Lots of us "talk the talk" but it's a special person who "walks the walk." Tara Petti is one of those few. Tara spends her days at the Manila Community Center as a member of AmeriCorps, teaching children how to garden.

Last year she became concerned about the difficulty seniors and low income people have getting fresh organic vegetables to complete a healthydiet. Tara decided to "teach people to fish" rather than find a way to get the vegetables for them. She conceived the idea of providing wooden raised bed gardens for people to grow their own vegetables. Then she would teach them to grow the things they liked to eat.

So without any outside help, Tara did just that. Wood was donated by friends, Ace Hardware gave her their torn bags of compost and manure, Abundant Life and Territorial seed companies sent seeds and the Indian Health Center donated soil. Tara proceeded to build planter boxes for eight families last summer. During the winter she built four more for winter gardeners.

I met Tara this winter and was bemoaning the fact that I could no longer bend down to garden. Ever a problem solver, Tara headed out to my yard to take a look. There is now a wheel-chair accessible vegetable box in my back yard, full of newly sprouted spinach, lettuce and radish tops. The last sunny day I took my early seeds out and planted carrots and artichokes. I can already taste the salads summer will bring and fall's squash.

Most of all I'm anticipating being able to do it myself. There's nothing like getting dirty hands in my garden while a bird flies nearby and the sun warms my back.

Tara's next plan is to build gardens for nursing homes, raised beds so people can once again know the pleasure of watching a seed turn into a grown plant. Her project, "Roots Revival," will be sponsored by the Permaculture Guild under the auspices of CEED, the Center for Environmental Economic Development.

This spring Tara is busy building planters for individuals again. If you need a place to garden, or if you have a special need that makes regular gardening impossible, call and talk to her about it. She is creative in her solutions. You too may be out growing your favorite vegetables this summer.

Tara is also looking for volunteers to help build and to teach gardening. She is seeking contributions, especially of wood, soil and money. She can be contacted at 445-0913 during the day, 476-9190 at night.

Rachel Windsong of Eureka is a devoted gardener with her new planter box. Her e-mail is windstar@ northcoast.com