This spring, I鈥檝e decided to try my hand at gardening.
It鈥檚 something I always aspired to but never attempted while I was living in super-hot Florida.聽 But now that I鈥檝e moved to Maryland, I have no excuse.聽
So when I read about a “Three Sisters” garden in聽 , it sounded like an ideal way to jump start my new hobby and test out my new Mid-Atlantic soil.
For those of you who don鈥檛 know, a聽Three Sisters garden is a popular form of companion planting that co-mingles corn, beans and squash so that each plant can benefit the others.聽 The corn provides a trellis for the beans to climb, the beans fix nitrogen levels in the soil, and the broad squash leaves provide ground cover to suppress weed growth.聽
The end result is usually veggie-tastic, because these three vastly different plants play off of each other鈥檚 unique characteristics to produce a stronger and better-for-all ecosystem.
When you think about it, it鈥檚 a lot like what we strive for at 天美传媒.聽聽
Day after day, we work with varied organizations from vastly different sectors.聽 And while many of them are obviously capable of making a positive impact on the disaster ecosystem聽 by working separately, there鈥檚 something almost alchemic that happens when they鈥檙e all 鈥減lanted鈥� together.聽
We see it all the time in the form of:聽
- Logistics organizations that provide nonprofits with donated supply chain services and professional associations that amplify nonprofits鈥� requests for donated logistics assistance, enabling more survivors to get help more quickly
- Nonprofits that share critical information about what鈥檚 happening at disaster sites with businesses and other nonprofits so subsequent relief and recovery activities can unfold more smoothly
- Emergency management groups and businesses that routinely exchange critical supply chain, disaster preparation and infrastructure data to reduce duplication of effort and improve disaster relief efficacy
- And various 鈥淭hree Sister鈥� combinations of all of these organizations who frequently get together for tabletop exercises, educational events or bi-monthly collaboration-building meetings to ensure everyone is better prepared the next time a disaster hits
I could go on.聽 But you get the idea.聽聽聽聽
Whether your organization鈥檚 approach to disaster planning and response is as sturdy as a corn stalk or as broad as a bean leaf, there鈥檚 still an incredible amount to be gained from choosing to grow alongside other like-minded but different organizations, because we really are all stronger when we work together.聽
I still don鈥檛 know whether the vegetables I planted will be a boom or a bust.聽 But I鈥檓 confident that our garden here at 天美传媒 will continue to produce an impressive bumper crop of collaboration, compassion and resilience for many years to come.聽 After all, we have some incredible 鈥渟isters.鈥�