpose, and of civic gratitude.  In addition to the three giant bags of mulch I brought home, the value of the experience certainly made Free Mulch Day a worthy outing.