The Fifth Wednesday: Referral Leaderboard

Let's get those numbers up

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It’s the fifth Wednesday of the month—a semi-rarity of the calendar and a variation in my normal writing schedule here at the newsletter. In lieu of one of our normal posts, I’d like to take a moment to ask if you can help spread the word about this subsack. Subscribing is still free for now (though many of you have pledged to pay for future subscriptions, for which I’m deeply grateful), and it gives you access to monthly gardening advice, nature writing, and student stories, not to mention the how-tos and planting guides that seem to infiltrate all the other kids of writing.

We’re not just keeping track of a school program here, we’re contemplating our relationship with the physical world, and edging ourselves toward a more embodied, attached, and meaningful existence. This newsletter isn’t the only place to think through those issues, but it’s a quirky combination that tends to capture the imagination. If you know anyone who would appreciate it, why not refer them?

At the end of spring, I added a number of referral rewards to help encourage you to get the word out. As a reminder, here’s how to participate:

1. Share This Substack. When you use the referral link below, or the “Share” button on any post, you'll get credit for any new subscribers. Simply send the link in a text, email, or share it on social media with friends.

2. Earn benefits. When more friends use your referral link to subscribe, you’ll receive special benefits.

• Get the Starting a School Garden PDF for 5 referrals
  This is an expanded PDF of my Ten-Part “How to Start List,” originally published as two separate posts. This version collects all of that advice and expands it, adding guiding questions after each entry to help inspire you. If you’re an educator, colleague, administrator, or amateur gardener who has dreamed of starting a garden or gardening program of any kind, this list is for you.

• Get my Top Gardening Tips for 10 referrals
  This eleven-page document is a labor of love that consolidates years of conversations, trial-and-error, and experience into something I feel confident will sharpen and inspire you no matter where, how, or why you garden.

• Get my At-Home Composting Guide for 25 referrals
  This is a revised and expanded PDF of my At-Home Composting Guide, originally published as an article, but now ripened to a refined perfection. Composting is one of the things I’m always asked about, and this guide will give you everything you need to start reducing waste and reaping the reward of sweet soil and even sweeter satisfaction.

So far, no one has claimed any of these benefits, and it’s time to change that. July, the only month untouched by school here in New England, is drawing to a close. August is nearly upon us, with all its attendant business. Before you plunge headlong into the noxious back-to-school fog, take a moment to send a little bit of clear air to your friends. They’ll thank you for it.

See you next week!

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