“When I was younger, my mother told me I was found in a milkweed pod, like a fairy,” Kirsten Thuestad said as she helped plant juniper shrubs at the Onset Bay Center on Saturday, April 22.

“That’s, like, a dope origin story,” replied Jack Rinta as he raked mulch. 

Thuestad works for the Coastal Cultivars cannabis farm in West Wareham. On Earth Day, she and some of her coworkers gave back to the community by working with a different kind of grass.

“It’s refreshing to play with a different plant,” she said, “and meet with all the people in the community who care about this kind of stuff.”

It was a dirty job, but Thuestad, and 35 other volunteers, were happy to uproot and move plants, pull weeds, place mulch and lay down new sheets of grass at the Onset Bay Center.

“Oh, crap, I got dirty,” joked Matt Gould as he rolled out carpets of sod.

“I’ve always wanted to volunteer for stuff like this,” Gould said. “[Kirsten and I] try to do it when we’re out and about in the woods and the world.” 

Buzzards Bay Coalition Land Stewardship Manager Mary Doucette said that, more importantly than beautifying the space, the landscaping project protected the soil from eroding. 

Thuestad is a lifelong gardener. Her mother had poison control on speed dial, because she was so curious about the plants that she would eat them.

“I always played in the dirt and played outside,” she said. “We [at Coastal Cultivars] thrive on everything local. We take care of the planet, reduce our carbon footprint.” 

Rinta, a third-generation cranberry grower, is used to working with plants. 

“I grew up here and I really care about the environment,” he said. “It’s nice to be out here with the community.”