Students ages 14-17 from William Smith High School in Aurora CO, attended a weeklong intensive in which they worked with art, music and gardening. Working in groups at 3 stations, the students removed summer plants, amended soil, composted, planted seeds and built a greenhouse. Each group also came together as a band. Individuals picked an instrument in the band and in only a week performed their songs for the rest of the group. The art station produced some amazing paintings as the students learned all about the technique.

Part of our mission is to improve our community and after partnering with the Seniors' Resource Center, we began to make a difference in people's lives. SRC has a mission to provide services to the elderly, especially to keep them in their own homes. On this project we brought our volunteer crew and built a safe new ramp and deck. SRC purchased all the materials and our crew took care of the rest. Pam was eternally grateful.

Rocky Votolato has long been one of our favorite musical artists. He is an accomplished singer/songwriter that is known all over the world. Occasionally, he prefers a more intimate setting for his shows. He will tour the country playing in people's living rooms with nothing but his guitar. It is an amazing experience. The WICK Studios was fortunate enough to host two of his shows in Denver. Thanks again Rocky!

This marked our first fundraising event, and it was a huge success! Many generous donations were made that will ensure our programs success. We can't thank you enough for your continued support.

The WICK was named team leaders of the gardening division for the Villa Park Sustainable Neighborhood Program. We quickly got to work and secured a community garden at Eagleton Elementary. It took some work but it whipped into shape awful fast. Kids attending the school will take part in the education program and work hands on right next to their playground. This will also play a big part in creating a neighborhood farmers market.

Providing fresh produce to those who need it most is one of the most important parts of our mission. We built sixteen raised garden beds at the ACS Lift Food Bank, with help from their $10,000 grant from the Denver Garden Foundation. ACS is a non-profit organization that provides food, medical care, and other services to disadvantaged family's and individuals. With their new gardens, they add fresh produce directly from their own facility to that list.

The Shiloh House is a non-profit organization offering both residential and non-residential treatment to youth whose lives have been impacted by abuse, neglect, and trauma. The WICK built a garden at their Littleton location, which they intend to use in their educational and therapeutic programs.

Montessori is one of the fastest-growing and most popular educational methods in the United States today. It began in Italy in the early 1900s by Dr. Maria Montessori, a doctor and educator who achieved remarkable results with children by designing an educational program that makes the most of the innate desire of children to learn. Children are provided with hands-on materials that enable them to learn by doing. The WICK enhanced their existing garden and ran a six-week summer program from June through July.

A partnership with Colorado University brought 15 volunteers to The WICK. The volunteer day included a trash cleanup in the Villa Park neighborhood removing 20 bags of garbage from a beautiful creek and bike path. The day finished up with volunteers preparing the gardens for spring planting, and taking part in honey- bee, backyard chickens, and rain barrel presentations.