Take a stroll through the grounds of Sandstone Ranch District Park in Longmont and chances are you will see Bob and Toby Lamb hard at work in the Park's garden. This husband-and-wife team prep and amend the garden in early spring, plant seeds and starts when the soil warms up, then irrigate, weed, and protect crops throughout the growing season. As vegetables ripen, the two end their day by loading up their car with the day's harvest and delivering it to the OUR Center (Outreach United Resource Center) for distribution through its Basic Needs Program.

Toby Lamb, a member of a local Questers group that focuses on historic site restoration and preservation, first came to Sandstone Ranch to help restore the site's barn. Soon after, she found herself volunteering to host at the Visitor Center and Bob found himself working in the garden. "There's always something to be done," Bob says. Between mowing, weeding, planting, irrigating, and finding ways to fend off raccoons and squirrels, the Lamb's days in the garden are always full.

In years past, Sandstone Ranch participated in Longmont's Pioneer Days. Over the course of a few weeks several-hundred area school children would visit the Ranch. "We'd let them all plant seeds, then after they left we'd have to go scrape up the seeds so the next bunch of kids could plant some, too," Bob says. Toby and Bob look forward to the children's program starting up again this year.

The Lamb's plant a traditional garden of squash, pumpkins, tomatoes, beans, onions, carrots, and other vegetables. For authenticity's sake, they try to plant heirloom varieties. They work hard to strike a balance between practicing traditional farming methods and producing crops with higher yields that will benefit the OUR Center.

"I really enjoy the location, peace, and tranquility of the garden," Bob says. "Ninety percent of Longmont thinks Sandstone is just a ballpark. People are really surprised when they look around and realize all that is here." Both Bob and Toby enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that comes from their volunteer work. They especially like that their work has double the impact because it benefits two worthy organizations. "I enjoy doing it so much," Bob says, "I don't even think of it as being a volunteer thing.

For information about volunteering with Sandstone Ranch or other agencies, call the Volunteer Connection at 303-444-4904.